Boom Studios 2015
Created & Written by Frank J. Barbiere
Created & Illustrated by Christopher Peterson
Coloured by Marissa Louise
Well the end of the world as we know it never happened and those left on Earth have a new reality to face with so many having left in that mass exodus. I got news for ya Frank doesn’t fool around people when he gets an idea it’s a frakkin good one and it’s never quite what you expect it to be either. Case in point is what we learn this very issue as things are unfolding rather quickly and not in the way I was thought they would.
Okay so yes I did expect to see looting and people taking advantage of the lack of folks still around. Last issue we heard about the Children, who seem to be this religious cult and we all know how crazy they can be, and this issue we see a bit more about them. It does indeed prove to be that they nutcases who believe that the meek have finally inherited the Earth but in doing so they’ve proven themselves to be anything but meek. Interesting dynamic if ya ask me and I look forward to learning more.
Well as luck would have it Professor Marlowe, Elena, rescued Emma’s brother from the Children, Emma was seen last issue in the Professor’s class where she had revealed that her parents were members of the Children. Which could explain why David seemed targeted by the man Elena rescued him from. What’s the saying nature abhors a vacuum well it would seem they are here to fill one and somebody has to play to heavy that rallies the public together against a common foe. Also let’s face it these so-called religious groups are just pretty darn scary to begin with, add little to no resistance against them and well it’s like wildfire without firemen.
I like Elena’s honestly with Emma it’s more than a little refreshing that she trusts her former student enough to do so. So After we learn Elena’s plans and what she’s going to do to help out Emma and David they get underway and it seems they’ll have to go through another obstacle before they can continue on. Now the real question is who are they? Can they be remnants of the past left behind, like from the incident we see Elena involved in last issue, or are they opportunistic taking advantage of that void left behind.
This is great an end of the world story that well didn’t happen but nevertheless has the world in such a perilous state. Human nature on full display both good and bad and then there’s the fact we haven’t seen what’s happening in outer space yet and if the ark to save humanity was even a success up there. Frank’s a pretty powerful storyteller and the characterization and situations the characters find themselves are superbly crafted.
Christopher and Marissa do some really strong work on the interiors. Yeah everyday, ordinary people are the hardest to draw and Christopher makes it look easy here not to mention when we see the car and the motorcycle on the road at the end of the issue the feel of motion and the headlights effects are really something to see. I like the flashback colouring being darker than what’s happening now to easily differentiate it.
Boom might be celebrating ten years right now but they’ve set themselves up for the next ten beautifully with creators and books like this one.