| Print |

Written by Sarah Boslaugh Thursday, 04 June 2009 17:00

Viral video gets taken to the extreme in this new original graphic novel.

144 pgs., B&W; 12.95

(W: Thomas J. Behe; A: Phil Elliott)

I used to live with a family whose mother worked for the local police department. When videophones were a brand new invention (then more a topic for conversation than a reality in anyone's home) her first thought was that they'd add a whole new dimension to obscene phone calls. Contraband takes that thought one step further: in a world where people commonly watch video content on their mobile phones, "citizen-journalists" compete to post the most outrageous material to the Contraband channel.  Or as one of the channel's owners puts it: the challenge is "capturing sensational enough video to appeal to a cash-rich time-poor audience."

Doesn't that sound like our world, only more so? The top five videos on Contraband, early in the story's action, are:

•1.      Charlotte's Afghanistan Capture

•2.      Machete Maniac Wanders Around Mozambique

•3.      Insane Bull Horns Highwayman in Istanbul

•4.      Suicidal Bus Driver Busts through Brunel's Bridge

•5.      Newly Found Seal Pup Slaughtered on Icy Land

Not much investigative reporting or enlightened commentary on that list: giving the people what they want results, at least in the future Europe imagined in Contraband, in a rapid race to the bottom.

Of course there are dangers associated with running around shooting video of everything you see-which the protagonist Toby (an old-school nerd working in the almost-obsolete place of business known as an internet café) discovers to his chagrin when he runs captures images of two brutal thugs, Tucker and Plugger,  brutalizing a woman. Soon he's forced to work for them to try to locate Charlotte, a freedom fighter of sorts who is trying to sabotage the Contraband channel and thus threatens their livelihood.

Contraband then becomes Toby's journey into the heart of darkness which lies below the surface of his seemingly normal world. The further he digs, the less clear things become, and he becomes conflicted over whose side to take and what he should do.  The story moves fast and jumps around in time, making it a challenge to follow, and Thomas J. Behe's characters speak like tough guys in a futuristic British film noir, which is actually pretty close to the tone of Contraband. Phil Elliott's simple layouts and spare style present a shabby future world rich in technology but devoid of beauty.  All in all, Contraband is an interesting exploration of the influence of technology on a society not too different from our own, and well worth the effort sometimes required to decode the characters' slang and to keep track of what's going on in the story.

Contraband is unrated: the ruthless and violent nature of the world depicted suggests it's probably best for high school and up. Further information, a preview of the first chapter and a video promo clip are available from http://www.contrabandcomic.com/. | Sarah Boslaugh