"Pixels of You" by Anath Hirsh, Yuko Ota, and J.R. Doyle (Artist)

First, a word from the publisher: “In a near future, augmentation and AI changed everything and nothing. Indira is a human girl who has been cybernetically augmented after a tragic accident, and Fawn is one of the first human-presenting AI. They have the same internship at a gallery, but neither thinks much of the other’s photography. But after a huge public blowout, their mentor gives them an ultimatum: work together on a project or leave her gallery forever. Grudgingly, the two begin to collaborate, and what comes out of it is astounding and revealing for both of them. Pixels of You is about the slow transformation of a rivalry to a friendship to something more as Indira and Fawn navigate each other, the world around them—and what it means to be an artist and a person.“

What Worked For Me:

I enjoyed the art style in this one; I found it both attention grabbing and aesthetically pleasing.
The work features a woman of color as the protagonist (Indira) as well as LGBTQ representation.
The near-future setting raises a lot of interesting questions, like the role and scope of AI in society, how racism and other forms of oppression can intersect with technological advancement, and what it means to be human.

What Didn’t:

Though the work explores some big ideas, I’m not sure it does them all justice. You can see more of my thoughts in the “spoiler” section below. In brief, while I generally prefer shorter, more condensed works, I can’t help but wonder if this one might’ve benefited from a bit more fleshing out.
(nit-pick) The work occasionally includes black pages with white text that spell out important world-building like: “companies scramble to scrap secret AI recruiting tool that taught itself bias against women’s resumes,” and “global pandemic accelerates adoption of AI surveillance, raising concerns of international ethics watchdogs.” While these snippets may be thought-provoking in a vacuum, they ended up being only tangentially related to the story being told. Perhaps they could’ve been more seamlessly integrated; they certainly would’ve had more impact if they were shown to directly affect the main characters (Indira and Fawn).

Conclusion:

Despite the story’s sci-fi premise and near-future setting, it is much more interested in exploring down-to-earth topics like trauma, healing, and love. I imagine this may disappoint some readers, especially those looking for a work closer to Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell. Even if it doesn’t quite live up to its own lofty world-building, it is still a visually engaging romp with interesting leads. Ultimately, if you like the premise and are OK with getting way more questions than answers with regards to the premise and setting, Pixels of You may be just right as your next read.

Check it out here.