Comic review: Alex + Ada #12- Breaking free from the lying box

Created by: Sarah Vaughn & Jonathan Luna
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: 28th January 2015


Alex + Ada #12 is an excellent book, but if you have read any of the previous issues you already know that.

I’ve already done quite a few reviews of the previous issues of this book, so please check them out if you think that I say anything interesting during this particular review. I'm a bit of a ranter, but I do occasionally stumble onto moments of truth, and this particular comic book gives me the opportunity to discuss some of the more pressing matters and concerns of our times.

On to issue #12 then, because as a stand-alone book it offers some very interesting new developments that I want to talk about. It begins with a fascinating case study that demonstrates the contrasts between a mainstream media narrative and the real world reality behind that narrative.

In short, a man who has been ‘programmed’ to think one way by the dominant mainstream media of his time comes across the reality behind that programming. After experiencing that reality his strongly held (but not properly examined) belief system crumbles. Real world experience breaks the programming, and he is already on his own personal journey of awakened reality.

That’s an important thing to discuss in a comic, especially when you look at what is happening in our real world reality of 2015.

At the current time the dominant mind programmers of the world are what can be collectively termed the ‘corporate mainstream media.’ It is their role to program your mind, to frame reality in a twisted way that suits their corporate control system. Truth has no role to play in their deliberately dumbed down manipulation of current events.

I admit that this next statement is an over-simplification, but a general rule of thumb is that when the corporate mainstream media tell you that something is black, then you can be pretty sure that if it’s not white, then it’s plenty of shades of colours, and those colours are not going to be discussed between the advert breaks.

If enough people obtained their information from real world experience rather than the mind control system that is their newspaper and television then a revolution would happen and the left/right political circus would be as redundant as it should be. The lesson of this issue of Alex + Ada then is to talk to your neighbours, talk to strangers, talk to your supposed enemy, just talk, and stop believing what corporate controllers are programming you to believe.

Narratively speaking, a death is always a big event, but when it happens in this particular book that death is only the background to the bigger picture. The book has already discussed consciousness, and now it’s moving on to the big questions, the questions that we all want answered:

What happens when the body dies? Does consciousness continue, or does it end?

This excellent book has already established that consciousness is about being aware, about breaking free from the mind control programming that society cages us within. The androids in the book are either aware or unaware, as are the humans. To use the popular vernacular that is used in so-called ‘conspiracy’ circles, some people are awake, but most are sleeping ‘sheeple.’

The western world as it is today is made up of two groups. The first group consists of order followers and career repeaters who read newspapers, watch television and repeat the mind control programming that is given to them by their controllers. The second (much smaller) group consists of truth seekers, of independent individuals who are actively attempting to break free from the mind-control and to get to the truth behind the myriad of lies that define our times. Guess which group the lying box in the corner of your living room wants you to belong to?

Some people might think that I’m going over the top here, making all of these statements when I should just be enjoying the comic book as a bit of silly sci-fi entertainment. They might even mock me and insist that I’m seeing things that are not there. I don’t think that this is the case. I read the book, and what I take from it I put into this review. That’s what I do, that’s the entire point of my blog. I want to talk about the bigger issues, and a comic book like Alex + Ada is perfect because it’s content allows me to do so.

I’ve heard other reviewers complain that this is a slow paced book that lacks excitement and action scenes, but don’t let that put you off. It’s slow for a good reason. That reason is that it has something to say, and it wants to say it properly. So far it’s doing an excellent job, and this issue, having already covered the initial philosophical aspects of consciousness is going to the logical end point, exploring what happens to us when we die. All of this in a comic book. It’s quite amazing really. I leave this issue of Alex + Ada #12 feeling happy, entertained, intellectually energised and above everything else, deeply, deeply impressed with the quality of writing that is on display here.

Rating: 10/10

Comic review: Alex + Ada #11- Golden rule, or base instincts?

Story and script: Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn
Illustrations: Jonathan Luna
Publisher: Image comics
Released: 17th December 2014


I’ve already written quite a few words on my blog about the general excellence of this title, and how it’s subtly exploring the nature of human consciousness. The question it’s posing is a vital one, that being- ‘What is it that makes us a human being?’

I say ‘vital’ because we still live in a world largely dominated by order following android humans. Men and women who unquestioningly follow orders rather than basing their actions on universal moral truths, in particular the golden moral rule, well known in the west now thanks to Christianity, that rule being the following:

One should treat others, as one would like others to treat oneself.

Order followers disregard this golden rule. They act like androids, and thus, we have the inevitable consequences that follow when you break that rule. We get the world as it is today. A world ran by states, by control systems, by control freaks, by sociopaths, all held in place by order following humans who consciously ignore the golden rule.

Alex + Ada #11 continues this exploration of human consciousness and moral rights and wrongs by introducing the new idea of an android experiencing dreams. What does it mean? Is Ada developing a human soul? After her recent awakening the android Ada is now capable of basing her actions on morality, so why wouldn’t she have a soul?

A soul is your connection to the universal oneness, a reminder that you are not an individual meat puppet, but a spiritual being experiencing a manifestation of consciousness in a flesh and blood vehicle. As you develop moral culpability the soul that is always hidden within becomes more apparent, and thus in this comic book the soul of the ‘android’ Ada becomes more apparent to her as she continues along her path of awakening.

Apart from this further development of the long running thematic sub-text of the narrative there is a moment of questioning in this book that I felt was much needed. A moment where everything is questioned, the textual assumptions are called out, and the reader is made to think about what s/he is reading here. That moment came when a jealous ex of the Alex character called him out on his developing relationship with the eternally youthful Ada:

‘She could be a model. She’ll always be available for sex. She’ll never gain weight. She’ll still look twenty-four when you’re seventy-seven. Sounds like a great deal to me. Who needs a real woman when you can have every man’s fantasy?’

The text really needed this questioning, as what is being postulated here is largely true. Is Alex a good guy after all, or merely a shallow and selfish bloke who just wants a pretty girlfriend who will never age? That question hadn’t yet been asked, and to see it being asked here was jolting to me as a reader, yet when it happened I just knew that yes, this had to be asked. What motivates the actions of this man? A desire for emancipation and the raising of spiritual consciousness, or merely base, perhaps even subconsciously, hidden desires?

The book closes this month with a new threat to the status quo, and an ominous looking teaser cover for next month. This narrative development keeps the story on a knife edge, making it not only intellectually stimulating, but exciting on a pure narrative, story-telling front as well.

Alex + Ada is a jugganaut of consistency, and this month’s instalment is just as good as it’s predecessors. This book has yet to dip, yet to sag, yet to sink into a comfortable middle ground of routine or predictability. Eleven issues in and it continue to explore new territory, to pose new questions to its readers.  It’s an excellent book, it really is, and long may it continue.

Rating: 9/10


Click link below for a quick explanation of the Golden rule:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule

Why do people deliberately avoid the truth? – Epic rant on a rant blog.

‘People like to lie to themselves. Facing the truth is uncomfortable for many. Admitting wrong is very hard for some people to do. They will do anything but that, they will perform mental gymnastics, defensive rationalisation, avoidance of the issue, denial, rejection, refusal to acknowledge, and simply plain old ignore what they do not want to admit to.’ (Kris Nelson)



I always say that people don't want to hear the truth. I say a lot of things, but there's a simple reason for people not wanting to hear about the truth. If they understand truth then they have the moral responsibility to act like a decent human being. By deliberately avoiding truth they give themselves an excuse, a get out clause that justifies their actions, or inaction's. It's not my fault, they will say. I was ignorant. I didn't know. I was obeying orders. I was just doing what I was told. I was a cog in the machine. I didn't understand the bigger picture.

This of course is a lie, but without the lie people have to take personal responsibility. Sadly enough, it appears that the last thing people want to do is to take personal responsibility. So when anything goes wrong, and when truth is exposed (Jimmy Saville scandal, Banks doing whatever the Hell they like, MP's expenses scandal, weapons of mass destruction, child abuse in government 'care' homes, recent wars for corporate profit, the deliberate creation of ISIS, etc, etc, etc) the people personally responsible for these horrible situations always have that moral get out clause. They didn't know. They were just doing their jobs. Lessons will be learnt, lets move on.

These people are always surprised, and sometimes even horrified when the truth that they were deliberately avoiding is revealed to them. The same thing happened after WW2 when allied soldiers forced the local civilian populations to visit the Nazi death camps. They knew, of course they knew. A lot of their family members were working there. A lot of them were working there as well. They just preferred not to know because it was easier for them not to know.

People are very skilled at lying to themselves, but deep down, they know. They know perfectly well how and why terrible things have happened. The terrible things happened because people didn't want to engage with truth. They preferred an easy life, a good 'career,’ no accountability and an in-built get out clause that washes them clean of all moral responsibility for their self-serving actions.

The deliberate avoidance of truth is a lot like the Catholic confessional, and you don’t even have to be a Catholic to use it. Just plead ignorance, and pretend that you are sorry. Works every time, except it really doesn’t.

The eternal moral laws of the universe don't work that way. Moral laws have often been compared to the laws of gravity. If you ignore the laws of gravity and jump off a 200 foot building without a parachute then you will splat on the ground below, like it or not. Laws are laws, and there are consequences for breaking them. The moral laws of the universe act in exactly the same way as the laws of gravity. You might not like them, but if you ignore them then you will face the consequences. These consequences are apparent everywhere we look. The world is the way it is today because that is the world that we deserve. We have broken the moral laws of the universe. We deliberately ignored truth, so this is what we get.

This world is full of people who don’t know the truth, not because they are stupid and they can’t understand the truth, but because THEY DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH. They couldn’t care less about the truth, and they don’t want it. Knowing the truth would mean that they would have to take personal, moral responsibility for their actions. They don’t want that. It would be too difficult, and so they spend their entire lives deliberately avoiding the truth.

We can change the world, but not until we take personal moral responsibility for the results of our own actions. It's not the 'Illuminati,' it's not the 'globalists,' it's not the 'new world order,' it's us.

We create our own shackles, the elite’s benefit, but we are the ones on the ground, day by day laying the bricks of deliberate ignorance that create the prison that we are all living in. If you want to change the world then truth is the key. Engage with truth and things have to change. Avoid truth and endless slavery and human suffering is inevitable. That’s how the moral laws of the universe work, like it or not, we get what we deserve. Ha, epic rant over. Sorry about that. Lessons will be learnt.  It wasn't my fault. I blame the coffee :)




Click link for more details on truth, expressed with far more erudition and eloquence than I could ever hope to muster: (All photographs in my barely articulate rant are taking from this far superior article)
http://evolveconsciousness.org/truth-love/




Summary (of linked article, by Kris Nelson):

‘Do you want to placate, walk on eggshells, keep-the-peace, don’t make waves, don’t get hassled, don’t rock the boat, sugar coat and lie to someone to continue to make them feel comfortable and “good” about themselves (and maintain your relationship, attachment, “loyalty”, etc.) so they don’t have to change, do any work and face themselves and what they do? Or do you want to speak the truth that may hurt or be uncomfortable due to their choice to deny Truth and align with lies, deceptions, illusions and bullshit? Do you want to help them face themselves to improve their lives and the lives of everyone else? If you didn’t care about someone, would you bother to try to help them by having them face the things they don’t want to face? Of course not, you would just let them wallow in ignorance, and not care. Once you understand the importance of Truth, letting people ignore the shadow aspects of themselves that are causing harm to other beings in what they do in daily life, is not Care/”love” for them or others. That is enabling them to perpetuate bullshit, lies, deceptions and illusions as manifestation of action and behaviour to continue the collective self-inflicted suffering, harm, wrong, immorality, etc. that we co-create.’