24/7 Vols 1 and 2

In our culture, we live under the rule of the machine. It is like the first Terminator film where all you can think about is the end of mankind by a Terminator's hand and gun. By the third movie [not as bad as Robocop 2], the machine is a person, a champion, a hero.

We identify with the robot and their story: the robot is the person as a machine, sharing our problems limitations, discovering limitations in design.

24/7, edited by Ivan Brandon, is storytelling in a robot city in tandem with our own, a future present of smoky noir and melodrama, unfufilled dreams, gang crime, and tales of redemption. Most of it looks like New York.

At the collection's best Brandon's selections tell great stories, like the tale of a man who just wants his dog back after getting out of jail ["The Pit" by John Ney Reiber/Chris Brunner, Vol 1], or the story of a heist double-cross ["Getaway" by Ivan Brandon/Calum Alexander Watt Vol 2].

If reading about drugs, cops, and fights in comics is what you're all about, this collection will give you plenty of spilt oil. Stories take cues straight from a video game ["Coast 2 Coast" by Mark Sable Vol 2], or horror film ["Static" by Matt Fraction/Frazer Irving Vol 1].

Adam Hughes or Ashley Wood are here, too, and are some of my favorites. Their work is great in Vol 2, telling stories with one picture and few words.

I also really like the cute ninja robot action story ["Old Fashioned" by Dave Grosland Vol 1]. 24/7 Volume 1 is a great read, with Vol. 2 showcasing very strong visual variations on the theme. It's a good follow up.

Choose your own adventure.

By Guest Contributor: Mark Denardo