When a lonely hacker, Danny, finds a discarded pleasure robot named Lani in a dumpster, it kicks off a chain of violent events that sees her breaking her programming, having learned the most despicable human traits from her previous owner.

I have to admit, I had my reservations when Paul Veenstra, the creator of Nymphobots, got in touch to draw my attention to his comic. Even more so when seeing it described as ‘sexy sci-fi action’ on Global Comix, where this first issue can be read for free.

Yet that description, and perhaps even its title, does Nymphobots a disservice, because it’s much more than its somewhat sensationalist description would imply.

There’s some genuinely shocking sequences of violence, with the theme of positions of power being abused in various, horrible ways being quite prevalent, alongside an emerging commentary on nature vs nurture.

It’s hardly subtle stuff, but it has a lot more depth and empathy in its story than I initially expected. Artist Breno Braga illustrates Veenstra’s script in an eye-melting cavalcade of hyper stylised neon colour and dynamic layouts; its luridly dayglo, radioactive colour scheme is a real feast for the eyes.

The almost inevitable nudity, given the subject matter, doesn’t feel as if it’s there for cheap titillation either, which is a relief given some of the themes of exploitation and abuse that are presented throughout.

There’s a few human characters here that do emerge as fairly sympathetic, with Danny being one of them, and a tech cop named Cadence as the other; it does seem, however, that the lack of decency amongst human beings in general is a recurring element in this first issue.

All in all, it’s a very worthy read and an absolute triumph from an aesthetic point of view; though its almost crass title may be off-putting, don’t let it dissuade you from checking out Nymphobots, especially as you can do so for free.

Many thanks to Paul Veenstra for providing me with a copy of Nymphobots #1 for review purposes. A review of the second issue will follow shortly!