Boom Studios 2015
Created & Written by Frank J. Barbiere
Created & Illustrated by Christopher Peterson
Coloured by Marissa Louise
Well ya know anything by Frank is going to be interesting and this is certainly no exception. There’s no fanfare about what’s happening no discussion no science other than the one we see to get the masses off planet. Hope for the Earth’s future is lost, though whether or not that’ll happen remains to be seen, and the future lies in the space arks orbiting the doomed planet. We open with 48 hours to impact and the life of one woman as the end approaches.
I like the idea of a woman needing forged papers to get off planet and not caring about why she wasn’t allowed in the first place. The narration and conversation she has with the forger is enlightening, interesting and possibly full of clues for what’s to come. While the idea of an asteroid or meteor hitting the Earth and being able to wipe out its entire population isn’t out of the realm of possibility it is however unlikely and that the government has implemented a program to determine what traits mean you stay behind is something I could see happening. Right Wing zealots trying to leave the gays behind for instance.
That she then goes a University to teach what’s left of her class and to see their reaction to what is happening is pretty neat. Also it seems another religious group the Children of the Revelation are another hot topic at the moment. Who would’ve seen something like that coming? From there she has to rush to an elementary school where a riot has broken out to retrieve her son. From there it’s home to her husband who works for the government and has them all scheduled to leave, but this is the same woman who had hers forged so why? Alright an interesting plot development already.
So it’s the day they are supposed to leave and with her family and her forged passport they are on their way. So she’s picked up for having that forged passport and then all hell breaks loose as her husband and son are off planet and thanks to recent events plenty of the security personnel scheduled to leave are on planet as well. The last page well that says it all.
I’m extremely interested now more than in the beginning of what the future now holds with so many on the ark’s and those few who remain on the planet’s surface. Frank has given quite an interesting character study here with some great potential in both space and on the planet allowing for multiple perspectives. It’s a different take on the end of the world scenario and told in a completely new and fresh way.
I’m a fan of Christopher and Marissa’s work as well, there’s a nice realism to it that while remains comic book at it’s core really does wonders in showcasing everyday human emotions and life. The emotion that gets expressed here is wonderful I enjoy seeing the full spectrum here. The page layouts the background and the everyday moments of life we see well it makes me excited to see where they are all going to take this next.
Not your usual fare that’s the big draw people, try on this for size and see if it’s the end of the world as we know it.