Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson

Art by Andres Guinaldo

Titan Comics, out now

Los Angeles 2019 and ‘Blade Runner’ Detective Ashina is struggling to find replicants to retire – she’s just too good at her job. Instead she’s given a task to track down the kidnapped wife and child of a wealthy industrialist.

Written by Michael Green (co-writer of Blade Runner 2049) and Mike Johnson (Star Trek: Countdown) Titan’s new ongoing comic book Blade Runner 2019 has been a long time coming. While there have been adaptations and spin-offs of Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in the intervening years, there hasn’t been a canon continuation of the Blade Runner movies since 1982’s adaptation by Archie Goodwin with art by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzo.

This new comic book, with art by Andres Guinaldo, immediately establishes its credentials through the recreation of Ridley Scott’s dystopia, as designed in the original film by Syd Mead. The characters might be new, but the rainy, dark streets of LA are instantly recognisable, as are the iconic skyscrapers as a Spinner takes to the sky. Ash wears the same sort of trench coat as Harrison Ford’s Deckard, and there are countless other visual Easter eggs that make it absolutely clear where we are.

But it’s more than just the visuals, Green and Johnson having fashioned a noir storyline that immediately sets hares running. Ash herself has more going on than meets the eye, with foreshadowing of what’s to come neatly built in to the narrative. It’s interesting to see the use of voiceover as first person narration, particularly because it was the first thing that Ridley Scott took out of his first re-cut of the movie. But it works really well here, serving as a canny shorthand to fill in the gaps between the panels.

Verdict: Blade Runner fans will find plenty to nourish them with this new chapter in their favourite dystopian future, written and illustrated by those who have a healthy respect and love of what’s gone before, but also willing to the take the story in new directions. That’s the spirit! 10/10

Nick Joy