Review by Ian Keogh

Bubble City protects the elite under a protective dome, while outside the poor and unwelcome gather in the hopes of admittance, and crime is rife. It’s controlled to some extent by police officers from within the city. They have little concern for the lives of the public, prioritising dealing with crime while mouthing platitudes thanking citizens for doing their duty while using them as human shields.

At first it’s just far enough removed from Judge Dredd and Mega-City One to prevent contact from lawyers and sells a similar dark satirical view of the world, but veers away into a more general satire with SF intrusions. An early sequence presenting a police funeral sponsored by a soft drink and a video showing their best beatings sets the tone. It leaves a police partnership of a swamp monster and new recruit, a human turd. as the primary characters attempting to police a near lawless zone.

Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson co-plot with Clarkson handling the art for the main strip and cartooning from Bors featuring on the occasional back-up. They’re satirising the current state of affairs with an ever-poorer mass of people kept in line by well armed and protected police, while those elected to care about the well-being of people have their own selfish priorities. The mayor, for instance, distinctively drawn with a long pointed nose, is more concerned about his record sales than running the city. Clarkson’s art has a cartoon density and influences that seem from European comics rather than American. As coloured by Felipe Sobrero it’s an attractive proposition.

Assorted forms of social media commentary accompany many scenes, and what initially seems to be a succession of obvious jokes around a theme develops a greater sophistication to provide an ongoing plot about revolution, astrology and unfettered AI. It’s a little scattershot as ideas come and rapidly go, but funny, exceptionally violent and there’s a sequel in Vote Harder.