Alex + Ada #3

by Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn

It’s true that Alex + Ada is a futuristic sci-fi love story but it’s also a pretty jarring example of how society would react to the concept of humanistic androids and the idea of artificial Intelligence in general.  As humanity slowly evolves to the point to where we depend on technology to run certain aspects of our lives, it’s only a matter of time before the fictional story of Alex + Ada might actually be a true story.

Poor depressed Alex now has the company of Ada, his android servant or slave (not sure what the PC term would be to describe her is) and is starting to show signs that he likes her and enjoys her company. Unfortunately for Alex it seems he is looking for something more than just a submissive servant and it seems he is more interested in Ada having the ability of free thought. This whole concept is both simple and deep and in this age of rapid advances to technology it seems almost like an omen of the future.

Nothing in Alex + Ada seems very farfetched which is almost scary to think about. Sometimes when you read a sci-fi series some of the concepts seem like they are from a far advanced future or a different dimension entirely. With this series, things like using your brain to psychically control most everyday items from your television, to your phone calls to even the locks on your doors. It feels like only a matter of a few more years before Apple decides to invent the iJack so we can get all out favorite apps directly into our skull. The high concept in this issue is how they browse the internet, which is like literally walking into the net as an avatar of your choosing to browse whatever it is you are looking for. Even though these days forums seem like they are already on the verge of extinction, here they are literally like a vast room to hang out with others who share similar interests, ala a bar or pub.

Luna’s art still has his unique style but he has also put a lot of effort into portraying a world not too far from our own and introduces futuristic concepts that still feel extremely realistic. The whole notion of a love story has been overplayed since it’s probably the oldest story told through the ages but it’s things like this that put a fresh look at a recognizable idea. Alex + Ada is such a deep story that not only entertains you but also makes you think about how dependent we, as a society, depend on technology and where do we draw the line?