BLADE RUNNER: TOKYO NEXUS #2 – New Comic Review

BLADE RUNNER: TOKYO NEXUS #2, by Titan Comics on 8/28/24, brings a new Blade Runner to Japan to hunt the rogue replicant, but will Stix help solve the case or become the lead suspect?

Credits:

• Writer: Kianna Shore
• Artist: Mariano Taibo
• Colorist: Marco Lesko
• Letterer: Jim Campbell
• Cover Artist: Butch Guice
• Publisher: Titan Comics
• Release Date: August 28, 2024
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Page Count: 34
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

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Analysis of BLADE RUNNER: TOKYO NEXUS #2:

First Impressions:

Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus #2 starts well enough and leads you down some interesting narrative alleyways, but the last moments of the issue get chaotic in a hurry and not in a good way. Kianna Shore weaves together multiple perspectives that keep the reader engaged, but making sense of the plot is the biggest struggle.

Plot Analysis:

When last we left the private detecting duo of Stix and Mead in Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus #1, Mead accepted a job to track down a missing girl whose family is possibly connected to gangster activity. Meanwhile, Mead used his spare time to help the downtrodden, underground dwellers of the city, leading to a run-in with an unsavory character.

In Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus #2, we meet Blade Runner Rumika, an American-born agent sent to Japan to track down the “rogue” replicant believed to be responsible for multiple killings. Rumika’s case files point to Stix as a strong suspect. When Rumika checks in with the local police, they point her in Mead’s direction.

Kianna Shore starts the issue with a clean introduction to Rumika that showcases the shrewdness of the Tyrell Corporation. Without saying it out loud, Tyrell sends a Blade Runner of Japanese descent to “blend in” while she makes progress toward finding the rogue. Regardless of why she was sent, Rumika is a tactically strong Blade Runner who knows how to get to her target.

Later, we find Stix hanging out with a replicant shopkeeper as they make small talk and discuss some of the rumored capabilities of bootleg replicants from Cheshire. When Stix’s back is turned, the shopkeeper is kidnapped by thugs in a van. Stix gives chase and eventually catches up to the van, where he finds the shopkeeper is gone because the thugs disposed of the replicant after doing something to it.

Here, we have the first of two very confusing scenes. How did the thugs know the shopkeeper was a replicant? What did they do with the shopkeeper in the van, and when did they have time to get rid of the body without Stix seeing the disposal during the entire chase? Shore has got to get a better handle on showing what happens without presuming the reader knows what the writer intended. This is an unfortunately common case of a writer not distilling the essence of a scene to fit the page without leaving out important pieces to make the scene work.

Elsewhere, Blade Runner Rumika visits Mead at her apartment while Sayo is there. Rumika asks about Stix, but Mead coyly evades questioning. Before Rumika can press further, a call comes in that Miyaki, Sayo’s sister, has been found dead. The trio heads to the morgue to identify the body. During the drive, Sayo and Mead debate Rumika’s suspicion that Stix is the killer.

For a story to work, the script has to make sense. Here, we find the second scene that’s presented in a way that moves the plot along but doesn’t make sense. Sayo has no information about where her sister’s body was found or how she died, but she somehow suspects Stix is her sister’s killer. How? How could she possibly have come to that conclusion, especially when she knows her sister is mixed up with criminal organizations through the family business?

The issue ends with a search of Sayo’s things (which should have happened in the first issue), Stix shedding blood, and a head-scratching bit of death choreography that underscores either the artist or writer doesn’t know how arrows work.

In all, there are pieces of this issue that work well, particularly Rumika’s introduction and some of the character moments, but the plot execution quickly spirals into a mess.

Artwork and Presentation:

There are no complaints about Mariano Taibo’s euro-futuristic art with an Eastern edge. The character designs are distinctive, and the facial acting is on point. That said, some of the missteps in the story could be chalked up to a mismatch between the art and script, particularly in the bizarre last scene.

Art Samples:

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The Bigger Picture:

Series Continuity:

Of all the Blade Runner series published by Titan, Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus may be the latest, but it takes place a few years after Cal Moreaux becomes the first Blade Runner. Technically, this story is the second in the timeline.

Final Thoughts:

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BLADE RUNNER: TOKYO NEXUS #2 introduces a new Blade Runner and deepens the mystery surrounding Sayo’s sister’s disappearance. Unfortunately, a cool concept is marred by incomplete scenes, conclusion jumps that are big enough to span the Grand Canyon, and bizarre choreography in the last moments.

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