2019. It seemed so far away in 1982 with Ridley Scott's neo-noir dystopian view of Los Angeles. After the passage of 37 years, we still don't have any flying cars, android sheep or murderous replicants (okay, that last one is actually a good thing.) But thanks to Titan Comics' new series Blade Runner 2019, the future is finally here!

Blade Runner 2019 #1

Written by Michael Green, Mike Johnson
Art by Andres Guinaldo
Covers by: Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau, Andres Guinaldo, Syd Mead, John Royle
Published by Titan Comics
Pages: 24
Retail: $3.99

Blade Runner 2019 takes place right around the time that Rick Deckard has his hands busy apprehending Roy Batty's group of android fugitives. It focuses on the new character of Ash Ashina; a Blade Runner with an impressive kill list.

While Ash works with the police department of Los Angeles retiring 'skinjobs', she makes extra money selling the body parts of her retired replicants on the black market. With the number of illegal replicants dwindling on earth, Ash picks up a contract looking for a missing woman and her 4-year old child.

I wish there was more to say about the plot of this first issue. I'm absolutely thrilled that Titan Comics has brought back the return of the Blade Runner universe. Blade Runner 2019 is the first ever series comprised of all-new stories and characters which are all canon to the films. However, 24-pages really isn't enough to properly introduce a new main character as well as make the reader interested in coming back for issue #2.

I really think that Titan should have made this premiere issue double-sized. 24 pages was enough to make Ash intriguing. But I feel very little connection to the woman and child that the Blade Runner has been hired to find. But I must say that I am ready to return to this universe in the pages of the second issue!

Other than being obsessed with Blade Runner, another reason I am willing to continue reading this series is all thanks to the writing and the art. This story is written by someone who knows this franchise intimately, Blade Runner 2049's Michael Green. Along with Mike Johnson (Star Trek) and artist Andres Guinaldo (Justice League Dark), Michael Green takes the reader on the tour of vital and recognizable locales. As we view Ash's day, we are taken to the L.A. skyline, the aqueduct, the street markets as well as the never-before-seen setting, the archipelago of Santa Barbara. While the Tyrell family is mentioned in this book, I have a feeling that the Tyrell Corporation is going to be off-limits in this series.

The artwork of the characters wasn't as stunning as that of the settings and the technology. Guinado's image of Ash's police car hovering over the police station was so perfect, I thought it was an image straight from the 1982 film. I especially loved the effects given to the spotlights of the cars and cityscape. I was in awe of how they glowed and gave off a reflective halo. Clearly, the artist of this series has done his homework on how the Blade Runner universe is supposed to look!

I think that I am going to love Blade Runner 2019. But I think it's going to be as series in which one will get more enjoyment out of reading as a collected trade. A single issue just isn't enough time to be engrossed in a living-breathing franchise such as Blade Runner.

This is not a realm for quick trips. Honestly, I would be happy if Titan decided to forgo this series as a monthly and instead release it as a quarterly oversize book full of one complete story. per volume. We live in the future of Blade Runner 2019. This sort of publishing arrangement ought to exist in this turbulent present time of the comic industry's re-structuring.

Please consider this Titan. Blade Runner 2019 is one title I don't want to see retired!
Blade Runner 2019 debuts in print and digital platforms on July 17, 2019.
For more info on this awesome new series from Titan, check out the trailer for issues #1 here!

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

This review was originally published July 16, 2019 on Outrightgeekery.com.