“Nano Jams” is a collection of short stories that embodies Neo-Tokyo, the setting of Dave Cook’s cyberpunk comic series “Kiltopia.” Featuring more than 30 stories from 50 contributors, this anthology is especially relevant in our time, when our time approaches dystopia, which is emphasized with every new headline.
Described as the “Black Mirror of comic books,” it lives up to its title, if not for its length, then just for the diversity of ideas involved. The structure of the book begins with a story that many people can relate to: an office worker disillusioned with his daily life and wearing an advanced VR headset and returning home. There he falls into a TikTok-like coma, with stories scrolling and competing for his attention. Here, Dave Cook hands over the reins to a number of talented writers and artists to tell a cyberpunk story in a page or two.
Highlights that stood out to me include a story where grief is monetized, effectively revisiting deceased loved ones, and becoming an in-app purchase. Current versions of AI are already able to chat like deceased people. What if it was more immersive? How much would you pay? A lifetime subscription to Resurrection? After reading Nano Jams, you will be left with these types of questions.
Social media fuels fan bases, and before you know it, disagreements can escalate to death threats and disclosure of personal information, and there are issues surrounding the death of free speech. There’s been a lot of talk about influencers, the personas they take on, and the effects of lying to both themselves and others. A couple about censoring articles and removing physical media, and how sharing them can spark a revolution. These stories not only show what the current state of media, capitalism, or governance is, but also the possible forms it could take in the future. It makes you wonder how they evolve, what they were like in the past, and how much worse they have gotten since then.
Credit: Mark Abnett and Jess Peng
As with Black Mirror, most of the stories are downer, some played for laughs, but there are also some emotional stories like “Behind the Curtain.” With beautiful art by Jess Penn and words by Mark Abnett, this story is about rising above the noise of stardom and social media and standing tall despite all odds.
Another highlight is “Warm Hug” with art by Drekas Art and text by Simon Birks. It’s a searing commentary on everything from the dangers of live streaming to immoral copyright laws and deforestation. Some of these could be entire series on their own, and some ideas could be fleshed out further, but Nano Jams achieved its goal.
Very short stories hurt the collection in terms of memorable characters, but they’re more bite-sized ideas that can be fun topics for everyday conversation. There are also different art styles, such as cartoon-like and painterly ones. Although the number of stories can dilute the overall package and make each one difficult to distinguish, it’s a good attack on our dwindling attention spans.
Despite the irony, this collection of stories feels grounded in hope. My hope is that the stories, not the content, will move readers out of passive submission and into active choices about what they do and don’t do in life. These warnings warn against overly following advertising and content consumption demands.
Nano Jams is a wake-up call. This collection of numerous stories represents the endless stream of short-form content we consume every day and how it shapes our reality. A seriously human book created by writers and artists that critiques AI-generated and AI-filtered content. This is cyberpunk in the most important ways, showing not just what would happen, but what could happen, and asking what you would do in that situation, not if it would come true.
“Nano Jams” is a satirical piece
nano jam
Nano Jams is a wake-up call. This collection of numerous stories represents the endless stream of short-form content we consume every day and how it shapes our reality. A seriously human book created by writers and artists that critiques AI-generated and AI-filtered content. This is cyberpunk in the most important ways, showing not just what would happen, but what could happen, and asking what you would do in that situation, not if it would come true.
Anthologies are the perfect way to tell a cyberpunk story, and this collection even has a cosmic reason for it.
It’s highly diverse, with different art styles not detracting from it and complemented by consistent writing from many talented people
This is a collection of stories related to our times
Stories vary; some require more time to prepare, while others may suffer from a shorter format.
The pictures and story aren’t bad at all, but when there are too many, it becomes difficult to stand out.
