Kevin McCarthy and Kyle Baker have created one of the most exciting and vibrant worlds in comics today in their new comic Circuit Breaker. Now Circuit Breaker is best described as a mixture of Astroboy meets Megaman in the hybrid style of American-Japanese comics. The comic focuses on a female robot, Chiren, who has chosen to side with humanity and is disabling robots that are participating in a rebellion. The comic has both good and bad points as it is a familiar story inside an exciting colorful world yet the comic has some areas that require a person to be a smart reader and piece together the story.
The good:
The first issue of Circuit Breaker introduces many elements into the comic from character, setting, and back history that bring this comic to life. The main character in Circuit Breaker, Chiren, receives character development as the first issue goes on. Initially we see her looking like a normal girl, but as she subdues a robot we see that she is herself a robot. As a result she has neutralized her fellow species and we as readers are introduced to a more complicated character, who opposes her own kind, even though humanity does not appreciate her efforts. Furthermore, the comic provides a back history of why the robots have started to rebel against humanity. In doing so, it creates empathy and sympathy for the robots as they were treated badly, which most people can relate to. This in many ways generates a divided feeling as on one hand you understand why the robots are rebelling but on the other hand you realize they are wrong to kill humanity. Finally, the comic’s pace is unique as it is always engaging. The 1st issue knows when to speed up and introduce action and when to slow down to explain what has happened and provide backstory. This establishes a basis for other issues to build upon.
The Bad:
The 1st issue is not perfect by any means. In particular, the issue is choppy as it shifts between back history and action scenes and what has occurred with the main character Chiren. Now the comic can be followed but it requires you as the reader to assume elements of the story. This can be frustrating and it might take a few rereads of panels to piece together what has occurred. Furthermore, the comic is nothing new but is telling an older story in a modern way with slight variation, which for some people does not deliver. As a result the comic requires work from the reader for a story that only modifies what has been previously told before.
The Verdict:
Circuit Breaker is a tough comic to make a call on based on the first issue. The comic has elements from various different mediums including video games, animes, mangas, novels, and films, which are present in the plot, artwork, and style. In having these elements it is nice on the one hand to see a comic pay tribute to prior works but is also not a new concept. This comic is not the easiest to read, as it requires a reader to make assumptions and in many cases use prior works to figure out what is occurring in the story. As a result, my verdict for Circuit Breaker is that it is an average comic that has a great concept and interesting artwork but is a difficult read.
