Book Review

New Romancer by Peter Milligan and Brett Parson

New Romancer is a comic about a coder who accidentally brings Lord Byron to life and calls him on his shit while also harboring an intense crush on him. It has a fun story by Peter Milligan and fantastic art by Brett Parson. What’s not to like?

Lexy works for an online dating company called New Romancer. She’s trying to launch a new program that uses a unique algorithm based on historical figures. Since she was a teen, she’s been in love with Lord Byron, which is inconvenient since Lexy lives in the present and Byron died in 1824. Due to a combination of mad science, mad computing, and what appears to be some kind of industrial conspiracy, a number of people in a secret lab become inhabited by the personalities of people from Lexy’s algorithms – most notably Lord Byron, who is portrayed as amoral but benign (and, for such a genius poet, not very bright), and Casanova, who is a terrifying killer who revels in his new opportunities for murder and sex.

Lexy is an incredibly loveable heroine. The trope of the socially inept geek girl has been done to death, but in Lexy’s case her backstory is so mysterious and interesting that her fascination with fantasy at the expense of reality feels fresh and poignant instead of stale and sexist. She works with another woman who doesn’t seem to share her problems, so it’s clear that her emotional issues have more to due with her upbringing with her mad scientist father (who she adores, despite the fact that he’s in prison) than her gender. Lexy and her coworkers have the kind of camaraderie of three besieged people working as a team that feels very real, with Lexy bringing the passion and her coworkers bringing the practicality to the New Romancer online dating project. They are all clearly stressed and yet all in this together, struggling to get their company underway under a tight schedule.

New Romancer

Lexy is a naïve romantic, but she’s also not a pushover. I love it that when her long time dream lover Byron himself shows up, she’s more than willing to call him out on his shit in the past and the present. This version of Bryon is somewhat hapless, somewhat silly, but well able to bring on the seduction when he wants to. He’s also almost allergic to taking responsibility for anything, and as sexy as Lexy may find him to be, she never lets him get away with that attitude. In real life, Byron was a terrible, terrible guy so I’m glad the comic doesn’t completely overlook his cavalier attitude towards other people.

The art is whimsical and fun, which a great sense of motion. The unusually shaped panels give the story playful energy, and the characters’ bodies reveal a lot about them. Lexy is all energetic angles and big, emotional eyes, and be sure to watch Byron’s hair when he transitions from ‘Guy in Lab’ to ‘Lord Byron.’ It’s a hoot. The story is fast paced and a lot of that sense of energy comes from the art, drawn by Brett Parson. It’s a great match of words and artistic style. If anything, the pace is a little too fast – between the breakneck pace and the fact that we are only on episode two I’m frankly fuzzy about the details of what’s going on (hence the ‘B’ grade).

New-Romancer-001-(2016)-(Digital-Empire)-011

As of this writing, New Romancer is two issues in. Issue #3 comes out on February 10, and to my INTENSE delight it will feature Mata Hari and Ada Lovelace. With so many historical characters coming into play, I expect that as the series goes on it will become even more fun and more chaotic. I’m certainly excited to see whether Mata Hari teams up with Byron, Casanova, or takes a third option, and what happens when Ada Lovelace meets a smart phone.

One thing I fervently hope is that the fates of the poor people in the lab in Issue #1 are addressed. Lord Byron has basically taken over the body of another person (not intentionally). What happens to that guy? There’s no happy ending if it comes at the price of a set of humans who are being replaced with other humans.

At this point, I don’t know if this comic will turn into a comedy about romance (the date at the beginning of Issue #2 is laugh out loud funny) or a romantic comedy (i.e., a story in which the main characters find romantic bliss). Personally, I’m hoping Lexy doesn’t end up with Byron, partly because I absolutely hate the historical Byron and partly because I wouldn’t accept a happy ending that means that the people in the lab who are essentially possessed by historical figures are lost forever. I’m certainly hoping that Lexy ends up finding some kind of happiness, though, and I’m quite optimistic about the author’s ability to surprise and delight me. And please, like I’m not going to read a comic book with Ada Lovelace in it!

Issues of New Romance  are available at the vendors below and at Comixology!

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New Romancer #1 by Peter Milligan

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  1. denise says:

    while we can all love Byron as a poet and writer, his personal life left much to b e desired… agreed in hoping she doesn’t end up involved with him…

  2. Maz says:

    Oh, neat review! I’ll be definitely picking up this comic tomorrow. 🙂

    Have you heard about Fresh Romance? I picked it up based on the cover for the first issue and got hooked. One of the things I liked was how inclusive this series is regarding sexual orientation. Fair warning that in the first arc (basically the 6 issues that have been published so far), not all romances end happily. Still, I think it’s worth checking out because it’s sweet and occasionally whimsical romance in a new (at least to me) format.

  3. Maz says:

    Arg, I hit the submit button way too quickly!

    Forgot to add that, AFAIK, Fresh Romance is available in digital format only. I imagine that’s a dealbreaker for some people who prefer physical copies. It isn’t for me, but I thought I’d mention it.

  4. Maz says:

    @CarrieS I should’ve figured that you already did, LOL! (Thanks for the links!)

  5. Doug Glassman says:

    This raised my interest due to the creative team and the artwork, not to mention the punny title. I might have to check it out now.

  6. Huh, this seems like potential fun, and I DO have a Comixology account!

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