A.D. 1997 involves a huge multinational corporation, and a murder that threatens to unravel, well, everything. I was looking forward to reading and reviewing a non gag humor comic this time, so let’s get right into it.

Artwise this comic has a unique look, with lots of busy linework and a bubbly, almost anime style in blacks, grays and whites. There is lots to look at, with very detailed skylines and crowded streets and cityscapes. Now, with that said, I found it highly confusing at times to figure out what was going on in certain panels.

The pages are so jumbled and full of detail that sometimes I had to look at and read the next few panels to figure out what was going on in the one before them. Good art, but I think more time should be taken to make better and less packed page layouts for the reader.

One other thing. I didn’t like the comic being put on hold for five pages of sketches. It was distracting and unnecessary, and would have fit better in the “bonus material” section, but I suppose you could just skip through the pages and get back to the comic.

The story has something to do with murder and data cells and orbs and giant corporations, but I couldn’t really get into the meat of the story because it was very wordy and confusing. It struck me as trying too hard to be smart and interesting, instead giving me a bit of a headache. It’s like a movie that is three hours but you KNOW it could have been edited to fall somewhere around eighty minutes. I just couldn’t stay focused long enough to enjoy it. Maybe it was over my head, what with all the tech talk and the like, but I need a little less info and a little more action.

This review may seem a bit harsh and quick to judge, but this just wasn’t a comic that I would check out and keep coming back to. If you like a future detective story, then this might be your thing, but if you’re looking for a quick fix of entertainment, then you’ll probably want to go elsewhere. Check it out if you’re looking for an illustrated novel.

And to think, some people were already referring to me as the “nice reviewer”. Oops. I give it…
2 stars.

Rating:

ad1997
by Joachim Lipski
http://www.ad1997.com/
review by Jack Carter

(2 votes, average: 2.5 out of 5)

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