An interesting mix of science fiction and post-apocalyptic tropes, this two volume series is set in an alternate history timeline that ponders what would have happened if Y2K had actually shut down all technology and civilization had to rebuild alongside world governments’ secret dealings with an alien race from the other side of a portal deep in the ocean.
The first volume tells the story of Eve and Paul, who reluctantly work together after years apart to search for Pam, who is missing after embarking on a scientific mission under her politician wife’s purview. Eve is Pam’s twin sister. She has a feeling that Pam is still alive and waiting to be rescued. Paul is Pam’s ex and is kidnapped and forced to join the rescue mission led by Eve. Outside the colony’s bubbled atmosphere, a contagion corrupts and mutates any living material it encounters, making it extremely difficult to travel long distances or explore uninhabited spaces. The crew manages to make it to Pam’s last known location deep under the ocean without being devoured, succumbing to the contagion, or running out of air. Upon arrival, they find more questions than answers and journey beyond the portal to escape the consequences of their decisions. There, they find themselves face to face with an alien race they didn’t know existed.
In the second volume, Eve and Paul discover that time moves differently on the other side of the portal (years pass by in what is just minutes on Earth) and that although Pam made it through, she died many years ago. They also uncover a rebellion brewing among some of the aliens, who want to change the arrangement with humans and their government.
This was a fascinating look at what could have caused Y2K and the possible fallout; however, it felt like too many ideas squished together that didn’t make sense and muddied the actual story. The most confusing part about this story is the time traveling and the alien race. Neither is explained or defined well in either volume. I didn’t understand the aliens’ motivations or day to day life or really how they came to an understanding with Earth’s various governments. It was also hard to see much development in any of the secondary characters due to the high rate of new world building content being added in each issue/chapter. If the story had focused on character development and either the alien storyline or the Y2K post-apocalypse storyline, it might have been more cohesive overall.
The story is still a good read and suitable for high school readers and up. The full color, detailed art matches the serious tone of the overall story while adding vibrant color to the things most changed from the real world. The art does not shy away from showing body horror to convey just how badly humans can be affected by the contagion (think massive piles of warts and disfigured body parts) or on page sex (it’s not extensive but definitely there). There is also the trigger for anyone who dislikes the running out of breathable air trope as that is a constant theme both underwater and anytime the characters leave a domed area.
I think this two volume series would do well in a teen or adult graphic novel collection or in a collection that focuses on alternate histories or horror. Anyone looking for art created by Mirka Andolfo will be disappointed that she only provided alternative covers and not interior illustration.
Deep Beyond Vol. 1 & 2 By David Goy, Mirka Andolfo, Art by Andrea Broccardo Image, 2021 ISBN:
Volume
ISBN
1
9781534320710
2
9781534321151
Publisher Age Rating: T+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Echolands feels like an idea J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman just could not shake. There are so many characters and genres meshed together that this could only be a labor of love. When I read the publisher synopsis, I was skeptical. “Echolands is a landscape format, mythic-fiction epic where anything is possible—a fast-paced genre mashup adventure that combines everything from horror movie vampires to classic mobsters and cyborg elves, to Roman demigods and retro rocket ships.” The thing is, they weren’t wrong. It is all of those things plus a little more. I always appreciate when creators try something different and this book being in landscape format is certainly the first indication that it won’t be like anything you’ve read before.
Echolands opens with precocious thief Hope Redhood explaining where she came from (sort of) and why she’s on the run (sort of). The world she finds herself in now is ruled by Teros Demond, a powerful wizard and part time despot. His daughter is the chief enforcer of his rule and she’s not to be trifled with, as Hope and her friends immediately learn. This book jumps out of the gate and the pace does not slow down after Hope puts herself and friends in jeopardy by stealing from Demond. The entirety of this 6-issue volume is really just Demond’s forces chasing Hope and company, but the complexity of this world and all its many layers keep it from ever feeling dull. There are many different types of characters from different worlds and they are all illustrated in unique and varied ways. I know that the idea of a “multiverse” is getting used a lot these days in comics (and movies based on comics), but that really is the easiest way to try to describe this world. Hope is illustrated in an entirely different manner than her partner Cor, who is entirely different from their friend Castrum, and so on. This is the real magic trick that Echolands pulls off, convincingly blending so many worlds on top of one another into one cohesive story.
The unsung hero of this whole project isn’t J.H. Williams III for providing the absolutely arresting art in this book, but Todd Klein who did the lettering. Every character who comes from a different time and place gets their own distinct dialogue style/font and coloring. You could read this and tell who is speaking at any given time based solely on the attention paid to the detail of the lettering. While I’m on the subject though, Williams artwork here is incredible and the nuance really makes this book work. There is so much “high-concept” plot and construction to the story that this book might not hold up without the art being this good. Touches of it are familiar to those who read Williams and Blackman’s run on Batwoman. (This would also be a good time to add Batwoman: Hydrology to your library’s collection if it is not already there; it is a masterclass.) To call back to how convoluted the synopsis might seem from the outside, there really are that many different genres happening here, yet they all feel unique and easily identified.
Image Comics rates this book as Mature and I agree that this is best suited for the adult graphic novel section of the library, but not simply for gore or language. I think there are art references and genre specific images that might be missed by even older high school readers. There is a lot to take in on most pages and there are certainly easy to miss details, but the larger the frame of reference you have, the more enjoyable this book will be. Some people might not necessarily enjoy the layers of story happening here or the approach to the storytelling, with interstitials between issues and an ongoing narrator who doesn’t really tell you anything, but for those who choose to dive in, it is a very captivating world. There are many unanswered questions to bring you back for the next installment and the creative team deserves credit for trying something different with the format and really going for it.
Echolands, Vol. 01 By J. H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman Art by J. H. Williams III Image, 2022 ISBN: 9781534321137
The detective is a well-known protagonist in mystery fiction and beyond. This person is an agent of law and order, but often throughout the course of their story, they begin to suspect that the civilization and laws they swore to defend are not necessarily thwarting the evil people in the world. They might, in fact, discover that those laws might be helping them. What makes this trope well-known is its versatility. These detectives can even police streets that exist beyond space and time. They can even serve their own brand of law and order in Hell itself. Such is the plot behind Hellcop, Vol. 1: Welcome to Hell, written by Brian Haberlin and illustrated by Haberlin and Geirrod Van Dyke.
Humanity has found a way to travel between dimensions, so they break into Dimension 1301-A, a dimension full of demonic creatures, barren landscapes, and shadowy cities. It takes a special kind of human to be a Hellcop and patrol this dimension, and one such person is Virgil Hilts. He’s a well-respected Hellcop until he is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Soon, he is on the run through 1301-A while other Hellcops are hot on his trail, and the only way he can get out of Hell is to discover who or what has framed him.
Haberlin gets a lot of story mileage taking a hard-boiled detective whose characterization has a lengthy pedigree and tossing them into an environment that blends both science fiction and horror. Sure, there are cops that patrol some mean streets, the book implies, but only a cop like Virgil (readers of Dante’s Inferno should appreciate the name) can patrol streets featuring a host of very demonic looking characters and flying, foul-mouthed cherubs. In an attempt to make him less one-dimensional, Haberlin gives him a life outside of hell, including a loss he is struggling to overcome, but the real core of this book is the basic premise of a wisecracking cop surviving by the skin of his teeth in a place where just about everything has much sharper teeth.
This world that Virgil finds himself running through is gorgeously conceived by both Haberlin and Van Dyke. 1301-A is at times a gritty industrial metropolis, an uninhabitable wasteland, and a surreal dreamscape. The design of 1301-A seems to be influenced by a milieu of pop culture worlds with futuristic cityscapes and fantastical worlds, from Blade Runner to Hellraiser, and meshes its science fiction, fantasy, and horror elements so that they easily coexist. Plus, Haberlin and Van Dyke’s humans all have great emotional range and expressions, but they also do a great job of portraying cherubs as less angelic babies and more flying monsters.
The title of Hellcop might be a little misleading. It leans more into science fiction and less into mysticism. However, main character Virgil is a detective protagonist who more than satisfies the Cop part of the book’s title. This book is ideal for science fiction fans as well as noir and detective fans who don’t mind their hard-boiled pulp hero rubbing shoulders with monsters not of this earth. This book might not spend a lot of time meditating on the darkness in the human soul or why some souls are worthy of hell, but this book is a fun ride through a hellish dimension.
Hellcop, Vol. 1: Welcome to Hell By Brian Haberlin Art by Brian Haberlin, Geirrod Van Dyke Image, 2022 ISBN: 9781534322967
Publisher Age Rating: Mature
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
In a dystopian world inhabited by rival gangs of teenage “families,” the fight to protect one of their own is only the beginning.
In What’s the Furthest Place from Here?, the Academy live as a found family, waging war and peace according to strict rules against other family gangs such as the Boys in Blue and Big Business. Each family has the thing that binds them—The Academy serve their chosen gods of vinyl records while others forge unity in dress or purpose. There are no adults. There is no civilization. And over all reign the strangers, seemingly paranormal figures about whom little is known, but who shape the fates of the young people who remain.
The lives of the Academy are soon thrown into upheaval by the return of one of their own, a now-adult they believed dead who returns with a rambling message about a mythic city somewhere beyond the harsh streets of the families’ current realities. This return kicks off a series of events—violent conflicts with neighboring families and the disappearance of Sid, one of the newer Academy members. What begins as a quest to find Sid and protect their tenuous lifestyle quickly thrusts the Academy out into a world of secrets, betrayals, and stranger mysteries than perhaps they are prepared to face. The family take care of their own, but against nightmares, a dead world, and an increasing number of enemies, how much can a few teenagers hope to achieve?
Tyler Boss and Matthew Rosenberg, the creative team behind 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, reunite to deliver the opening chapters of the post-apocalyptic coming-of-age saga, What’s the Furthest Place from Here? Though this comic begins with some familiar world building—rival gangs and stories of a distant safe place that sound too good to be true—the world and story soon grow in unexpected ways. The teens that inhabit these pages have aged before their time, forging hierarchies and methods of survival that are often violent and brutal. At the same time, it is always clear that they remain kids. As they bicker and banter, make poor decisions, find friendship and romance in unexpected places, this series is as much about the pains of growing up in a strange world as it is about survival. With distinct and flawed characters and a bizarre world that poses challenges more freely than it provides answers, What’s the Furthest Place from Here? begins on intriguing ground and only draws the reader deeper as the stakes rise and the world reveals itself a stranger and more dangerous place than anyone expected to find.
With heavy line work and matte color palates that deliver bold visuals, the art in this comic crafts each portion of the story in engaging ways. Across frequent, dramatic chapter breaks titling each new stage of the narrative, the artwork captures the high tensions and daily rhythms of life, the distinctive quirks of the characters, and the increasingly unsettling world they must face. From the ruins of a bustling city to a supermarket, a retirement home, and ultimately to a carnival of nightmares—every part of this world has been touched—by time, by the Families, or by the Strangers. In the hands of these storytellers, the adventure is only just beginning.
Image gives What’s the Furthest Place from Here? a Teen+ rating and this accurately reflects the older teen and adult audience the title is best suited for. With strong language, violence, and some horror elements, the comic is often wryly humorous but never looses its gritty bite. A strong comic from an effective creative team, this title could especially do well with readers who favor teenage stories with a dystopian edge as well readers of post-apocalyptic adventures. Fans of comics such as Paper Girls and The Walking Dead or noir such as Ed Brubaker’s Friday will likely find something to enjoy here. This first volume has already delivered a substantial story, and it promises a great deal more to come.
Happy endings not guaranteed for all.
What’s the Furthest Place from Here, Vol. 1 By Matthew Rosenberg Art by Tyler Boss Image, 2022 ISBN: 9781534322288
Publisher Age Rating: T+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Bringing Jules Verne’s work to the distant future, this story of secrets, trauma, and survival captures the spirit and adventure of classic literature while also embracing a new vision for a story many may not have encountered before now.
From Image Comics, Jules Verne’s Lighthouse adapts the early 20th century novel The Lighthouse at the End of the World into a sci-fi epic set in the far reaches of the galaxy in the year 2717. In a time where humans, aliens, and robots live and work together, a small band oversee the isolated, advanced supercomputer known as The Lighthouse, which guides interstellar ships safely through a series of wormholes on their journeys to outer reaches of space. However, when a violent band of pirates arrives at The Lighthouse and seizes control, military veteran Vasquez and her robot assistant Moses are the only ones to escape into the dangerous landscape around the installation. Cut off from help and low on resources, it falls to Vasquez to uncover the pirates’ reasons for seizing the facility and try to stop their plans before it’s too late—if she can face the demons of her own past and survive long enough to see the job done, that is.
Opening with Vasquez’s narration, this miniseries immediately captures something of the tone of the classic adventure novels that form its foundation. Though I have not read Verne’s original novel, many of the markers of its plot are alive and well in this adaptation from Hine and Haberlin. From the dramatic arrival of the pirates through Vasquez’s desperate struggles to escape and into the final confrontation, this comic is a classic conflict of wills and might as our beleaguered hero faces incredible odds and ever-increasing stakes. However, the creators do not tie themselves wholly to the source material. Making use of the sci-fi reimagining, they create and expanded world of inter-planetary conflict, factious alliances, and world-razing warfare. It is in this blending of traditional adventure and grand science fiction that the comic finds life beyond a simple retelling of Verne’s work.
Though some of the thematic work around race, trauma, and warfare doesn’t always have quite enough room to breathe over the course of five action-packed issues, the creators achieve a great deal of depth and complexity within this single volume. Though there are plenty of action sequences, the story does not shy away from the darkness of its heroes or the nuances of its villains. With bold twists and a larger world always creeping in at the edges of the narrative, Hine and Haberlin show that they understand the dual genres they are working in and strive to do justice to both.
Meanwhile, Haberlin’s artwork does a great deal to capture the reimagined world of this version of the story. Opening on The Lighthouse floating amidst a starry expanse dotted with wormholes, the beauty and isolation of the story are immediately clear. The art brings a roughness and realism to the pages while still bringing style to the realism, displaying both the grand and the personal in bold fashion. The paneling and art move the story along, delivering a quick pace, occasional humor, and moments of shock in just the right places. Personally, Moses’s perpetually awkward robot grin was a highlight of a consistently dependable visual style.
Image gives Jules Verne’s Lighthouse a Mature rating, and with strong language, violence, and some mature thematic material, it is definitely intended for older audiences, be they mature teens or adults. For any collection that prizes adventure stories as well as science fiction, this title is well worth adding to the shelves. While being a complex and exciting tale in its own right, it’s also a great way to introduce readers to a novel they might never have encountered before. For a miniseries with great ambitions—that are mostly achieved by the end—Jules Verne’s Lighthouse isn’t the most remarkable comic out there, but it’s certainly worth considering for a place on the shelves.
Jules Verne’s Lighthouse By David Hine, Brian Haberlin, , Art by Brian Haberlin Image, 2021 ISBN: 9781534319936
Publisher Age Rating: M Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Character Representation: Assumed Hispanic or Latine, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
What does it mean to live? How do we define our identity? Where do we call home? Many of these questions permeate the lived experiences of an artificial intelligence (A.I.) being in Made in Korea, a science fiction thriller replete with philosophical questions, written by Jeremy Holt and illustrated by George Schall.
The story begins when a married couple, Bill and Suelynn Evans, order a nine-year-old female “proxy” they name Jesse, to adopt as their very own daughter. No sooner does she arrive than she starts to observe the world around her, dowloading and digesting all sorts of data—absorbing every book in the house, playing with stuffed animals, and interacting with classmates in school. But pretty soon, her creator, a programmer of artificial intelligence systems from Korea, comes tracking her down. As events escalate so do the stakes when a group of social misfits coax her into partaking in a series of daring, violent, anti-establishment stunts. What intention does this stranger have in store for Jesse? What secrets lie within this adopted proxy? What makes her so uniquely special?
This science fiction thriller explores the unique curiosities and wonders of life through the lens of an adolescent A.I. as she navigates the rocky terrain of adolescence. She attempts to understand who she is and how she fits into society and the rest of the world. Carefully arranged panels capture Jesse’s role as the quintessential stranger in a strange land. Most striking are the emotional nuances of her mannerisms and facial expressions as she learns to navigate multiple dimensions of intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, and identity.
While the conclusion addresses some questions, others remain ambiguous and somewhat rushed. Six standalone short slice-of-life stories by various creators fill the back matter of a world populated by proxies and humans, touching upon themes of family ties. Overall, Made in Korea presents a rapidly unfolding plot between the worlds of the ordinary and the extraordinary while injecting philosophical musings and social issues that include exploring the theme of nature vs. nurture, meddling with the natural order of life, and negotiating the complicated notions of home, self-identity, and self-perception. A drama thriller with substantive ideas revolving around life and humanity makes this graphic novel a thought-provoking addition to science fiction collections.
Made in Korea By Jeremy Holt Art by George Schall Image, 2022 ISBN: 9781534320116
Publisher Age Rating: 18+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Korean-American, Nonbinary
An interesting mix of science fiction and post-apocalyptic tropes, this two volume series is set in an alternate history timeline that ponders what would have happened if Y2K had actually shut down all technology and civilization had to rebuild alongside world governments’ secret dealings with an alien race from the other side of a portal deep in the ocean. 
Echolands feels like an idea J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman just could not shake. There are so many characters and genres meshed together that this could only be a labor of love. When I read the publisher synopsis, I was skeptical. “Echolands is a landscape format, mythic-fiction epic where anything is possible—a fast-paced genre mashup adventure that combines everything from horror movie vampires to classic mobsters and cyborg elves, to Roman demigods and retro rocket ships.” The thing is, they weren’t wrong. It is all of those things plus a little more. I always appreciate when creators try something different and this book being in landscape format is certainly the first indication that it won’t be like anything you’ve read before.
The detective is a well-known protagonist in mystery fiction and beyond. This person is an agent of law and order, but often throughout the course of their story, they begin to suspect that the civilization and laws they swore to defend are not necessarily thwarting the evil people in the world. They might, in fact, discover that those laws might be helping them. What makes this trope well-known is its versatility. These detectives can even police streets that exist beyond space and time. They can even serve their own brand of law and order in Hell itself. Such is the plot behind Hellcop, Vol. 1: Welcome to Hell, written by Brian Haberlin and illustrated by Haberlin and Geirrod Van Dyke.
Bringing Jules Verne’s work to the distant future, this story of secrets, trauma, and survival captures the spirit and adventure of classic literature while also embracing a new vision for a story many may not have encountered before now.
What does it mean to live? How do we define our identity? Where do we call home? Many of these questions permeate the lived experiences of an artificial intelligence (A.I.) being in Made in Korea, a science fiction thriller replete with philosophical questions, written by Jeremy Holt and illustrated by George Schall.
