Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The future is a manner of all possibilities perhaps forgotten, the imaginations of some of the greatest minds in literature having spelled out utopia and dystopia in equal measure, the threat of alien incursion, of disease, of technology gone awry a finer spark on the human soul it seems than the chance of peace and harmony across the world and the Universe beyond. Utopia is a cradle in which boredom festers, the human mind finds ways to look upon this sanitised creation and knows that it is an unrealistic venture, better to try and create a space in the disarray and confusion, the one bright spot in a world of darkness; it is after all why films such as Blade Runner, The Terminator, 2001 A Space Odyssey and Alien sell more than the idea of overall tranquillity.
We seek knowledge, we gain a fascination with the world of technology that has come to be part of our everyday lives, and yet, at what cost, what price are we paying for the privilege of having automation do every possible thing for us, job losses, the human need for social contact and validation is sacrificed, it is torn from our D.N.A. and at that point it has the ability to change us into something less than human, less than a person; it is enough for a cry to be heard above the sound of life being conceived, that I Feel Machine.
The latest release from the graphic novel publishers SelfMadeHero sees six international comic book artists, Shaun Tan, Box Brown, Tillie Walden, Erik Svetoft, Julian Hanshaw and Krent Able, take up the challenge of defining what the future could bring, in an age in which we were promised so much and which has barely begun to show any type of movement towards a promised, and hopeful utopian dream.
How to frame such ideas, to not find yourself boxed in by old outdated tropes and abandoned scenarios; the future is after all within our hands, the widespread use of computers and information has got to the point where even 20 years ago would have seemed absurd to the writer of science fiction; and yet the future perhaps has never less assured, technology has not run amok, but it has become a dangerous tool in many of the wrong hands, one that can eliminate all that has been gained, all that has been achieved.
The trouble with the future is that is always moulded by those who see it as their duty to polish it into their image, for all the despots and bad apples parading as people of the state and their countries best hope, all too often do these individuals become slaves to notion of driving humanity into an ever more intolerant place. It is with this in mind that the stories brought before the attention of the reader, such as Uploading, Bloody Kids, STHLMTRANSFER, resonate with such passion, the artist understanding that to be mindful of the past mistakes is to pray that the future, our place within this technological hothouse, is one of kindness and hope, and not the mass descent into humans being little more than the tool they are using, the flesh and blood covering an unfeeling and synthetic heart.
A powerful set of stories, a sense of drama opening up on every page, I Feel Machine is a warning and a promise of what is only around the corner.
I Feel Machine is released by SelfMadeHero on September 20th.
Ian D. Hall