I.D.

August 29, 2016
Identity is as malleable as clay in this contemplative work. Three people seek full-body transplants: Noa, a frustrated youth; Charlotte, a world-weary writer; and Mike, a guarded ex-con. Though the procedure is in the riskiest throes of its infancy, they are determined to go through with it for sometimes tragic reasons. Though these characters occupy a world of space colonization, worsening civil unrest, and experimental neurosurgery, the details are only suggested; this is a decidedly intimate take on dystopia. The story is refreshing, but the book's depth suffers from its brief length. Rios's (Pretty Deadly) art is an unqualified delight: her feathery lines bring a nuance of emotion to each and every expression, and her use of red gives the world a humming tension. This is a thought-provoking work that prods at issues of gender, crime, and guilt, and could have taken even more time to explore its themes.