ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times #1
Writer: Andrew MacLean
Artist: Andrew MacLean
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 20, 2015
Cover Price: $9.99
Simple, minimal, elegant.
Andrew MacLean, a name that underground or “indie” comics fans already know, makes his graphic novel debut with ApocalyptiGirl on Dark Horse and becomes a name that not only should EVERY comics fan know, but also, revere.
There’s elements of Akira, Fallout and more littered across ApocalyptiGirl but, MacLean keeps it feeling entirely original and, for lack of a better word, human.
Aria is a likable, if overly spoken, character that is well balanced by the silent, sly Jelly Beans and her hollow robotic “friend” of sorts.
Just when Aria’s exposition begins to feel cumbersome, MacLean lets us know that he’s very aware of it ala “You’re narrating again” and, that little cue, that little hint of deeper knowing is enough to excuse something I normally hate because it’s essential to the narrative structure of this book and, because MacLean’s writing is so rich and authentic that it isn’t that annoying anyways.
The amount of world building done in just the first few pages is staggering, too. There’s this mythology built up and explored, there’s elements of doubt and frustration, there’s dead and new technology and more that just sucks you into Aria’s world unrepentantly through both written and visual cues, neither of which weigh you down.
Every single page is simple and simply beautiful. Here is an artist that manages to texturize and contort minimalism into something more in the best ways. It’s a great, beautiful read that made me get a real feel for the world that Aria has known for six years.
And then, in a way, everything I thought I knew about Aria and her world was undone by MacLean’s deft hand.
It’s masterful, just masterful. A fully encapsulated story that could go a million directions but settles on one that’s real, authentic and still, surprising.
Go read this.
Artist: Andrew MacLean
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 20, 2015
Cover Price: $9.99
Simple, minimal, elegant.
Andrew MacLean, a name that underground or “indie” comics fans already know, makes his graphic novel debut with ApocalyptiGirl on Dark Horse and becomes a name that not only should EVERY comics fan know, but also, revere.
There’s elements of Akira, Fallout and more littered across ApocalyptiGirl but, MacLean keeps it feeling entirely original and, for lack of a better word, human.
Aria is a likable, if overly spoken, character that is well balanced by the silent, sly Jelly Beans and her hollow robotic “friend” of sorts.
Just when Aria’s exposition begins to feel cumbersome, MacLean lets us know that he’s very aware of it ala “You’re narrating again” and, that little cue, that little hint of deeper knowing is enough to excuse something I normally hate because it’s essential to the narrative structure of this book and, because MacLean’s writing is so rich and authentic that it isn’t that annoying anyways.
The amount of world building done in just the first few pages is staggering, too. There’s this mythology built up and explored, there’s elements of doubt and frustration, there’s dead and new technology and more that just sucks you into Aria’s world unrepentantly through both written and visual cues, neither of which weigh you down.
Every single page is simple and simply beautiful. Here is an artist that manages to texturize and contort minimalism into something more in the best ways. It’s a great, beautiful read that made me get a real feel for the world that Aria has known for six years.
And then, in a way, everything I thought I knew about Aria and her world was undone by MacLean’s deft hand.
It’s masterful, just masterful. A fully encapsulated story that could go a million directions but settles on one that’s real, authentic and still, surprising.
Go read this.
A Look Inside
