The Private Eye (volumes 1 & 2)

The Private Eye (Volumes 1 & 2) by Brian K. Vaughan & Marcos Martin (2013/2015 Image Comics eBook 300p)

 

Being a fan of the Cyberpunk science fiction sub-genre, I once bookmarked a particular website’s list of the supposed best Cyberpunk books. Like most of such lists you find online it had some familiar titles mixed in with other obscure works that make you scratch your head somewhat. One of the entries was a graphic novel The Private Eye from a decade ago. I have vague memories of it receiving some hype at the time but I didn’t really pay attention to the title until recently. I checked how to get hold of a copy and found there’s only an expensive ‘deluxe’ version if you wish for a physical book. However further investigation led me to another website where The Private Eye had originally been serialised – you can still purchase it in that form or choose to buy two volumes that collect the whole run. What’s even better is you can choose your price and select what digital format you wish to download it in. So, once I’d completed that process, I had a couple of landscape format pdf files on my iPad and off I went.

Set in the 2070s, the story turns out to be relatively simple – a PI takes a case and soon finds himself immersed into crime and conspiracy that threatens himself and those he holds dear.

 It’s the background and world that Vaughan and Martin have created that makes this something special. Sometime in our near future ‘The Burst’ occurs and everybody on earth’s private details and personal information becomes available to everybody else. In reaction the internet is outlawed and in the following decades society is restructured to become privacy obsessed. At a certain age all individuals gain the right to obscure their identities and live a life of secrecy. On the streets people wear everything from simple masks to elaborate costumes incorporating holograms and other advanced technologies. State-sanctioned journalists enforce the laws and everything is just a little bit weirder than in our times. Most of this background is delivered organically as the story proceeds rather than in the form of info dumps and its very skillfully done.

The main character known simply as PI is a young man with a rough past and something of a grudge against society. Through flash-backs we learn how he gathered a small group of friends and associates that help him bend and dodge the laws of his world to help others. He lives with his grandfather who is a remnant of our time and reminisces about the glory of the once connected online world. A mysterious woman approaches PI with a case and is soon found murdered herself, PI then teams up with her very capable but still grieving sister and their adventures begin.

Although talky in parts the story is accelerated by frequent action sequences which show off Marcos Martin’s exquisite artwork. There’s a lot of detail and in-jokes in the art, some of which take a couple of reads to appreciate.

The main weakness in the story (to me at least) was the main villain’s cunning plan - (SPOILERS!) to revive the internet by somehow linking the world’s TV-like appliances via a single satellite he plans to launch into orbit. It seemed very half-baked and low-stakes stuff to me. Every time the rocket involved was shown It bugged me further – the artist clearly based it on the Soviet era Proton booster without any explanation how such a machine could end up in 2070s California. Oh well maybe that’s just the space buff in me.

Each of the digital volumes is rounded out by examples of original concept art and pitch documents etc and are well worth the price you can name yourself.

I enjoyed my immersion into the future world of The Private Eye, the story may not always hold up but it’s a colourful and thought-provoking experience.