Comix Tribe 2015
Written by Sam Read
Illustrated by Caio Oliveira
Coloured by Ruth Redmond
Lettered by Colin Bell
Well this is an interesting little offering. In the not too distant future Earth’s population has grown too much and the planet is just unable to support the vast amount of life. So the starting point for this story is 2025 and from there we see a progression of how life on Earth is. With rationing of food, water and supplies to rioting, looting and martial law declared life has become hard. It’s not an unrealistic point of view either and that’s kind of what has the strongest appeal about the premise.
So Earth’s top minds come up with the Extraction by Interstellar Transport Project, EXIT. Build a fleet of space arks to find a new home capable of sustaining human life and colonize the stars. Sounds reasonable right considering it’s the entire world working together to do this. Naturally there isn’t going to be enough room for everybody, and not everybody wants to go either it’s not like the planet is doomed or anything this is an overpopulation scenario not a doomsday one.
Along the way we see Matthew and Olivia get married. Matthew volunteers to help build the arks. By 2030 EXIT Project is 87% complete and by 2034 it’s time to go. Only Matthew’s wife Olivia doesn’t want to go and he leaves without her, and it turns out she’s pregnant. She’s worried about raising a child all by herself which is logical considering all that’s happened in her lifetime. Meanwhile in space we see Matthew and the direction the fleet is going in.
Cut to twenty years later Matthew and Olivia’s son’s twentieth birthday he is what I am assuming is come to be known as the EXIT Generation. The first generation born after the exit happened. Life on Earth is very different than it was before but however somethings remain the same. Jack craves excitement, adventure something to beat the humdrum existence of life and let’s not forget the old saying be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
I am very impressed with the storytelling here. I like how this first issue introduces you to what’s happening and the state of the world and it’s transition from overpopulated to underpopulated and how that’s changed how people are. The dialogue between Jack and Mo, basically brothers as Mo’s mother and Jack’s were best friends and well Olivia isn’t around anymore so he was raised by Mo’s parents. This is great stuff it engages the reader and really finds a home where you can relate to the characters and each point of view we see.
When Earth is visited by an alien race is when things start to get interesting. But you’ll have to read this to see why. Just know this Mo’s family, and Jack’s too, have been taken by them and now it’s time for Jack to have the adventure and excitement he craved in trying to save them.
Caio and Ruth’s work on the interiors here reminds me of classic Nickelodeon cartoons. That not really scary or creepy alien though it is because you allow your mind to make it so kind of effect. The characters are great and have life and personality and the use of page layouts, panels and backgrounds when necessary help keep moving the story along at a nice pace in synch with the writing. Oh and Jack with his kind of Mohawk and good looks yeah he’s a great main character!
This is another shining example of why I love Comix Tribe. They bring us something that we have kind of seen but put their own twist on it and make it fresh, interesting and exciting.