Authors: James Leong & Franken Doll

Perfect World Today is a series of  8 preludes, culminating in the epic Perfect World Saga. The story is about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an important role in the human society. The authors viewed human being to be unreliable at times of need and the existence of an AI, whether they are in the form of a human or a software, makes peoples’ life manageable and breathable. The story reflects on peoples’ dependence on AI not just as a helper, but as a member of a family such as your granny, son, pet, boss and even your lover!

I bought this comic book from James Leong & Franken Doll during the January Panelgraph’s meet. I must admit there is an urge to support fellow artists in our comics industry but what really makes me open my wallet is the art on the cover page. I am curious. I am curious what is the story behind those lovingly, heart warming and peaceful images. Frankly speaking, the images on the cover page is ‘disturbing’ to me when I first look at it. I love the art, no question about that. What disturbed me is the peaceful look on the child’s face (it reminds me of the Buddha when he is a young boy then) and his connection with the animals. Is the boy the main character in the story? Is he having some form of power to control the animals? Or perhaps the animals are his friend? I just want to know if my speculation is correct but as expected, you never know until you read it.

Perfect World Today is not the usual comic book you see on the book shelf. If you expect something entertaining and thrill to read, this is not the book you are looking for. If you think this is a story about a few animal friends in the human world, I think that shall disappoint you as well. If you want some thought provoking story that is challenging to the brain, yes, you come in to the right store!

The story has a surreal touch which may throw you back into the nostalgic 50s/60s setting of the western world in my opinion. It do has a feel of futuristic content (if you are in the 50s/60s era) that is not so advance in our digital age. Perhaps this is the beauty of Perfect World Today. It makes me realised that there is a perfect world for each generation to come. Perfect World Today is James Leong & Franken Doll interpretation of their perfect generation. What is a Perfect World for us then? I am looking forward to an answer in their next book.