Comic Book Review - Punkdroid Volume 1

A digital frontier that could be our saviour, or downfall… 

Brought to life by a wealth of writers and artists, Punkdroid is an anthology that looks into our own reliance on technology, social networks, and automation of our every day lives. It asks to what extent are we just unknowing slaves in an ever more digital environment, and will our reliance on machines ultimately be humanities downfall? 

Editor note: due to the nature of this anthology this review is intentionally going to skip over quite a lot of plot points. To deep dive into every strip within Punkdroid will really sour the experience. While there are some minor spoilers ahead, these shouldn’t detract from your own reading experience if you chose to add Punkdroid to your library. 

Across the thirteen collected tales within this anthology there’s quite a degree of themes at play. From hard hitting stories such as The Urge which delves into humanities darkest urges, to the more philosophical aspects such as that seen within What a Wonderful World, Punkdroid isn’t afraid to ask some very tough questions. This does mean that the anthology isn’t going to be for everyone and a lot of the shorts here don’t necessarily have a “good ending”. Instead they serve to get you asking your own questions to the scenarios presented within. 

As a 2000 AD fan quite a lot of what Punkdroid offered reminded me a lot of Tharg’s own “Futureshocks” with themselves often being social satire and parody of current affairs - with a “shocking “ ending. 

That being said there are a few stand out stories within Punkdroid. For me these are Redundant, Neon Princess X, and SS Shield 43. While these three are my personal stand outs there’s a wide range of themes and narratives that’ll suit everyone’s comic book tastes. Within each strip the creative team each do well to present a full story within eight pages. There’s quite a wide range of talent showcased within this anthology and it’s been a fresh experience to see some unfamiliar names. 

Even if some of the strips didn’t quite resonate with me, there’s more than a few writers and artists I’ll be looking out for in the future. A big shout out goes to Erik Calavera’s anime style art for Neon Princess X. Reading this instantly made me imagine what the artist could do if he was let lose on on of Alan Holloway’s Sentinel stories. Likewise, Carlos Lopez’ look into the dark world of The Urge painted a very bleak portrait of what our cyberpunk future could look like.

Overall, I found Punkdroid to be quite a difficult read. Instead of being a traditional anthology it’s somewhat informative on what our future could be if things stay how they are. The message is also a bit mixed with it simultaneously saying to reject technology, but if used correctly it can also benefit humanity rather than rise up and destroy us. Even if the overall message has flown well over my head, Punkdroid is jam packed with different ideas and opinions that are all superbly illustrated by a very talented team of artists. With volume #2 heading to Kickstarter sometime soon, what direction will publisher Unpopular Studio head in next? 

For now, we wait and see. 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social