You Must Take Part in Revolution

Journalist Chan teams with artist and activist Badiucao for this powerful debut saga set in early 2030 in the techno-totalitarian state of Hong Kong. The arc traces the exploits of three resistance protesters: Andy, who has returned to China after being raised in America (his parents fled after protesting at Tiananmen Square in 1989), and locals Maggie and Olivia. Flashbacks show how they met and formed adrenaline-fueled bonds when they banded together to pull an elderly woman to safety during the massive 2019 demonstrations against China’s human rights violations (“And that was how our friendship started. With tear gas, a rescue, and noodles,” Andy narrates). As the years pass, they take different paths of resistance, grapple with the choice between nonviolence and more direct forms of protest, and contend with the often-devastating consequences of their actions. Andy, initially a pacifist, furiously chides Maggie for “cosplaying” as “action heroes [or] the French revolution.” Throughout, Chan cannily mixes sci-fi elements (such as robotic police dogs that hunt dissidents) with political speculation (in the U.S., a protofascist female politician has assumed the presidency in a coup, making relations with China ever more threatening). Badiucao’s painterly gray and black panels are accented with fiery reds, effectively dramatizing scenes of violence and conflict. With complicated characters struggling to maintain their humanity under the direst of circumstances, this morally complex, scarily resonant tale speaks to these uneasy times. Agent: Albert Lee and Gwen Beal, UTA. (Mar.)