“Strongly recommended to fans of surrealism, Single Cell is one of the strangest comics we have had the pleasure to review … Dr Machina’s contemporary adoption of the Dadaist ethos is not a scissored photomontage: his cutting tool is instead an artificial intelligence with an imperfect data set … Single Cell is terribly silly. Perhaps we should not overthink the meaning and instead just enjoy the fun.”
“Dr. Machina appears like an oracle processed by the goddess of artificial intelligence hunting in the fields of American comic-history. Dark creatures, superheroes, distinguished gentlemen and mysterious women produce absurd dialogues in single panel esthetics fabricating an enjoyable sense of strangeness … Dr. Machina offers a stunning body of visual esthetics and conceptual framework in a playful way. The references to the esthetics and ideals of the 1950s are corresponding with American Pop Art, but the work is more pleading for the exploration of a new digital reality. It uses the collage-like capacity of comics to show that perception is always an active process of incorporating and reevaluating different vantage points and is using elements of digital communication to compose an impressive but joyful series of contemporary graphic-art”
In the grand tradition of MST3K and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Single Cell showcases the absurdity of outdated imagery by pairing it with new words. A few of the reworked panels made me literally laugh out loud, much in the same way some of the classic Batman comics do. But the Batman of old is unintentionally awkward or even lewd. Meanwhile, the humor in Single Cell is very deliberate … Be sure to take the time to carefully review the selected panels from old comic books in relation to the title, new wording, and tags provided by the author. They range from obvious humor to a deeper, complex gags, which means there’s plenty on display here for anyone who enjoys reworked humor in the vein of the previously mentioned MST3K and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.”
“Dr. Machina is both provocative and inspirational. Taken in single doses or binged in a marathon setting, these panels from the strange recesses of comic book history have been re-enchanted with a mix of digital processing and wit. Bizarre locations, D-list characters, and genre scenes transform into snapshots of a surreal pop culture universe. This is the stuff of superhero dreams. Some pages will draw an immediate laugh. Others will linger long in the imagination. Together the collection invites us to consider the unconscious life under all the masks and costumes of popular entertainment. Irreverent yet oddly humane in its treatment of long-forgotten heroes, Dr. Machina is a unique resource for both comic book fans and creators.”
“The cartoon style comes from the 1950’s and conjure up traditional roles of the 1950’s image of happy housewives and hardworking husbands each with 2 children and 1 white picket fence. However, the bright colouring effect of the pictures is out of place in the 1950’s which is the readers first hint that things are not what they appear to be … Dr. Machina then juxtaposes these images with modern ideas, speech, and actions. The result is entertaining, thought provoking, and highly comic. I loved the surreal nature of the book particularly the ‘onion rings’ and ‘Viagra’ which tickled me for a number of days! I found the surrealistic nature of the comic book quite philosophical too, whereas at first glance it’s a funny comic book, there is a hidden subtext in the picture/comment combinations which I found very interesting … I recommend this comic book to people who enjoy comic writing, appreciate the darker side of life, who have the ability to think outside the box, and look at life in new ways.”