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Counterfeit Girl
A dystopian cyberpunk thriller of identity theft, sentient diseases and fake news, from comics' best-dressed rebels, Peter Milligan and Rufus Dayglo! FAKE NEWS In a city ruled by the multinational corporations, identity is crucial - no one can get anywhere without being monitored, logged, and status-checked. Fortunately for some, if a new I.D. is needed, there are 'simmers' - backstreet I.D. thieves that can create new personas by stealing the identities of others. Libra Kelly is a simmer with an axe to grind, doing jobs that cause trouble for the corporations free of charge, but soon finds herself stuck with a terminally diseased I.D. and a price on her head...
64 pages, Paperback
Published June 25, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 30, 2019
I think the craziest thing about Peter Milligan's bizarre body of work is really the Zen Master-level of control he's got over just how weird he lets his comics get. He's capable of off-the-rails insanity far past where Grant Morrison would ever be brave enough to go, but on a dime he can also reel things in to stick the landing, and whether or not he even chooses to do so on any particular project is really just a product of the weather, what music he's listening to, and what he had for breakfast that morning.
Counterfeit Girl is a pretty simple sci-fi noir that allows Jamie Hewlett wannabe Rufus Dayglo to draw a bunch of off-the-charts cyberpunk eye candy. It's a slightly-more-than-serviceable story that doesn't have a ton to say other than taking some easy jabs at Trump and offering a somewhat poignant reminder about the importance of maintaining friendships and knowing oneself in a world that increasingly ruins our ability to do either. It's not a groundbreaking book, by any means, but it hella sticks the landing, both narratively and emotionally. And mostly it's a chance, once again, for Milligan to demonstrate how good he could be by showing off in a story where he's not trying particularly hard.
Counterfeit Girl is a pretty simple sci-fi noir that allows Jamie Hewlett wannabe Rufus Dayglo to draw a bunch of off-the-charts cyberpunk eye candy. It's a slightly-more-than-serviceable story that doesn't have a ton to say other than taking some easy jabs at Trump and offering a somewhat poignant reminder about the importance of maintaining friendships and knowing oneself in a world that increasingly ruins our ability to do either. It's not a groundbreaking book, by any means, but it hella sticks the landing, both narratively and emotionally. And mostly it's a chance, once again, for Milligan to demonstrate how good he could be by showing off in a story where he's not trying particularly hard.
July 7, 2021
Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Rufus Dayglo, "Counterfeit Girl" is a story of a future where your identity is crucial for living as your ID is scanned and verified for any purpose. Which, of course, leads to an underground world where people can change your IDs for a price.
One of the best 'simmers' is Libra Kelly, who can steal not just the IDs of people, but also their mannerisms (and maybe memories) so that you can literally become that person, effectively hiding you from the corporations that scan IDs, especially Albion Corporation, which Kelly has a grudge against.
At the start, Kelly's cover is blown, and she is pursued by agents of Albion Corporation. In an attempt to evade them, Kelly herself changes her identity. But it goes wrong, and she also gets an infection during the ID change. During her desperate attempts to rid herself of the infection, we learn more about Kelly's past and the reason for her grudge against Albion Corporation.
But it all get turned on its head in the final part of the book, when Kelly learns that she may not be who she thinks she is. Captured by Albion Corporation, who also has a cure for her infection, it looks like it is the end of the road for Kelly: or is it?
The artwork is colourful and somewhat extreme, painting the world Kelly moves in as one that is very technological based, while still showing the lives of people who have to hide in the shadows, vary of getting their IDs scanned by the ever present robot scanners. The story itself is full of interesting twists and turns.
Perhaps there will be a sequel sometime in the future.
One of the best 'simmers' is Libra Kelly, who can steal not just the IDs of people, but also their mannerisms (and maybe memories) so that you can literally become that person, effectively hiding you from the corporations that scan IDs, especially Albion Corporation, which Kelly has a grudge against.
At the start, Kelly's cover is blown, and she is pursued by agents of Albion Corporation. In an attempt to evade them, Kelly herself changes her identity. But it goes wrong, and she also gets an infection during the ID change. During her desperate attempts to rid herself of the infection, we learn more about Kelly's past and the reason for her grudge against Albion Corporation.
But it all get turned on its head in the final part of the book, when Kelly learns that she may not be who she thinks she is. Captured by Albion Corporation, who also has a cure for her infection, it looks like it is the end of the road for Kelly: or is it?
The artwork is colourful and somewhat extreme, painting the world Kelly moves in as one that is very technological based, while still showing the lives of people who have to hide in the shadows, vary of getting their IDs scanned by the ever present robot scanners. The story itself is full of interesting twists and turns.
Perhaps there will be a sequel sometime in the future.
June 8, 2024
Libra Kelly makes her living as a 'simmer', selling actual new identities to those seeking to escape their old lives. However, when she has to go on the run from the Albion Corporation, Libra tries a new identity of her own but discovers that it comes with a terminal sentient virus. She then has to hunt down a cure, whilst also discovering who she really is beneath the layers of identities she's adopted over the years.
This is a 2000 AD story and, as such, has some great ideas in concept.
I liked the cyberpunk version of Britain we get, I liked the themes of identity and what that means if you can swap it out at your leisure and I particularly liked the scene where a trial jury turns out to be people at home voting whilst watching TV.
Unfortunately, the concepts are much better than the delivery, with everything here feeling more than a little half-baked. None of the things mentioned above gets explored in any detail and instead we get what is a fairly standard 'person on the run with a ticking clock' story. Even the big twist is predictable very early (from the book's cover if you think about it...).
On top of that, due to how this story was originally serialised, there are numerous pages where you turn over to find that scenes have jarringly jumped ahead. Obviously, that would've been where one instalment ended and the next began in the comics but here it feels almost like you've accidentally turned over two pages at once (I genuinely checked on at least two occasions).
Milligan clearly wasn't planning on 'writing for the trade' and it shows.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
This is a 2000 AD story and, as such, has some great ideas in concept.
I liked the cyberpunk version of Britain we get, I liked the themes of identity and what that means if you can swap it out at your leisure and I particularly liked the scene where a trial jury turns out to be people at home voting whilst watching TV.
Unfortunately, the concepts are much better than the delivery, with everything here feeling more than a little half-baked. None of the things mentioned above gets explored in any detail and instead we get what is a fairly standard 'person on the run with a ticking clock' story. Even the big twist is predictable very early (from the book's cover if you think about it...).
On top of that, due to how this story was originally serialised, there are numerous pages where you turn over to find that scenes have jarringly jumped ahead. Obviously, that would've been where one instalment ended and the next began in the comics but here it feels almost like you've accidentally turned over two pages at once (I genuinely checked on at least two occasions).
Milligan clearly wasn't planning on 'writing for the trade' and it shows.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
July 30, 2021
You know, I remember wanting to read this for a little while. This book's a pretty short read--only about 68 pages if you count covers and bios, but it still manages to tell a complete story.
The world that Milligan builds in this story as a massive cyberpunk city does well to employ some of the hallmarks we already know about the genre, including the bustling city, powerful megacorporations, and seedy city underbellies. The identity swapping bit was really interesting and brings in existential questions that are given just enough attention. However, the pacing was certainly fast, and it was hard to come away with a feeling of satisfaction. It almost felt like I read a pilot volume that never got picked up.
The art had a great pallette to it, including the purples, pinks, and yellows of the dark cyber-city. I'd say that the art is detailed and sometimes bordered on being too busy. It was sometimes hard to focus on one panel, as literally every extra, machine, and background detail had a lot going on. It isn't the worst crime in the world, but man I think editing would have been its friend.
All in all, I thought Counterfeit Girl was fine. I probably won't remember a lot of it in about a month, but it was a nice ride while it lasted.
The world that Milligan builds in this story as a massive cyberpunk city does well to employ some of the hallmarks we already know about the genre, including the bustling city, powerful megacorporations, and seedy city underbellies. The identity swapping bit was really interesting and brings in existential questions that are given just enough attention. However, the pacing was certainly fast, and it was hard to come away with a feeling of satisfaction. It almost felt like I read a pilot volume that never got picked up.
The art had a great pallette to it, including the purples, pinks, and yellows of the dark cyber-city. I'd say that the art is detailed and sometimes bordered on being too busy. It was sometimes hard to focus on one panel, as literally every extra, machine, and background detail had a lot going on. It isn't the worst crime in the world, but man I think editing would have been its friend.
All in all, I thought Counterfeit Girl was fine. I probably won't remember a lot of it in about a month, but it was a nice ride while it lasted.
April 9, 2021
Good wee story, with some cool ideas even if the length means maybe some of the cooler ideas aren't as fully realized or explored as much as they could be.
Good wee read, but it won't blow you away.
Good wee read, but it won't blow you away.
August 26, 2020
The premise of the story is interesting - genetic manipulation, persona copying and more. But the delivery is bit too confused for my taste.
December 12, 2021
Detailed, busy art with a neon flair to it. Very cyberpunk as a young woman on the lam is layering new identities on top of her current stack of identities via the shady underground.
June 30, 2022
It's as if the author went "what's the most cliche ridden story I can write"
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews