200

Brody and Rivera (Spectre Deep 6) retread a tired sci-fi concept in this sparse graphic novel. In a not-too-distant future, death by natural causes has been eliminated and all citizens live exactly 200 years—unless they can pass a test to prove themselves worthy of joining the elite 1% of “Millennials” in permanent immortality. On her 200th birthday, Eva Thorne, whose husband Owen has already passed his 200th birthday and been euthanized, tries to escape her fate, only to stumble upon dark secrets behind the Millenials program. Though the characters’ development flirts with a few promising moments in flashback, like Eva’s roller-skating meet-cute with her husband, these tend to fizzle out. The Logan’s Run–like premise and overly familiar plot twists eventually dissolve into a confusing finale. Artist Rivera, who has recently breathed new life into the Mark Trail comic strip, here lacks the technical chops to bring a futuristic society to life. Though she impresses with imaginative, hexagon-based page compositions and makes clever use of spot color, the stripped-down art and awkward figures falter. There’s just not enough new in this venture to recommend it to genre fans. (Feb.)