Review by Ian Keogh

Eden II begins as K. Wroten’s satire on North America as it is in 2023, introducing a feud between reality TV stars that comes to shape the world. It opens with a generation of twenty somethings in their ridiculous place of work, satirising social media sites, stumbling about dissatisfied with their existence, finding meaning in the meaningless just because it’s different, and confusing cynicism with intelligence. They’re prone to quoting philosophers with there never being a certainty if the characters consider it smart, or if that’s Wroten’s insecurity, and are given evocative names like Otis Heck and Ellis Flowers.

Ellis flowers because he eventually finds his muse and designs the Eden II interactive online sensation, and differs as the one uncertain man in a cast who constantly provoke to avoid giving anything of themselves away. There’s the occasional clever line, but mining it from the stream of hollow self-important statements is hard going, exacerbated by Wroten’s own lack of narrative concentration. Eden II is 450 pages long because he can’t resist a sidetrack, which would be fine if the cast captivated, but you’d edge slowly away if meeting most of them at a party. Almost every single one is self-obsessed, and spending so long in their company drains the capacity to appreciate the good.

Wroten doesn’t lack for ideas or intelligence, but can’t focus. Dan Clowes seems to be an influence, regarding the detachment of the characters, and sometimes seen in Wroten’s neat cartooning, but that’s harder to pin down. There are hints of manga about the avatar of a character called Roland, sometimes something of Jaime Hernandez, and nods to simple 1960s and 1970s animation, but it’s all exceedingly well crafted. Colour is sparingly used, primarily for sections immersing readers in the game, and is therefore a metaphor for allure.

Eventually, Wroten gets to the point. As a game Eden II is continually reshaped by every new participant and as some of the cast immerse themselves they’re revealed. Once that’s established the satire re-emerges, with consumerism this time the focus, concentrating on how games are monetised beyond the initial purchase. The action thriller is next on the agenda as Wroten investigates whether individual humanity should be sacrificed.

Fantagraphics is a publisher known for promoting new creative voices unfiltered, but Eden II is a project crying out for editorial advice. Plenty of sections could be excepted as viable short stories, but as a graphic novel Eden II is dense, ambitious and unfulfilling.