Wasteland Book 1: City of Dust ( Oni Press / Johnston / Mitten)
“A hundred years after the Big Wet, Earth is broken – a barren and infertile world where the few survivors struggle for survival. When Michael, a scavenger bearing strange gifts, calls at the shanty town of Providence, the effects are devastating. Now the townsfolk must cross the deadly wasteland to Newbegin, a nearby city where the past meets the new status quo. But Newbegin’s cruel dictator is busy oppressing anyone not belonging to his church – which includes the Providence survivors.
This volume collects issue 1-6 of the series.”
This is a book I’ve had sitting in my pile for a chunk of time now. It’s not that I didn’t want to read it, I just wanted to read it in one sitting and was having trouble finding the time. Well, after I started I could not put it down and ended up reading the whole thing anyway.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a post-apocalyptic story, and when I do I usually have Mad Max stuck in my head. Now I’m going to be thinking of Wasteland every time I watch Mad Max. It’s not that either one is so superior to the other (they’re both great stories), it’s more along the lines of Wasteland creating a bigger world. As I was reading it, I was thinking,” This must be what’s happening on the other side of the world from Mad Max.” And what’s going on is freaking cool! You’ve got mutant cannibals, telepaths, drifters, and the ever popular junk trading.
Antony Johnston has written characters that you care for right from the get go and worry about what their future holds. Christopher Mitten’s black, white, and grey art gives the reader a sense to desolation, but he’s still able to show honest emotions in the characters faces.
This is only the first of two trades that have come out for Wasteland. The other is on the top of my pile.
Grade: A
