Wasteland #1

Written by Antony Johnston

Pencils by Christopher Mitten

Cover by Ben Templesmith

 

This book is the culmination of writer Johnston’s work on a story that evolved from a doodle drawn more than fifteen years ago. Just imagine global warming was completely true, and that the polar caps did melt, and that it all set civilization back by a couple hundred years. Imagine that and you get the rough idea for this comic, but this is no environmentalist’s political warning to the comic reading public. It is first and foremost a science fiction story (epic to be?) that also has mutated ‘Sand Eaters’, telekinetic humans, and typical human myths (prophecies?) of a utopian land just over the horizon.

 

The flooding, called the Big Wet, is implied to be caused by global warming in the added reading material in the back, but the characters in the story are living some hundred years after the incident and are too busy trying to survive in the now arid, dangerous landscape to care too much. All they know is that their life sucks and little respite is in sight. The extra material also tries to give religious explanations for the flood in an attempt to keep it balanced; it is a fairly important story in the Judea-Abraham related religions after-all. The story hints that it might be leading to a conclusion that explains the Big Wet, but I doubt it’ll be anything other than the global warming event the author himself hints at in his letter to the readers.

 

The main protagonist of the issue is Michael, a ‘scavenger man’ who’s your typical lone-wolf type, except he has telekinetic powers and some interesting clues that begin the foreshadowing to a larger, world-size plot. For the moment, he has much more pressing issues to deal with, like a pack of Sand Eaters over-running the town he’s found shelter in. Here we have a shift in focus to another human with special powers, Abi, who has the power to heal wounds with her mind. Tension between her and Michael ensue as she convinces him to stay and help the beleaguered town, to no avail. The Sand Eaters still win and the real story gets underway as the whole town is forced to march for the nearest village, the apt named NewBegin.

 

The plot isn’t terribly unique, even the tension points in the story are fairly common (smart community leader gets frustrated over ultimately kind-hearted hero’s reluctance to help others), but the unique setting, and the depth that Johnston infuses it with, makes the story rich beyond its plot. New religions (Sunners), new cultural focus (the Sun now dominates both practical thought and verbal slang), and new threats (‘wulves’, Sand Eaters, and whipstorms) all help to immerse the reader into the world. Add to that the believable characterization and dialogue and you have a comic that has gone beyond average expectations to deliver…simply great writing.

 

Mitten’s art is a perfect complement that contributes to the cinematic feel and the immersion of the reader. With a simple but elegant use of Photoshop blurring techniques, light and shadow play, and creative panel perspectives, Mitten creates the illusion of depth in the panels that is remarkable not in its innovation, others have used similar techniques before, but in its mastery. No scene is too big or too small for its use, and Mitten is careful not to abuse the blurring effect. The result is a black and white comic that looks better than 80% of the colored comics on the shelf.

 

I love the superhero genre, but I’ve desperately been on the lookout for a science fiction or fantasy comic to come along that can provide the same depth of story I expect in a novel. Wasteland is that comic.

 

Rating - 10