Clear #1
Detective Sam Dunes finds himself in a case he never wanted in Clear #1, by writer Scott Snyder, artist Francis Manapul, with letters by Andworld Design. Clear seems to be one kind of story, a cyberpunk thriller, but then it turns on the noir.
Clear is an interesting bird. Most of the story is set dressing, introducing readers to the world of San Francisco in 2052. It introduces detective Sam Dunes and the world, a future where the Internet connects everyone, and everyone uses veils to change how they see the world. While he's on a case for a rich woman, Mrs. Madders, he's met by Sergeant Collins, who has bad news for him- his wife is dead. He sees the body and then goes to his office, ready for an ambush. He finds Mrs. Madders there, and they talk about the case before she leaves and points out the box she found in front of the door when she got there. The box is from the last gift he gave his dead wife, and inside is a watch he gave her, with a message that changes everything.
Snyder is serving cyberpunk realness with Clear, and it works so well. He sets up an intriguing world. It's not really super original, but it doesn't need to be. Cyberpunk can be effective as long as the world that is built is interesting, and Snyder does that here. He also understands that under all cyberpunk is an undercurrent of noir, and he serves that up at the end of the book.
The first half is peak cyberpunk, laying out the world of the future. There's some Blade Runner, some Neuromancer, the fundamentals of cyberpunk. The ending is all detective noir, down to the beautiful rich woman client and the dead wife. Snyder introduces the concept of clear- seeing the world for what it is. It's interesting in this world that Dunes wants to see the world for what it is because he describes it as bland and terrible. No one sees the real world, so no one tries to make it look special. It's such a great little wrinkle to add to the story.
The book's first half lives and dies by the art, and Manapul delivers, doing double duty on pencils and colors. From showing what people are seeing in their veils to a high octane chase scene that's made all the better by Dunes being injected with a drug that makes him see a bunch of strange veils all over the place. It adds an interesting visual dimension to a chase scene that could have been a cliche. Manapul does a fantastic job of capturing the noir elements in the end, as well. Manapul was the right choice for this story.
Clear #1 is peak cyberpunk noir. Snyder isn't reinventing the wheel, but this story is more than the sum of its parts because of Manapul's art. It feels like Snyder wrote it specifically for Manapul, and he makes it very special.
