Mister X: Razed

March 15, 2016

Mixing 1940s design with flying cars and wiseass robots, the Bauhaus-cyberpunk world of Mister X is one of "Murder and intrigue in the good old-fashioned future," quips Motter (Electropolis). These interlocking noir-themed stories feature architects trading in "psychotecture," a May-December marriage turned deadly, a futuristic twist on zombies, a bombastic mayoral race suggestive of the 2016 presidential election campaign, and the unhappy results of trying for easy money the hard way. A former architect, the mysterious Mister X functions as part detective, part narrative glue that holds the plots together. The stylish neutrals-plus-crimson art mingles retro-future panoramas of Radiant City with lifestyle details: rats in ceiling girders of abandoned buildings; an airplane that rivals Mamoru Oshii's vehicles in the anime Innocence; cracks and graffiti on once-elegant structures. The sharp writing incorporates numerous punning names (Anesta Robbins, Iphelia Payne) and sly pop culture inside jokes. Although Mister X comics first appeared in the 1980s, these new tales require no prior familiarity. VERDICT Beautiful work with a concept that has not aged beyond its appeal or lost its edge. Fans of noir and steampunk will enjoy; high school and up.--M.C.

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