Very Good, Despite Lacking Closure

Bug is the first instalment of a remarkable story about the sudden breakdown of society on a global scale after the failure of all things digital.

A mysterious event snuffs out smartphones, desktop computers, internet servers—even digital implants which keep people alive—in an instant.

The information superhighway is gone and all electronically stored data is lost. What’s more, the calamity appears connected to a space mission to Mars—to one astronaut in particular—and chaos breaks out as governments and criminal organisations race to intercept him upon his return to earth.

Enki Bilal is, of course, a very important figure in the world of bande dessinée, and although I wouldn’t say Bug is up there with his most pivotal works, there is an excellence about his writing and illustration that is not often seen among sci-fi titles in this format.

I am a very picky critic so that is high praise from me, but if you wanted to press me on the negatives, I’d focus on three things:

1. Bilal’s textured, emotional art style is sublime, but gosh his characters have a tendency to look confusingly similar.
2. The story is way too short.
3. Bug is incomplete. It is not a self-contained story. There is no closure.

The third point is my reason for reading Bug again. Someone kindly gave me the second instalment at Christmas, so I decided to re-read the début to re-familiarise myself with the story. I’m glad I did, but do ask yourself if you really want to buy the first volume if there’s a possibility you won’t buy the second.