A.D.D. Adolescent Demo Division

This heavy-handed fable presents the tale of a group of teens raised from birth in a life of privilege, carefully mentored to be the virtual reality superstars of tomorrow. This facade is soon ripped away; cosseted Lionel, beta male to the dominant star, Karl, begins to suspect Karl’s looming “level up” is nothing of the sort. When his suspicions are confirmed in the most terrible way possible, Karl and the rest of the ADD will be faced with a decision; settle for the pleasing lie their masters have crafted for them or risk all with open rebellion. Although nothing in this story is novel, the basic idea presents a lot of grist for media theorist Rushkoff (Program or Be Programmed). Sadly, the result is an adventure in which all developments are telegraphed well in advance, a morality tale whose moral is undermined by the strident and shrill tone the authors have chosen. Sudzuka’s art is clean and appealing, but struggles to cram a lot of dialogue into the action. (Feb.)