Review by Frank Plowright

Skinned is a visually inventive look into a dystopian future. The dispossessed still occupy the planet’s surface, while the entitled royalty live in luxury far beneath. Their pre-eminence is based on their control of the IRIS AI system, which not only sustains their environment, but changes its appearance according to the wishes of those wearing specially designed lenses. However, the technology can be hacked, and that’s pretty well where Skinned starts.

The queen has a rebellious teenage daughter, Aldair, for whom an arranged marriage is imminent. Four potential partners have been chosen by IRIS, and include expert hacker Buoy. There’s an immediate rapport, and it’s not long before Aldair is plotting an escape into the real world.

Co-writers Tim Daniel and Jeremy Holt supply a relatively simple plot at heart, that of the princess escaping the wicked stepmother and finding freedom, but it’s given a sophisticated visual gloss needing a lot of work on the part of artist Joshua Gowdy. His work looks to be digitally created, and is best with constantly changing people and locations, one morphing into another, sometimes several times on a page. Clothing and appearance change imaginatively, and Gowdy really sells the idea of a world where nothing can be taken as real. A thin line characterises his cast, but they can look too obviously posed, and another downside is a reluctance to really populate scenes when necessary. Early on Buoy is looking for a market stallholder and can’t see them, yet Gowdy draws barely anyone at the market. His designs are even more impressive than his art, and as Gowdy hasn’t set the world of comics alight since 2017, the chances are he’s a graphic designer.

The downside of a plot where anyone can resemble anyone else at any time is the possibility of confusion beyond any intended misdirection, and that duly occurs over the finale. Particular attention is required to keep everyone and their location constant, and even then the likelihood is readers will still be puzzled. Daniel and Holt also neglect a couple of items that might reasonably be expected to be explained, not least Aldair’s childhood scar.

Ambition almost realised is the fate of Skinned, which is good read that might have been better, but sure is pretty to look at.