Review – Symmetry #2 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Matt Hawkins
Artist: Raffaele Ienco
Release Date: 20th January, 2016

In the last issue of Symmetry, we were introduced to a seemingly perfect Utopia, where people were genetically modified and controlled. Born sexless, they chose their own names and genders come the age of 13 and would go on to live long lives to civility of leisure. However, we soon learned that their society was racially separated and human kind were reliant on robots to do their bidding; then came a solar flare that wiped out the machines, and returned man to a state of forced autonomy.

Symmetry #2 picks up in the near future as chaos has broken out following the blast. The main character Michael is discovering the world and its other ethnicities for the first time as he’s stranded in the wild. Elsewhere, society is in a state of chaos, as people start discovering violence and disorder. Needless to say, it’s no longer so seemingly perfect, but it’s a lot more exciting for us readers.

Symmetry raises some thought provoking questions about mankind’s reliance on technology. As a species, do we depend on it too much? At the moment it would seem like writer Matt Hawkins is trying to say we do on the surface, although digging deeper he might just be saying we don’t need it for everything. Then there’s the issue of ethnic segregation, which is another relevant topic touched upon worth pondering over. Furthermore, it raises the question of would we be willing to sacrifice our individuality for a better society? Overall, it doesn’t seem to have a good opinion of humanity, and why should it? Our track record isn’t exactly the best.

As a pessimist, I enjoyed Symmetry’s underlying commentary about humanity being a mess. However, now the optimist in me is looking forward to seeing how Michael and the gang survive the little pickle they find themselves in, now that they don’t have their robots to tuck them in and wipe their arse. Aside from a few characterisations I’m not on board with yet, I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes. However, I suspect the characters will improve once they start discovering their individuality. At the moment, I didn’t find any of them engaging at all. However, the society they’re a part of is fascinating enough to make it not much of an issue.

There are some great ideas in Symmetry, and it’s on course to becoming an enjoyable Utopian sci-fi fare. It flips the script in some ways to standout from other stories of a similar ilk, so if you’re a fan of this genre I highly recommend it. If not, I doubt this will change your mind.

Rating: 3/5.

The writer of this piece was: Kieran Fisher
Kieran Tweets from @HairEverywhere_.