No. 1 With A Bullet

No. 1 With A Bullet

by Jacob Semahn, Jorge Corona (Artist)

Her social media, strong. Her variety show segments, a hit. Nash Huang is at the top of her game. But when the iRis Shutter contact lens hits the market, Nash's life is personally invaded. The latest leap forward in "technological progress," these contacts not only play video or augment reality... but also record with the blink of an eye. Fighting to keep her life together after a leaked sex tape goes viral, a clingy super fan is the last thing on Nash's mind... but that's exactly when the bodies pile up and the terror begins.
Collects issues 1 through 6.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Dystopia

184 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2018

About the author

Jacob Semahn is an American writer.

He wrote episodes and created characters for the animated series Marvel's Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man, he also wrote in some comics related to the Ultimate Spider-Man series.

Reviews

[Amanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

No. 1 With a Bullet is a very modern graphic novel. The subject matter and art are all very much of the time we're in now. It's a story that needs to be told, I'm just not sure I like the execution.

It's about a young woman who is an assistant for a male celebrity and is involved with a company that develops a sort of VR contact lens. She is fairly happy with her life and her personal relationship with her girlfriend until a video is leaked to the public.

Before she became involved with her current girlfriend she had sex with a man, she's bisexual this shouldn't be shocking but to many people it still is, and the man taped it with the aforementioned contact lenses.

Minor spoiler here: it turns out the man was her boss.

From there the media gets a hold of this and spins it out of control all against our poor heroine. She's considered to be an uncontrollable slut and he's just the hot single man who got laid.

Her life is basically in shambles from all angles and she spirals out pretty hard. Understandably.

There are a few twists and turns the book takes that I won't get into without a spoiler full review but the horror of the book lies in those twists, and it does get there. The book is pretty uncomfortable to read and I think it should be.

There are many things I very much liked about this book and we'll get into that but there are also some major flaws. Let's get those out of the way first.

The execution of the story is deeply flawed. It's chaotic and confusing and overall it lacks focus. The authors seemed so determined to classify it as sci fi that they lost focus of the political commentary at times. But then got so focused on the political commentary they forgot to make it sci fi.

It waffles back and forth in what it wants to be and ends up being not enough of anything in the end. Additionally, the panels and pages are organized in a way that is also confusing and off putting.

Speaking of off putting, it's ugly. There are some cool colors and a few good pages but the characters are gross looking. They're all wonky angles and snarled lips. And at least two of the female characters look so similar to me I thought they were one in the same for longer than I'd like to admit.

What I did like was the extreme reactions of the protagonist to her extreme situation. She breaks all the way down. As almost all of us would. We all like to think that we're stronger than the average woman but most of us would crumble under a life shattering event like this. At least temporarily.

I also really liked a discussion the book had about the acceptance of bisexual people. As a bisexual woman I've had this exact discussion before. In the book the girlfriend says she was hesitant to "date bi." Bi people are considered more promiscuous and less capable of monogamy, even by the LGBTQ+ community and it doesn't really get talked about.

I am deeply appreciative of this discussion being brought to light. It happens all the time. It's a lingering form of discrimination that far too many people still accept.

Now, one more thing I didn't like about this book. The ending.

Personally, I didn't agree with the message at the end and was not happy with the outcome. Another minor spoiler with hopefully not giving away the whole bit, the solution to a problem should never be for the victim to isolate themselves away from it and pretend everything's okay.

The wrongdoers should be held accountable, the victim shouldn't have to continue being one.

I do not recommend No. 1 With a Bullet for the purpose of light reading. I do recommend it for the purpose of starting a conversation. It's sure to be polarizing even within your own friend group and might start some real interesting and productive dialogues.

for more reviews and content please visit my blog amanjareads.com

[Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A horrifying rabbit hole of futurism, social media, cyberstalking, and sexual assault in America. This couldn’t be anymore relevant right now. And with a wonderfully diverse main character, a gay Asian woman, it’s a slice of commentary heaven. Incredible artwork (like a cleaner Paul Pope) and hyper neon coloring.

Just one quote on theme: “Hell, the cheeto guy admitted to assaulting a woman on tape and they made him leader of the free world!”

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa what a surprise with this one.

So this really gives us a look of the dangers of crazy fans, or people who obsess over people, and cyber stalking and the real stalking. Our main character, Nash, has her life flipped upside down when a video leaks of her and her boss screwing at a christmas party. It's before she began dating her girlfriend but of course it all falls apart because now the public knows. News reports everywhere, comments from random people who can't mind their own business, people obsessing over her, stalking her, and then of course the whole legal side of it.

Good: Love the social commentary on our current society. The darkness of the web, electronics in general, but also the witty dialog that comes with it. I also really enjoyed Nash as a character and felt her pain throughout.

Bad: I thought the ending didn't really fit. It felt almost like a cop out in a way. I also didn't love how it felt rushed or if we MAY get more.

Overall this was really entertaining. I didn't love the ending but the rest? Kickass. A very solid 4 out of 5.

[Valéria. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brala som to kvôli obálke. Nakoniec som skončila milo prekvapená. Má to fakt parádnu kresbu a farby, má čo zaujímavý príbeh, nenútené zastúpenie homosexuálov v milom vzťahu, vraždy. Celé sa to točí okolo ženskej, ktorá je sekretárka veľmi známeho týpka. Jeden deň unikne sex tape a jej život sa otočí hore nohami. Nevravím, že je to komiks roku, ale bola to príjemná jednohubka so skvelými hláškami, narážkami na filmy/muzikály/hudbu ktorú mám rada, s fakt peknou kresbou a sympatickými postavami. 4/5

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good intentions cannot cancel out bad storytelling and ugly art.

Jacob Sehman and Jorge Corona are trying to tell a story wrapped up in the #metoo and #timesup movements, with celebrities behaving badly, sexual harassment, internet trolls, cyberstalking, hackers, leaked sex tapes, slut shaming, and more. They go overboard as they also throw in suicide, murder, a contacts version of Google glasses, and hallucinations galore featuring the Black Dahlia and John Wayne Gacy.

The overly-complicated and ludicrous mess of a plot does not even come to a satisfying conclusion, as the creators obviously hope to inflict a sequel on us.

The most worthwhile part of the book is the end matter, a dozen pages where women share and are interviewed about sexual harassment, cyberstalking, Gamergate and the #metoo movement. But I can't help but wonder if this material was included as an end run against criticism of the feature story being more exploitative than supportive.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll start with what I liked:

1. The sex tape is shot with super-tech contact lenses… a blink and recording starts. A development that will be a reality in the near future. The ramifications of this science will have to be dealt with.

2. The art of Jorge Corona. I just read a graphic novel called Middlewest that is illustrated by him. This is done by a different style, but it is awesome. He gets that L.A. vibe with a bit of the future thrown in.

3. I liked Nash. A sympathetic character for sure who is having memory problems, shock, and depression. The writers do some good things with her stages of getting over this stressful situation.

4. Some minor characters: the Colombo-esque local cop and Nash’s artist buddy. Quirky and fun.

Things I didn’t like.

Only one, but it’s a big one. The plot. I thought it was too predictable and spun off in several directions in an effort to confuse the reader. It’s a good premise, perfect for our modern times, but found the ending too quick and quite honestly, trite.

The LA scene with a huge dose of that social media plague… Great artwork and fun characters.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable at points. Felt like even the cover gave it away. Meh. Wouldnt recommend

[Paris Chadwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Definitely something modern to think about regarding revenge porn and the digital age.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from Edelweiss

I wish I could rate this higher because it's actually a really important story and the timing is definitely relevant with real word events (“Hell, the cheeto guy admitted to assaulting a woman on tape and they made him leader of the free world!”), but at the end of the day it just wasn't what I was looking for right now. The description and the cover make it seem a lot more 'sci-fi' than it actually is in my opinion. Yeah you've got the futuristic contact lenses, but beyond that the whole thing is incredibly contemporary and I don't really enjoy contemporary stuff that much. Also all of the subject matter dealing with assault and victim blaming is incredibly important, but it really was just a heavier read than what I was looking for right now. The art I think looks really great overall and definitely works well with the mood of the whole thing, but sometimes the faces are a bit too distorted for me so it was kind of off-putting at times.

[Peter Derk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this book does the leaked nudies story in a way that's maybe a little too simple. Everyone except our main character is kind of a cartoon. The way it's handled is very straw man, and I don't love it.

I think there's a more interesting version of the story in this comic, which is the version where the main character has a leaked sex tape, and it causes her to be MORE famous than she was before. Where it causes her to be in the public eye in a way she didn't plan, and...perhaps she likes where her career is at 5 years later, but can she really escape the beginnings? Is the result worth it? What happens when she's 35, and she's had a couple kids, and her kids are hearing about their mother from other kids at school, hearing what THEIR parents are saying, and things are coming back up again.

I think there's a more interesting version of this story where almost everyone is on this woman's side, when she speaks to them in person, but everyone is also pulling a CYA and can't really help her out in a more public way, which she needs.

I think there's a more complex, better story here about how a sex tape ruins your life in a way that's different from the pure fact of doing something like banging your boss. Even if EVERYONE knows you did it, how is it different from everyone being able to watch the whole thing?

I think the story is more interesting if it's the woman who recorded the sex act. The way this book works, she's 100% a victim throughout the entire thing. She's tossed around by the events of the book rather than having any agency or modicum of blame (even blaming herself, unfairly, the way we would blame ourselves if a friend was hurt in a car crash on the way to pick us up). I know and you know that it's not her fault, but human emotions don't work that way, and that's complexity.

I think there's a more interesting story about how, in the future, there may be ways to put that genie back in the bottle. Maybe technology will develop where you could really scrub the internet and any connected computers of this video, but it's costly. How does she raise the money? And how do you balance trying to scrub it while also not making it even more public? Or, does scrubbing it become meaningless because people still KNOW it existed? Or, does the attempt to scrub it become the bigger story, so while people can't watch the actual video anymore, they still know it existed?

I think part of my frustration with the book is that it seems like a warning about technology, a Black Mirror thing, but it just sort of makes the point, "People who take nudes shouldn't be hacked, that's messed up." Which is 100% true as a statement, but I don't necessarily think it's a story. And then the reveal at the end is pretty silly, IMO.

I'm just going to put it out there: SPOILERS




it turns out that the main character is being dosed with LSD...for some reason, and here's what I hate about this: This is not how LSD works. You cannot control or determine or even really guess how LSD is going to affect someone, so you can't really control what the person experiences while hallucinating.

In fiction, hallucination is often used like this. The character's hallucinations are dark and scary, and they conform to the story's aesthetics. Where in reality, microdosing LSD might actually make the character cope with the situation better? Might help her with her PTSD? Or, her hallucinations may have nothing whatsoever to do with her real-life situation?

I don't know, I just felt like this is one of those books I read very differently from everyone else.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

No. 1 With A Bullet is an engaging story that looks at how technology, while having many positives to add to life, also bring many negatives. Don't be put off by anyone claiming they don't have time to analyze this. Anyone who has spent time actively reading and critiquing literary/art works does not have to take extra time to analyze (though organizing and presenting said analysis can be time consuming and is often where the true insights come) they analyze as they read/watch. And including some real world information at the end does not even remotely resemble writing around an issue, it means one is trying to connect the fictional world and any feelings it may have generated to the real world. That is a commendable thing to do, whether you think it succeeds or not.

I did not completely get into the story, there were a few parts where it seemed a bit forced. Nothing too glaring and I still enjoyed the story. This was a work where I found myself caring about the protagonist and wanting to know how things worked out for her but I was less concerned with some of the details (even major plot lines) that led to that place of resolution. I think my frame of mind while reading plays a part in my lack of interest in the story even while caring about Nash. Namely, dealing with a death in the family seemed to keep me from engaging very deeply with anything I read for a few weeks.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes timely stories about the challenges we face in society. The artwork was wonderful and helped the story move along.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew nothing about this book when I turned to it, so was surprised to find a decent mix of thriller, PG-12 slasher horror, and sci-fi premise. A sex tape generated by the man wearing contact lenses with inbuilt, microscopic cameras goes viral and ruins the life and career of a cute lesbian TV worker. (Well, I say cute – the artwork is what I really didn't like here, beyond a few effects – the angular wonks given to all the faces and bodies, and the garish colouring, really were things I could have done without.) Add a stalker element, and you have a woman very vulnerable, to being shamed and trolled on social media, and under threat of real home intruders. In the end, the book works, although I think the ending needed a rethink – the way the heroine found her place with a certain figure didn't quite convince after what everyone in the plot had been through. Also, I've never ever come across a comic book that makes me want to read the social media threads of the characters, even as important as they are here. Still, the piece raises issues without ever reading as an issue book, and it's a drama worth three and a half goodread stars.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

overall, i liked this but i think it could have been handled much better if it was written by a woman — i’m sorry!!!! nothing abt this was bad per se, i just think it lacked a real emotional core. i don’t think the writer truly connected to the subject manner in the same way that a woman could have. sorry!!!!!

the art style was really cool, i liked the page layouts. it was all very unique and served the futurist-LA setting well. some of the dialogue was clunky and some pages were definitely way too wordy but i liked nash as a character overall and found her snarky attitude really enjoyable.

i think the ending was also pretty lackluster. i think the first three-ish issues are super suspenseful and interesting and then things just go crazy all too quickly and they start to lose the initial intrigue. it no longer feels like an eerie dystopian world and just turns to a batshit horror story. i don’t know!!

i think it’s worth a read and i commend those involved for tackling such pertinent subject matter but overall the execution is nothing all too special.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a timely story, focusing on the impact of a leaked sex video, while also dealing with crazed fans and the media circus tied in. It starts strong, but then kind of meanders, delving into some trippy visuals and questions on the nature of reality which seem to distract from the main story. Still, it's good to see a story focusing on this part of the media landscape in a frank manner, and the resources and interviews collected in the back are as important to the volume as the comic itself. It's not the best reading comic out there, but I think it gets a pass due to the importance of its content. I'd recommend it to comic fans that are interested in online harassment and leaks, but I don't think people who aren't already into comics are going to be able to get enough out of it to be worth the format shift (I'd direct them to Crash Override instead, which is a non-fiction version of a similar story).

[whataslacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a lot of hopes for this book and wanted to be able to rate it higher, but I can't bring myself to do it.

The sci-fi element of this story revolves around the iRis Shutter contact lens that among other cool features can record what you see. (Same concept can be seen in The Artemis Hotel.) Which leads to life ruining consequences for the main character.

I found the book confusing as it jumps around a bit too much and only tenuously connects the dots at points. It even leave somethings hanging or glosses over them so quickly you simply miss them.

Even though it is set sometime in the future, it is very relevant to today.

A very heavy and often disturbing read.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate what they were trying to do here, the colorwork is gorgeous, and the post text interviews are actually the best part of the whole collection. That said, this story makes zero sense. SPOILERS: There's a double-dodge fakeout thing with the villain which seems hamfisted, and I just can't get over how in a story that's about the repercussions of online harassment, our protagonist sinks back into comfortable normalcy with her ex gf who ::checks notes:: murdered two guys and SPIKED HER EYE DROPS WITH LSD.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could analyze this as it presents itself as something to be analyzed but it wasn't good enough to waste my time looking any deeper. The book is out to deal with an "issue", proof found in the ending of interviews, essays and "what to do if" articles. "Issue" books annoy me. If a book is poignant and has meaning then that's a good thing but don't start out with an issue and write around it to the detriment of the story. Anyway the book deals with internet stalking and lack of personal privacy.

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read most of this a while back. Then I sat it down and never picked it back up until today because I will be getting rid of it, but I did sort of what to know how it ends.

The story felt really hard to follow. There were moments in the past and present, but it was harder than it usually is for me to follow. I dont mind a little work, but I didnt care for this one.

The story tied up pretty nicely in the end though. If you like suspense you might like this better than I did

[Nate Deprey · Rating 3 out of 5]

No. 1 with a Bullet is very nearly amazing. It has an incredible premise, seems super timely and is visually interesting plus the graphic novel genre is in desperate need for more or any really psychological thriller. Early on it feels like a PG13 David Cronenberg movie which is about as nice a thing as I could say about a graphic novel but the ending is just muddled and confusing and just doesn't fulfill it's earlier promise.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

DPL hoopla. Forgot to add anywhere so dates are close but a guess.

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I can say about this book other than I really enjoyed it and it was extremely intense the whole way through.

[Kevin Corcoran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some creepy moments for me but kinda whiffed in the end.
3/5

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high expectations, but it was just okay. Loved the art. The story felt like it had too many elements to keep together and still be a cohesive narrative.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting comic that explores cyberbullying, stalking, and feminist issues. Seems to fit the genre of mystery/thriller with a cyberpunk/reality-warping edge.

[Joshua C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is the kind of scary that I don’t like to think about. Quality volume of modern sci fi.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick color work. Sick art style. Sick story.

Sick.

9/10

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid story with an educational addendum.

[Helio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great comic that dives into the dangers of celebrity worship, sexual harassment, internet and irl stalking and data breaches in the modern age.

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better idea than execution

[Clover Gislason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how it’s drawn. Cute characters. A bit slow plot wise but a great first issue