You’ve probably heard the expression “walking a thousand miles in another person’s shoes,” but Vicarious #1 from Ryan Parrott and Eleonora Carlini takes it to a whole other level. In the future, “Proxies” – human beings with a cutting-edge biological implant – make money by letting the rich and powerful experience their lives through a mind-link. Enter Justin Bright: a twentysomething who is literally down on his luck. A chance encounter introduces Justin to the world of Proxies, but also opens up a whole new form of danger.
From the jump, I was surprised by how well Parrott continues to write young adult stories – which, given his work on Power Rangers and Rogue Sun, is no surprise – but also with how he’s taken the idea of parasocial relationships to its ultimate extreme with the Proxies. We’ve all followed celebrities, singers, athletes, and other famous figures online and gotten a burst of euphoria if they followed us, or worse start lambasting them when we feel like they’ve failed us. How does that change when you could literally feel what one of those people does?
Parrott also has a great lead in Justin. In one page, readers will see him go through a series of job interviews, each one featuring him trying to spin his experience or lack thereof into a way to win a job. Not only is this is a hilarious moment, but it also showcases what would drive Justin to become a Proxy; after all, if you want somebody to pay for the experience of living your life, you should try to sell yourself.
Parrott is reunited with one of his Power Rangers artists in Carlini, who adopts a manga-influenced style for Vicarious. Whenever Justin is smiling (or forcing a smile), sparkles dart around his eyes. A drunken stupor at a bar has his eyes narrowed, and a razor-sharp line of teeth. Carlini also hasn’t lost her flair for action sequences; a fight between Justin and some street thugs is full of hyper-fast punches and kicks, and a parkour scene features a disturbingly dizzy view of San Francisco.
BOOM!
Carlini also manages to bring the sci-fi elements forward from the very first page, as each Proxy has a glowing light in the center of their chest – along with tattoos that resemble intricate circuitry. In the very first page, the bloody process of becoming a Proxy is shown, but that is somewhat undercut by a series of panels that display the experiences people are willing to shell out top cash for. All of it is rendered in hypnotic color by Mattia Iacono and Luca Mattoni, with Becca Carey overlaying speech bubbles and video call bubbles to showcase the connection – or lack of connection – between a Proxy and their customer.
Vicarious #1 delivers a surprisingly engaging, and somewhat sinister, slice of sci-fi – and a final page that serves as a dark reminder that some people will go to any lengths to live another person’s life. It also has me craving the next issue.
You must be logged in to post a comment.