Review: Spectators

Spectators by Brian K Vaughan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's no Saga but it's still a fun read that gives you a lot to think about - particularly with the current state of the world.

The story is a ghostly observation of a dystopian future, in which the world is on the brink of collapse. Two voyeuristic ghosts form a friendship as they explore the world in its current state, providing an interesting reflection on sex and violence.

There's plenty of kinky stuff and there's plenty of violence, and between the two it makes for a really intriguing story that asks why some things are taboo and others not. It's honest and frank about the nature of humans and it's a somewhat depressing view.

I enjoyed the way this made me think. I'm trying to be a little more open-minded when it comes to sex in media (I've always been quite a prude about it, so this kind of story hits its target audience with me) and this made me appropriately uncomfortable. At the same time, I enjoyed the challenge it put forth and how cleverly it did so.

The artwork is fun, creating depth and beauty when needed and laying the story out in clever panels. The narrative was easy to follow and the art definitely complemented the story. This was a brilliant use of the medium - a novel of this story wouldn't hit nearly as hard as this did with the visual accompaniment.

This won't be for everyone, but I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a sci-fi take on sex vs violence.

With thanks to Image Comics for an ARC

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