Tokyo Ghost #3

Image Comics

Written by: Rick Remender

Art by: Sean Murphy

Color by: Matt Hollingsworth

Tokyo Ghost #3 continues Remender’s vision of a dystopian future ruled by an addiction to technology, and it picks right up where the previous issue left off—with Teddy crashing down in front of Japan’s supposed Warlord, Kazumi. However, what they find Japan to be is not quite the brutal society that was suggested in the previous issue. In fact, it hardly matches the briefing they received before they went on their mission at all, and what they find is instead the exact opposite, a neo-bushido society that borders being paralleled to Eden.

The story continues with Debora and Teddy making the transition to being tech-free and the difficulties that arise with these drastic changes in their lives. We see what happens when a Constable is taken out of a technology-based culture and what living tech-free can do for the couple. In a future ruled by greed and consumption, Japan offers something that the two have not had since their childhood, a chance to be themselves and to let their relationship mature.

As Teddy is able to gradually gain more perspective on his state for the last decade, Rick Remender’s writing comes to reflect not only Teddy’s growing presence in the series but in his relationship with Debora too. The audience sees Debora’s internal monologues growing more and more optimistic with the promises that Japan offers them. Remender captures the state of, almost disbelief, she is in as they come to adjust to these shifts in their lives.

Meanwhile, Sean Murphy’s art and Matt Hollingsworth color palette capture the growing relationship that Debora and Teddy hold with each other and the land. Murphy’s art is detailed and stunning but at times does read as slightly recycled. If you count the variations in the poses and facial expressions of Kazumi it would remain quite low. However, this is compensated by the complexity and detailed nature of Murphy’s art, which illustrates well the level of complexity in architecture and nature.

The creative team behind Tokyo Ghost leaves the audience with a sense of wonder and intrigue surrounding the status of Japan. There is promise for the characters as their hopes are coming to bear fruit, yet there is a subtle sense of foreboding as the protagonists settle in this new, and still unfamiliar, land. While they become entranced with their new lifestyle and blooming relationship, there is a sense of more sinister machinations at play and that Debora and Teddy are not fully aware.