Comic book review: Alex + Ada #8- Government is not God, and ignorance is not Strength.

Writer: Sarah Vaughn and Jonathan Luna
Artist: Jonathan Luna
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: 6th August 2014

The most interesting section in Alex + Ada #8 was the first quarter of the book where the newly awakened android Ada discusses the benefits of being ‘Awake’ with Alex’s comfortably ‘safe’ Grandma. It’s the age-old question of giving up your freedoms for the illusion of security. A ploy that government always uses to take our freedoms away, arguing that the safest environment is a big prison camp, for our own safety, of course. You can also tie this discussion into the Tower of Babel moment in the Bible and the moment when man disobeyed God by eating from the tree of knowledge. Alex’s Grandma would rather live a life of safety and ignorance with her unconscious android partner than fight against the control system of government.

Alex + Ada, like all good books, is tapping into contemporary concerns, so although it’s set in the future, it’s actually dealing with the important issues of today. Government in 2014 western societies has become a synonym for God. I’ll explain that point. The vast majority of secular people living in the west today fear government and the punishments that they can bring rather than what they laughingly refer to as a ‘Flying Spaghetti monster in the sky.’

God is no longer feared, but government certainly is. Government has become God, and that’s how the criminal elite’s want things to remain, forever. Fear, ignorance, apathy and learned helplessness keep the people enslaved to government. In issue #8 of Alex + Ada, the grandma character illustrates these contemporary fears as she discusses her reasoning for living her life as a comfortable slave. Here’s some highlights of her reasoning, and how she justifies ignorance and slavery:

‘I couldn’t risk it. It would be only a matter of time before the government found out.’ (Fear of God/Government thus justifying not acting, or trying to change the status quo.)

‘I like the way things are. I didn’t want complications.’ (Living in a gilded cage has made her apathetic to change).

‘Is it wrong to unlock him when the world isn’t prepared for it.’ (Fear that change will lead to chaos, and therefore slavery is preferable).

These are three ways that people justify statism (slavery to government) in 2014. To me this book is not about human and android interactions in the near future. It’s a better book than that. No, this book is an exploration of what is happening in contemporary times, and how people justify slavery and ignorance. That is why it is an essential book. It is dealing with issues that need to be discussed. Issues about waking from ignorance and whether humanity is ready for it, or even really wants it.

I have no doubt that a lots of the readers of Alex + Ada will read the book and have the issues and concerns I’ve just mentioned fly a million miles over their heads. They will connect with the book on an emotional level, and be more concerned with the personalities involved than the underlying issues of freedom, ignorance, slavery and government becoming God. That is always the case, and that’s why Jesus talked in parables. People can understand on a subconscious level, and the seeds will grow in minds that are ready to understand. Some people will never understand of course, and other people just enjoy a life of slavery and ignorance. They want to stay asleep (as androids), as waking up is too difficult. It will force them to address questions about the world that they would prefer to ignore.

I’m one of those annoying guys that wants to be awake, and that’s why I do these reviews on my silly little blog. It’s not about comics, it never was. It’s about the bigger issues, and when I read a comic like Alex + Ada that is dealing with the same issues that I try to expose in these reviews it’s obviously going to make me a huge fan of the book. I hope that this rambling review has made a little bit of sense to somebody out there, and I have one last, concluding statement to make that I hope will shine a light on not only this book, but the state of the world as it is today. Government is not God, and ignorance is not strength.

Rating: 9/10