Cyberpunk Paradise: “High Level” #1 Review

Writer: Rob Sheridan / Artist: Barnaby Bagenda / Vertigo (DC) In the tradition of 80’s/90’s era cyberpunk fiction and cinema comes High Level, an original creation by digital artist and former art director for Nine Inch Nails, Rob Sheridan. Exploding from the page with a distinct and bold visual style of Barnaby Bagenda (Green Lanterns, Suicide Squad), the first issue unveils a world torn between the “haves and have-nots” with nods to a future dystopia that lies somewhere between Akira, Total Recall, and even the recent film Alita: Battle Angel. Thirteen is a woman who works hard and lives even harder, known as the “Sewer Girl” in her ghetto of Onida Flats. Similar to the aforementioned Alita or even Neil Blomkamp’s Elysium, the elite and seemingly privileged segments of society reside above the Earth in a place known as “High Level.” The palace in the sky, however, may not last much longer. A war rages above the Onida Flats that threatens to spread to the Earth below. Also, there are rumors that High Level is merely an illusion, a prison that enslaves those who escape there for the false hope of paradise. Unconcerned with the myths and the wars of the privileged, Thirteen cleans sewage for a living while speaking to her only friend, a R2-D2-esque beeping/buzzing drone known as Ezra.  Her real life, however, resides in the night. Here, she uses her skills in hacking and programming electronics to smuggle and trade technology between various clients. Complex, tough, but ultima…