Can anybody suggest a good cyberpunk noir graphic novel or comic? I would consider a novel like Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer’ to be cyberpunk noir.
Something dark and moody, preferably that takes place in a big city, and preferably something without big swords or superheroes. Something that’s futuristic, but still realistic (ie, takes place in the near future). Something that’s occasionally erotic, but not dirty.
Small Clanger, thanks for the suggestions… I’ve read a lot of those works. RIght now, however, I am looking for graphic novels or comics, not just good ole novels. Thanks, though!
I can’t believe that no one else has mentioned it, but Akira is pretty damn cyberpunk. Its also mind-bogglingly long, in manga form, which is why I’ve never read it. Appleseed, also by Masamune Shirow, while a little high-tech and extremely complicated, is a good read, and probably qualifies as cyberpunk (although not too noir). Baker Street isn’t really sci-fi, being a Sherlock-Holmes-as-class-London-punk concept piece, but its definitely dark.
The only other suggestion I can think of, off the top of my head, is a short story (whose name completely escapes me) by James O’Barr, famous for The Crow. It was collected in an anthology I read maybe ten years ago, and asiduous Googling on my part comes up with a big goose egg. Maybe you’ll have better luck. Apparently some folks think The Crow counts as cyberpunk, but it was pretty heavy on the moping and the harlequin masks for my taste. I know, I know, O’Barr had some major issues he was working through, but any who thinks that book is punk rock probably thinks that The Cure is also punk rock, IMHO.
I also suggest the duo Queen of Angels and Slant by Greg Bear. The former is very nearly exactly what you describe.
You may also enjoy Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling.
I second the recommendations of Heavy Weather and Distraction, by Sterling, as well as Zodiac by Stephenson. Heck, anything written by these authors is worth a read.
Bill Sienkiewicz’s Stray Toasters. Originally published as a four-part series around fifteen years ago, it’s been recently reissued in a trade paperback edition. If you can find it, get it. Visually stunning, definitely noirish, dark and moody as they come. It’s not dirty, and whether it’s erotic or not depends a lot on your particular predelictions, but there’s a fair amount of sex and nudity. I’m almost glad that Sienkiewicz hasn’t done much else in the way of comics/graphic novels since, because almost anything would be a disappointment in comparison.
You can see some of the art (though not the text) here ; perhaps the most representative item is this one . Here’s the Onion AV Club review of it, which gets it pretty close.