BLADE RUNNER: TOKYO NEXUS: TO LOSE IS TO WIN #1 / Script by NANCY A. COLLINS / Art by MARIANO TAIBO / Colors by MARCO LESKO / Letters by JIM CAMPBELL / Published by TITAN COMICS

The year is 2015. Mead and Stix are two former soldiers come to Earth and Tokyo. Mead is a human. Stix is a combat-model Replicant. They became private eyes to support themselves while hunting the traitor that got the rest of their squad killed.

Their last case led to a whole host of complications. Chief among these was a Blade Runner from America, hired to hunt the off-model Replicants made by the Chesire laboratory in defiance of Tyrell Corporation’s monopoly on synthetic humans. There was also the matter of a serial killer who looked like Stix, a war between two Yakuza clans, and a new neural interface dubbed Aurora, which lets human operators control Replicants remotely.

Now, Stix and Mead are working for the Yakuza. Unfortunately, the Blade Runner Rumiko is still on the hunt for Aurora. And there are more forces from the Tyrell Corporation hunting them.

It’s been a while since we’ve explored the world of Blade Runner in a new comic series. Thankfully, this first issue of the latest Tokyo Nexus saga – To Die Is To Win – opens with a summary of the story so far. There is some irony then that over half this comic is devoted to a flashback to Stix and Mead in the past, long before the events described. The rest of the issue is devoted to setting up a new case for the duo.

Nancy A. Collins takes over the writing duties for this series, but it is hard to judge her based on this first issue. The writing is technically proficient, but it is too soon to say if Collins can capture that unique resonance that defines the Blade Runner franchise. Most of the comic reads more like a war story, albeit a good one. The rest seems to be aiming for a Noir tone, but it is too brief to gauge well.

The artwork, thankfully, remains spot on. This is due to this new volume of Tokyo Nexus retraining the same art team as the first volume, Die In Peace. Mariano Taibo continues to offer up unique character designs that are instantly identifiable and intense action sequences. The colors by Marco Lesko are brighter than is typical of a Blade Runner story, but the neon shades capture the spirit of this world’s version of Tokyo.

Fans of the Titan Comics’ Blade Runner series to date will find this an enjoyable read. It is somewhat inaccessible to newcomers, despite the summary page at the start. Personally, I would suggest interested new readers check out the first volume – Die In Peace – before giving this one a try.