Cyberpunk Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

A list of illustrated literature spanning Western comics, Japanese manga and graphic novels. Sorted by publication date. The Long Tomorrow | By: Dan O’Bannon & Moebius | Setting Date: Far FuturePublished: 1975 | Type: Graphic Novel | Issues: 1Themes: Multiculturalism, Overcrowding, Technocracy Summary: A gritty short story with illustrations that were part of the French science fiction aesthetic of the 70’s that heavily inspired cyberpunk media such as Blade Runner and Neuromancer. The Long Tomorrow is a film noir hard boiled detective narrative complete with a femme fatale and predictions of a heavily urbanised future society. This is very short and any cyberpunk fan should check it out to see the early roots of the genre. Akira | By: Katsuhiro Otomo | Setting Date: 2019Published: 1982-1990 | Type: Manga | Volumes: 6 | Chapters: 120Themes: Dystopia, Radical Politics, Overcrowding, AnarchySummary: Many elements of Akira are fantastical in nature rather than hard sci-fi but it remains relevant as a cyberpunk narrative due to strong punk themes, a narrative that is resistant to authority and a degraded urban setting. Fans of the film owe it to themselves to read the entire release, as the anime is considerably condensed. Blade Runner | By: Archie Goldwin, Al Williamson & Carlos Garzon | Setting Date: 2019Published: 1982 | Type: Comic | Issues: 2Themes: Dystopia, Depopulation, Androids, Climate ChangeSummary: This 2 issue special feature published by Marvel Comics was marketed to be released along side the film and was an official comic book adaptation. Due to the comic medium, this title spells out many of the film’s ambiguous scenes with narration. The comic is also rife with trivia, such as Deckard’s squad nickname “Mister Nighttime” and Gaff’s preoccupation with dress standards and presentation. Despite the relatively poor print quality, this is a must-read for fans of the original Blade Runner (1982) movie.

Shatter | By: Peter B. Gills & Mike Saenz | Setting Date: 2019Published: 1985-1988 | Type: Comic | Issues: 14 (+ 1 special)Themes: Dystopia, Robotics, Gene Science, Multiculturalism, AutomationSummary: Composed entirely on a Macintosh Plus using a mouse for drawing and printed on laser printers, this was the world’s first digital comic. This is the closest readers will get to a classic cyberpunk comic. It is slightly campy and has an endearing pixel art illustration style but is crammed full of every cyberpunk trope you could imagine. The title follows a police detective who works through a computer-aided reverse auction bounty system for jobs in a heavily over-crowded future metropolis. Blade Runner and other Philip K. Dick narratives were heavy thematic and aesthetic inspirations for this title. Many of the technologies and their societal responses are surprisingly predictive of what has transpired today in the 21st century. Well worth reading for any fans of Blade Runner or classic cyberpunk. Dominion | By: Masamune Shirow | Setting Date: 2016Published: 1986 | Type: Manga | Volumes: 1Themes: Dystopia, Pollution, Climate Change, Cybernetics, Gene ScienceSummary: Before Ghost in the Shell, Masamune Shirow created Tank Police, which also enjoyed translation to a short animated series. In a heavily polluted future metropolis called New Port City, respiration masks are necessary to venture outside. A heavily armed tank police are used to control the population as criminals have become more and more dangerous with new forms of military technology. A criminal cyborg and his two android assistants attempts to thwart a plot by the government to alter the human genome to produce its own oxygen rather than mitigate the pollution which is making the world unlivable. The tank police work to stop him in this comical but well illustrated short series. Several of the tank designs in this manga went on to be featured in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, as well as being set in the same fictional city including many other overlapping themes and references.

Rebel | By: Pepe Moreno | Setting Date: 2002Published: 1986 | Type: Graphic Novel | Issues: 1Themes: Post-Apocalyptic, Fascism, Survival, Dystopia, Urban DecaySummary: A fast-paced, action-driven graphic novel that reads like a mix of Mad Max and Escape from New York. While post-apocalyptic settings are often outside the cyberpunk genre, the current political climate in the USA combined with the influence that Carpenter’s film had on the genre, with designers like Hideo Kojima lifting considerable aesthetic and thematic aspects of Escape from New York for his own work, then Rebel, despite being derivative, also deserves a place on this list. Set in a dystopian 2002 New York City, society has disintegrated, and the remnants of humanity fight over abandoned supermarkets living in anarchy amongst warlords. The United States’ sole governing force is a fascist military regime that maintains a utopic, walled-off city with high technology, creatingorder outside the gangland warzone. Using real photographs of New York landmarks, Moreno uses a vivid, Moebius-esque visual style and a heavy punk aesthetic that he infuses in his protagonists. The main character, Pepe, is ex-military and uses a range of guerilla warfare and espionage techniques, that fans of Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series may enjoy. Ghost in the Shell (Mobile Armored Riot Police) | By: Masamune Shirow | Setting Date: 2029-2030Published: 1989-1990 | Type: Manga | Volumes: 1Themes: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, CyberneticsSummary: One of the most well-known cyberpunk franchises in any medium. Like Shirow’s Dominion (1986) it is also set in New Port City, but with a slightly less campy premise and art direction. The story follows a female cyborg and her team in an elite governmental agency known as Section 9 as it grapples with a powerful Artificial Intelligence. For better or worse the manga is not as deep or nuanced as the Oshii film adaptation, but there are plenty of cyberpunk tropes for fans as well as novel character and technology designs.

If you would like to view a continuity network map of how all the various GITS adaptations relate to Shirow’s manga, you can consult the following SHELLZINE article: LINK CYBERPUNK: Book 1 “… Bad Dreams” | By: Scott Rockwell | Setting Date: Near FuturePublished: 1989-1990 | Type: Graphic Novel | Issues: 2Themes: Cybernetics, Virtual Reality, HackingSummary: Heavily inspired by Neuromancer, this comic is somewhat notable for its graphic depictions of user’s interfacing on the internet. Here, Gibson’s “matrix” is called “The Playing Field”. The visual style blends Sid Meier’s aesthetic with 1980s computer graphics; however it is not a well-illustrated work compared to other titles in this list. The plot has a relatively stronger romantic narrative than other comic titles in the genre as well. The protagonist is a hacker named Topo, and while the narrative starts out promisingly with an immersive, gritty near-future megalopolis setting, a majority of the two issues are rather shallow action scenes that take place in The Playing Field. Fans of Neuromancer will appreciate the early exploration of virtual landscapes, and in doing so perhaps reveals the impracticality of Gibson’s early ideas of virtual reality networks by showing how inefficient they are compared to how technology actually evolved. Though not groundbreaking, with a very predicative, short plot, it is solidly within the genre’s core themes. The clothing designs ands styles on the characters are sometimes interesting if not aesthetic. CYBERPUNK: Book 2 “Solace” | By: Scott Rockwell | Setting Date: Near FuturePublished: 1990 | Type: Graphic Novel | Issues: 2Themes: Virtual Reality, Corporatism, Cybercrime, SurveillanceSummary: In Innovation Publishing’s Cyberpunk: Book 2, the same three main characters’ narrative is extended three years in the future. Topo the hacker is now missing, permanently plugged into The Playing Field searching for the limits of the virtual world. His ex-lover seeks him out with the help of a gang of data thieves. This second book from Scott Rockwell is significantly better than the first.

While it does feature many scenes within The Playing Field, they are depicted in a more emotional, dream-like aesthetic than the campy computer graphics that tried a literal interpretation of Gibson’s matrix interface. The artwork of Doug Talalla is of higher quality overall, and more creatively executed versus Book 1, which was illustrated by Darryl Banks. The romance subplot extends here, but in a rather unique way; interestingly bringing up unique ethical issues you wouldn’t expect from a comic, and which predate more well-known cyberpunk texts like Ghost in the Shell (1991). Gunnm (Battle Angel Alita) | By: Yukito Kishiro | Setting Date: 26th CenturyPublished: 1990-1995 | Type: Manga | Issues: Themes: Post-Apocalyptic, Robotics, Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence Summary: A young female android, Alita, is found in a junkyard and resurrected by a cyborg physician. She finds out she is a combat cyborg and follows the doctor in his footsteps as a clandestine bounty hunter, and eventually pursues a quest to uncover more about her past. The divide between rich and poor has led to a segregation between the masses living on Earth and the elite living in a floating city. The manga takes place in the USA though being hundreds of years in the future all cities and places have been changed significantly. While post-apocalyptic in narrative, there are numerous cyberpunk tropes in the series and it has excellent art direction in general and numerous cyborg designs. Note: A sequel to Gunm called “Battle Angel Alita: Last Order” was created by Kishiro as he was unhappy with the ending of the manga and wanted to continue it. It takes Alita into space and is more of a science fiction action epic than it is a cyberpunk narrative. Robocop | By: Alan Grant & Lee Sullivan | Setting Date: Near FuturePublished: 1990-1992 | Type: Comic | Issues: 23Themes: Cybernetics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Mind Control Technologies, Gene ScienceSummary: These Marvel comics take place between the second and third films, but as the issues are set in the Marvel universe, Detriot is far more futuristic.