One of my favorite science fiction tropes are robots. Robots present a wonderful combination of our genius and arrogance, and our fears and hopes of the future. No genre creates such a different kind of story and reflects our humanity. One of our biggest fears is that robots would take over. What would happen if they did? What if in the post-apocalyptic world, there is only one human being left? The rest of the remains of the world belonged to them.
Welcome to Origins.
The Book
Origins
Created by Arash Amel, Lee Krieger, and Joseph Oxford
Script by Clay McCleod Chapman
Illustrated by Jakub Rebelka
Colors by Patricio Delpeche
Letters by Jim Campbell
Published by Boom! Studios
The story begins with a story. While Rebelka and Delpeche paint us beautiful and haunting images of a post-apocalyptic world, there is a dialogue between Chloe and David. David wants to hear the story of how Chloe found him, and Chloe obliges. She talks about finding him in a world where they eat boys and girls like him. David is the last boy and she found him before the world could devour him. They talk about another man named David who created the world they lived in today. David asks like him and Chloe says yes, and there is a sense of foreboding when you read that, especially when you hear that Chloe had found him before. Issue two you find out exactly what that means.
It turns out David had died before, and Chloe had found him. This David was that David and through his programming, Chloe was able to remake him. At this point in the story, David uploads memories from what happened a thousand years ago. It’s dark stuff, and throughout all this, the story Chloe tells is in the background
Chloe is a robot. She doesn’t bleed or die and is trying to help David resurrect humanity. Once we and David know what’s going on the story picks up from here.
Issue three is my favorite of the series. Chloe and David stumble onto a place where robots desire to serve humanity. David sees the things he created still desperately desire to serve and have a purpose. It makes him look at the legacy he and mankind had left behind. It evolved his perspective on his views on his creations and his relationship with Chloe. He doesn’t just see her as a robot.
The opposition is other machines who had destroyed humanity in the past. I’m not going to spoil much beyond this, but this had action, and an unexpected sacrifice I didn’t see coming.
I really dug how David and Chloe evolved in their relationships. Chloe started as a mother figure, and when David learns the truth his outlook with her changes, and his too. Their evolution is the great character stuff in a very solid science fiction tale. Clay McCleod Chapman added a lot of heart to this concept. He made it his own and told a fun tale.
Jakub Rebelka and Patricio Delpeche illustrated a fun tale. Their ability to create post-apocalyptic scenery, make the robots and the world scary, haunting, and yet familiar was well done. They captured David’s emotions quite well and gave Chloe a very surprising human touch. They did a wonderful job with this.
If you didn’t get the miniseries, get the trade, especially if you are a fan of robot science fiction. This reminds me very much of an old-school Robert J. Sawyer yarn. Definitely worth buying the trade.
The Business
My podcast set a personal best this week. My numbers are very close to my goal. I want to thank you guys for watching or listening, however, you do it. I’ve had a great set of six hundred shows so far. I’ve only just begun accomplishing what I’ve set out to do. I hope you guys check it out.
While you’re at it, feel free to stop by and check out my friend Suzy Vadori and her podcast Inspired Writing. If you’re a writer, take a look at her tips and advice. I may or may not have produced it. Watch it here.
My book Alice Won is coming out in November first. My book Alice Zero is nominated for the Elgin Award. If you like Alice in Wonderland mashed up with Greek Mythology, that book is for you. Have a look at it on Amazon.
Finally, if you need your comic edited, some writing work, or podcast work, definitely check me out here. Stay inspired and keep making beautiful things.
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