A charming and hugely engaging science fiction comic that executes a clever idea with style and wit. London tour guide robot ITTO powers up to start a new day handing out leaflets and finds that the world has utterly changed. Humans have disappeared, the city is in decay. ITTO sets out to replace a power core and get further instructions.
Phil Chapman has created a engaging mystery regarding where the human population has gone to and what the robots left behind do in their absence. All of the have program requirements that are meaningful within a human dominated context and are unfathomable without it.
ITTO travels across London following an instruction to return to the factory for an upgrade, he encounters other robots who are still following their instructions and respond to ITTO in a variety of ways. Issue 3 ends on a most inviting cliff-hanger.
The story is a slight one, the drama is low key, Phil Chapman has used all the elements of a comic to develop a deeply engaging story.
The art is friendly and welcoming, the context of the decaying London is a smart choice, it is not a devastated landscape, it is a deserted and derelict one. This places the mystery of the missing humans into a interesting place, the obvious apocalypse seems not to have happened. The robots are not machines of war looking to exterminate survivors, they are service machines that want to serve.
The robots are superbly drawn, they are functional, civilian use, they have displays needed for human interactions. They can be a threat to each other because they are following their instructions.
The colouring is a joy, it adds depth and weight to the context and provides an emotional context for the action, the mystery of the absence of humans.
System Error is just a hugely successful comic, deeply individual and the product of a powerful and creative imagination.
