Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Jonathan Wayshak
Coloured by Jordan Boyd
Lettered by Rus Wooton
Oh my goodness damn I loved this whole thing! From the beginning of the story throughout the whole thing I found the concept and execution flawless. This is the kind of story that while seemingly science-fiction/horror/fantasy is in reality something that I could very well see actually happening. I mean c’mon people with everything going on from cloning to gene therapy to designing your baby this kind of event well it’s not exactly out of the realm of possibility. If anything it’s kind of scary enough to be carried out by some nutcase with a god complex.
So right off the bat we meet Raja and she’s looking for a map. Otherwise she’ll be going around in circles and lost out in the blistering sun. Turns out she’s in Nevada and the opening sequence well what it does is draw you in, make you wonder what the hell is going on and leave you needing to know! It’s not just the story either because the interior artwork is pivotal in keeping you in the moment and showcasing the fact that this is something kind of extraordinary.
I mean wow this is Las Vegas and this girl, a regular human girl, is being hunted by let’s say cro-magnon's with sabretooth tigers and wooly mammoths. Yeah the city is in ruins and there’s all kinds of overgrowth but it isn’t so far in a future where time has made the structures unrecognizable. So there’s the question of when this takes place, well not the only one but well ya know. With the city still looking intact and inhabitable, well certain parts anyway, but these various stages of human and animal development inside it just excite the imagination.
There’s a pretty nice recap of how the world is this way. Rick’s commentary, see narration, will strike a chord with a lot of people in how accurate it is to today’s society. Seriously it kind of is one of those things that in its stark honesty is something that makes the reader have a revelation of far off the rails we as mankind currently are. Also being that far off the rails leads to some even worse, see horribly poor, decision making.
The third segment is adult oriented but if you’re going to show that and other related material be equal opportunity about it. I mean c’mon in this day and age that you're afraid to show male nudity but not female isn’t acceptable. This of course means the last part is where we see the other side of the coin. It’s pretty amazingly well done in my humble opinion. The demonstration and revelation or follow through here after learning what happened makes this even more scary believable.
From Rick’s writing the boys interiors I have to say that this is probably one of those rare first issues that you go oh okay it’s Remender i’ll give it a try and find out it’s probably one of those series that will forever change how you look at them.
This is the book you need to seek out, try and see for yourself just how damn incredible it is.