I’ve heard it said that good art can save a bad story. I’ll admit that’s not always the case with me, as if a story hits too many nerves I’ll stop reading no matter how pretty the art. Fortunately, Synthetic Life suffers more from problems with a suspension of disbelief in its story. This can be a problem with any science fiction or fantasy story, but with SL I found the stumble was over societal issues rather than unreal technology. Unfortunately, these issues are central to the story and focus on a core motivation of the primary male protagonist, Sean.

While a main focus in SL is with interactions of artificial persons (and by that I mean androids rather than juristic entities), Sean’s primary motivation in creating the android Michelle is linked with his core motivation of freeing his father from jail. This brilliant young man who has the intelligence and resources to build an android and supply her with all sorts of high-tech gadgets to recover his father doesn’t think of going the simple route of hiring a lawyer. And I say this because of later events when he gets together with a lady friend who is a lawyer and recruits her help in trying to free his father once his father is recaptured. Strike one.

Strike two exists in Sean’s irrational treatment of Michelle (and the equally bizarre actions of his arch-rival, who likewise has created androids and somehow sees Michelle as a threat); Sean actually lies to Michelle, claiming she’s human, despite evidence to the contrary. His treatment of Michelle borders of the schizophrenic, with him acting almost like she’s his girlfriend and then ignoring her to be with another female acquaintance, while letting the naive and innocent Michelle wander the city on her own, unattended. Indeed, it’s only the utter charm of Michelle and her innocent inquiries into mundane elements of human life that keeps the comic from striking out. SL suffers from a number of flaws… but a combination of a couple of intriguing characters and good artwork keep it from being a total loss.