Upgrade Soul

SPOILER ALERT. In this fascinating, complex story, there is one detail most commentators seem to pass over or misunderstand: Lina’s disfigurement. Actually, the character Manuela explains Lina’s disfigured head to Henry on page 133: “[Lina’s] nineteen, and she’s not disabled. She’s the survivor of a parasitic craniopagus twin.” The hair-raising entry in Wikipedia is for “craniopagus parasiticus.” It appears that Lina’s twin was removed, which meant excising part of her head – hence the disfigurement. The twin, of course, did not survive. Now we may relate this to Lina’s odd conversations with her drawing of a perfect woman’s face that she’s taped to the wall—see page 135, for example. She calls the face Konstance, and it appears to talk to her. I think that “Konstance” is Lina’s reimagining of her lost twin. Or, given that this is a sci-fi story, perhaps a bit of Konstance remains as part of Lina’s brain or consciousness, and they really can converse in some sense. It’s another creepy plot element that speaks to real people and real needs, and such a cool nerdy detail to drop in! I wonder where Daniels got the idea. The Lina/Konstance duality echoes the Molly/Manuela and Hank/Henry dualities, and picks up on the theme that the new “other” is supposed to be perfect – as Lina imagines Konstance to be. But Manuela and Henry – physically real “others” – are not the perfection expected by Molly and Hank. Yet in loving Henry and attracting his love (even though her hopes are not borne out), Lina realizes that she no longer needs Konstance. So Lina destroys the drawing, making Konstance disappear— like Henry and Manuela disappear. We recall the myth of Prometheus, here. And all three imperfect humans – Molly, Hank, and Lina – end up sadder but wiser.

Take the weird half of X-Files, add the morality of Star Trek, and set it in a campus-turned-lo-fi-lab in the Pacific NorthWest. It's a challenging, emotional, sophisticated story with a horror & suspense plot points, amazing characters, and painstakingly-rendered artwork. And it's just a sci-fi clone story about your grandparents! It's a worthwhile trip to watch author Ezra Daniels transmute the everyday conversations and interactions that each of us have into huge, deeply personal and psychological themes with universal implications. This is his second, self-produced book. (First is "The Changers") And it's light years ahead of most of the indie stuff out there.

This book came in a good condition and I enjoyed this book. It was for one of my college courses. It came at a suitable time and I really enjoy it.

Pretty good got it for class I recommend this book

Upgrade Soul is a unique piece of art and storytelling that stands out in a crowded field of comic book art that too often follows well-known tropes. Defying convention, this graphic novel is original through and through; whether it's with its use of color, character drawings, or bold narrative choices, this graphic novel defies expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys challenging, idiosyncratic work.

A great story that passes by too quickly. This book has some fantastically depicted human emotion, with the added depth of great art. The world created by the author is rich, but could have used another parallel story line to assist in the world building.

Saw this at a friend’s. It is worth reading again, so I bought it. Never thought I would be so hooked on something I’d consider science fiction drama, and not horror, fantasy, or hard sci if.

Product is fine other than a tear that goes through the cover. Considering this was purchased new I’m a little disappointed.