Napoleon from the Machine #1 is a comic written by Jaromir Francois with art by Konstantin Vitkov-Titis and colors by Sonya Anastasova and letters by Toben Racicot. In this far-off future the world is being threatened and people await the savior Kami’s return. This is a story that takes place in a cyberpunk/futuristic world with an air of mystery and lurking danger. The leading lady is Justine, a girl who seems to be around the age of ten who loves comics, visiting her neighbor Napoleon, and is looking forward to seeing Kami. Napoleon is Justine’s downstairs neighbor who is a depressed comic artist that likes to drink. He also has a strong comic collection. The story begins with a news report about the state of the world and later we get glimpses into the lives of a few people within it. Though there is that trademark bright neon look common with cyberpunks we don’t see that advanced tech the genre is known for. The action here gets bloody with some very gruesome shots. The pacing is generally slower than average as there are a number of wordy pages, but these aren’t bunched together. The tone goes from serious to lighthearted depending on who the focus is on, with a few intense moments here and there. The dialogue is straightforward with some of the rougher characters speaking in aggressive hoodlum. As mentioned there are more than a few word-heavy pages. This is a character and world-building introduction that establishes a strong foundation for a good story to stand on.

            The art style here is like a sharper version of comics from decades ago with a cyberpunk and modern world color palette. The scenery is mainly the brick walls of other building as this takes place in the inner city. The environment gives off rough and seedy vibes. The main locations range from Justine and Napoleon’s apartments to the street outside, with the interiors being full of the little things that make a house a home. The backgrounds much more often than not tend to contain scene elements. The expression level here is above-average with emotions being shown by major and minor characters. The range goes from happiness to anger to fear to sadness with a few in-between. The faces are well drawn with prominent features and almost stand out from the rest of the body. The action here is bloody and gory with the scenes spread out. The violence is physical and explosive as well as something else. Some of the outfits look like something from a cyberpunk story, others look like something people wear now.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like cyberpunky-futuristic stories starring a young black girl and a depressed white guy in a rough world with constant danger and mysterious people walking around this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, blood, light gore, death.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“Of course you’re sleeping. Ugh, you gotta stop drinking.”

 

Physical Link: https://skysurfer117.gumroad.com/l/nftmp?layout=profile&recommended_by=search

Digital Link: https://skysurfer117.gumroad.com/l/nftm?layout=profile&recommended_by=search

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/59729099/napoleon-from-the-machine-1-a-neo-superhero-graphic-novel/description

Indiegogo Link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/napoleon-from-the-machine/x/26236710#/

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 26

Violent Pages: 5, for 19% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 4

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 3

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”