Review: Second Shift by Kit Anderson
How about a bit of psychological sci-fi in a future crafted by AI and algorithmic influence controlled by mega corporation TERRACORP with its own seedy, terrifying slogan and dreamscape reality in art that melts the imaginings and blends the beauty of its reality? Drop in to Second Shift by Kit Anderson.
Second Shift is published by those amazing folks at Avery Hill, who constantly manage to produce exceptional comics. We got a look at the slate of releases for this year, and once again, Avery Hill will be delighting comic book fans with the exciting prospects to come. Hopefully, we will be right there to share the latest with you, and first off, kicking things off with a banger is Second Shift.
Kit Anderson is an Ignatz-nominated cartoonist from Boulder, Colorado, now based near Zürich. Her previous works include Lookout Station, Weeds, Quests, The Basement and Safer Places. She is also a print designer and comic editor with an MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies. Second Shift is Kit's first long-form comic, and by crikey, it's a special one that I'd love to tell you about.
So, let's start with the art. Kit Anderson's art in Second Shift is fantastically fascinating. It breathes a dreamy essence that encapsulates the story and always carries an undercurrent of isolative emotion. Even busy panels somehow exude this feeling that sitting underneath is an expanse of emptiness. It's not that the art is devoid of anything, far from it in fact, it carries a weighty emotion in every panel, but this undercurrent, which seems artistically deliberate, seeps out. I felt, while enjoying this art, that there was always more of it that I could feel but couldn't see.
The chapter end insertion of TERRACORP messages is a great inclusion stylistically, as the jarring wedge of corporate reminder adds a clinical feeling edge before Kit's comic art pulls you back into the dreamy reality portrayed.
The colour work further bolsters the emotion in a wonderfully tangible way with its own watercolour-like quality that just ties everything together neatly. Special note must be made of Kit's depictions of "Station" as a really charming collection of animals which hold a lot of character and still deliver a hint of lifeless AI minion to proceedings. Kits' light and reflection compositions stand out as well for exuding exceptional quality, making for some beautiful moments. All round dreamy art full of gorgeous moments. On to the story then.
Kit Anderson has a gem of sci-fi delight here in the story of Birdie Doran and their work on a terraforming outpost station. Second Shift is chock full of great sci-fi concepts where the details push the originality while the ambiguity of certain elements leave lovely lasting questions without frustration. Primarily, Second Shift is a story of isolation, a sense of duty and the lines between internal and external reality. It's the sense of reality that Kit manages to do such an incredible job of bending and playing with while providing a clear and interesting universe of sci-fi ideas.
Although a long book, this one doesn't feel like a long read and by the end, it's well worth jumping back into to have equally enjoyable re-reads full of revelation. There's a lot to unpack with this one, which means multiple reads will always garner rewards, especially with the non-linear storytelling revelation.
A small detail I found quite interesting is the story's AI character Station. It's the fact that Station isn't a standard trope of menacing corporate AI, like say a HAL 9000, more a corporate tool of limits, which felt refreshing in a way. Regardless of politics, or perhaps because of them, towards AI, one that has these limits just felt harmless and a nice antidote to the scary, limitless potential. Although I see the menace that is the TERRACORP AI and algorithm influence, this one feels a bit more clinical and sterile, like the sinister work has already been done, and those in Birdie's position just need a tool. This is a small detail that I've already gone on too much of a tangent about when the rest of this story is so much deeper and interesting.
The isolation, which is captured so well by the art and the lines of reality explored in this one, is a wealth of thought-provoking reading, but it is hard to address without spoilers, other than a perhaps obvious allegory for the trappings of corporate-sponsored capitalism or indeed any career that you feel led into. However, Kit lands some fantastic moments throughout Second Shift where ambiguity enriches, leaving plenty of interest to have more from this universe.
Another personnel highlight would be the Dungeons and Dragons-esque "trip" for injecting a fun fantasy element and the stories' approach to AI-generated surroundings in general, something further cemented by all those reminders from TERRACORP, which are written to perfection in tone and presentation as to further bolster the sci-fi elements. All in all, Second Shift is a story full of interesting emotion, the feeling of isolation leaks out of the art in a really inescapably tangible way, and the ambiguity in some plot elements offers a rich sci-fi premise in places and draw your own conclusion, interpretation-heavy ideas as to the nature of the character's reality.
For fans of psychological sci-fi, isolation, autonomous cheery farmers, algorithms, projections, terraforming, the nature of corporate controlled reality and its psychological impact on a mind along with what really could be happening at the other station could it be…..//REDACTED TERRACORP FOR LIFE LIFE FOR TERRACORP// nature, cute animals and museums in art to draw you in and transport you away, wake up to Second Shift by Kit Anderson.
To get your copy, pre-orders are available on the awesome Avery Hill website here or the amazing independent comic book store OK comics here. With a June 5th release, there's plenty of time to secure your experience, but I wouldn't hesitate, as this one is worth it.
Review: 4.8/5
