Review: Angelic by Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard

Angelic is a post-apocalyptic tale about two warring communities. While one of the communities, called the Mans, is on a quest for an item that will make them more powerful, the other colony, the Monks, is satisfied with how things are and determined to keep it that way. However, the situation gets out of hand when two members of each community come together on a quest that will change what everyone knows about the past and the present.

WHY I LOVE THE BOOK
Though the authors were not subtle about the messages they want to pass across to the readers, it did not get in the way of my enjoyment of the story.

The art style is in no way unique but it does its job. The characters are quirky, yet relatable.


CHARACTER FOCUS - THE MANS
The Mans are a colony of what looks like a seal sitting in a pod-like machine. Their mobility and health deteriorate when separated from their machines, hence they tend to be seen sitting in the all the time. This pod machines also enable them to fly and seem to run on a combination of an unknown fuel and solar power.

The Mans are besothed with the beauty of logic, reasoning, and the use of artificial intelligence. They loathe anyone who is fixated on traditions and does not reason like they do. This inability to be logical and separate emotions from facts is one of the reasons they hate the Monks, a tribe of winged monkeys living nearby. Because the Monks rely on a fixed set of rules and absolute laws, the Mans see them as primitive and less-intelligent. This attitude informs the Mans' relationship with the Monks and the way they war with them, which is by sending pesky flying machines that are programmed to spout insulting words as they shoot at their targets.

Qora and Complainer

The Mans way of thinking does not just affect outsiders. it also affects the way they view one another too. A particular colony member is nicknamed "Complainer" due to displays disdain for the colony's fixation on their neighbours and their over-reliance on an artificial intelligence called AY. Because of Complainer's issues with the colony's lazy ways, the other members hate, deem him dangerous, and cannot wait to get rid of him. According to the leaders of the colony:

"He's (Complainer) perfectly suited, smaller than normal, more mobile. More inclined to... thinkinglaterally. He's... different. Never satisfied. Unpleasantly courageous. And therefore -  perhaps, yes-a little more... disposable than the rest of us."

War

Hence when the time comes for a dangerous mission that may result in death, they choose Complainer to go with a stray, rebellious Monk called Qora. More importantly, when the mission succeeds, the Mans prioritise the continuity of AY over the safety of few colony members they deemed not important enough. This decision would later cost them their lives, as the artificial intelligence, AY, prove to be an evil machine hibernating for centuries after its long battle with humans.

Angelic by Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard is published by Image Comics. It is available in all major online bookstores. Many thanks to Image comic for review copy.