First look–New chapter begins for Blade Runner sequel/prequel

Review by C.J. Bunce

It’s the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and prequel to Blade Runner 2049, giving fans of either or both a look into the world created by Philip K. Dick in his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Blade Runner stories continue as Titan Comics looks to the parallel Earth future in Blade Runner 2019. The first nine issues introduced us to ex-Blade Runner Ash and Cleo, daughter of business magnate Alexander Selwyn. It’s now 2026. On returning to Los Angeles, Ash sleuthed out the location of Selwyn, but Selwyn knows Ash is after him, and has created a new Blade Runner. Of course the ghosts of Tyrell are always in the shadows.

New issues are written by Mike Johnson (Supergirl, Star Trek). If you haven’t yet climbed on board, get ready for Blade Runner 2019 to experience the treatment we’ve seen in recent years for franchises like Firefly, Planet of the Apes, and Alien. Academy Award-nominated writer Michael Green and Johnson created a great offshoot in their first issues. Illustrated by Andres Guinaldo (Justice League Dark, Captain America) with brilliant color work by Marco Lesko, expect to see images conjuring the designs and ideas of Philip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, and Syd Mead with influences from cyberpunk and tech-noir classics like John Carpenter′s Escape from New York, Luc Besson′s The Fifth Element and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Neill Blomkamp′s Elysium, James Cameron′s The Terminator and Aliens, and Robert Rodriguez′s Alita: Battle Angel.

Issue #10 arrives today, a good jumping on point if you missed the earlier issues. And you can pick from three cover options, from Andreas Guinaldo, Rian Hughes, and an original concept piece by Syd Mead.

Check out our sneak preview of the Issue #10 of Blade Runner 2019, courtesy of Titan Comics: