by Joe Schickman, Reporter

In a future where androids are so advanced that the law requires them to have translucent skin to differentiate them from humans, and food can be 3D printed, four trillionaires have divided control of the United States among themselves into quadrants, constantly competing for resources and seeking any advantages over their rivals. As humanity evolves, so too does its capacity for violence, and after a fifth world war has left much of the planet desolate, we bear witness to the dangers of unfettered economic contests, and the natural results of creating our own replacements. Welcome to the world of Silicon Bandits from Magma Comics.

Official Synopsis:

In a near future where automation has caused mass unemployment, programmers Kenji and Aurora’s careers seemed safe. But when they are suddenly fired, the couple hatches a desperate plan: assemble the perfect bank-heist crew out of androids they programmed. The ensuing crime spree goes perfectly… until betrayal and sentience emerge in equally devastating turns!

Crime novelist and comic author Jason Starr (Wolverine Max, Ant-Man: Natural Enemy) reunites with Casual Fling collaborator Dalibor Talajic (Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe) in a tale with enough twists and turns to fry your circuits! Each issue features a variant cover by Goran Parlov (The Punisher)!

Creative Team: 
Story: Jason Starr 
Artist: Dalibor Talajic 
Colorist: Stjepan Bartolic
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Cover A: Dalibor Talajic & Stjepan Bartolic
Cover B: Goran Parlov
RI Cover: Mike Deodato & Joao Canola
Event Cover: Mike Deodato

Since the invention of the plow, the dichotomy between improving our lives through technological advancement and decreasing the value of human labor have propelled those who seek to take advantage to soaring heights, while leaving the rest without recourse except to seek an alternate way to pioneer new breakthroughs and survive. In Silicon Bandits #1, we see idealist, Programmer Aurora Withers, and her husband, designer Kenji Sato, a realist who wants to start a family, create superhuman androids for their US quadrant’s CEO, Etan Crane. These advanced humanoid robots, dubbed the Crane Forty Sevens, have the ability to survive the harshest environments deemed uninhabitable by nuclear fallout and radiation, promising to increase Crane’s wealth even further. Crane espouses that trickle down economics will cause this newest product to improve the lives of all the shareholders (citizens) within his quadrant, but Kenji Sato worries that their creation will become the next weapons of mass destruction through their already planned military applications. 

However, Kenji does not have long to wrestle with the ramifications of this dilemma, as Crane decides to fire him and Aurora and use the Crane Forty Sevens as replacement engineers.  Aurora and Kenji’s own creations are used to coldly escort them out of the building, with no remorse or regard for their creators’ livelihoods. Though Aurora was blindsided by this turn of events, Kenji saw it as inevitable, and had a secret plan in the works to bring down Etan Crane. Now free to enact this plot for revenge, and perhaps justice, he and Aurora begin the next phase of their lives, with the help of a new and unorthodox family, one which begs the question of what truly makes us human, our biology or our capacity for compassion and kindness? But their plan may be in jeopardy before it even truly gets underway, as a mysterious figure from Kenji’s past comes back and threatens to ruin everything. 

As with many of the most prolific writers in science fiction, Jason Starr has taken the most palpable anxieties faced today and pushed them to what could be seen as the foregone conclusion in Silicon Bandits No. 1. This bleak look at where we might be headed is beautifully clothed in a world of possibility and promise, stylishly represented by the beautiful works of artist Dalibor Talajic and colorist Stjepan Bartolic. The world feels futuristic, yet very familiar, and the story all too viable. The ending abruptly leaves us concerned for our protagonists, and eager to see what befalls them next. 

[Rating: 4/5]
ComicsOnline gives Silicon Bandits #1 from Magma Comics – 4 out of 5 Brain Probes.

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