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Dylan Todd And Friends Prophesize An Odd Future in “2299” v1 [Review]

By | September 26th, 2014
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

A truly impossible number of creators come together in “2299” Vol. 1, a sci-fi anthology curated by Dylan Todd that delightfully blends the horrors of futures gone wrong with the creative energy of the artists involved. Check out what we think in our spoiler-free review.

THE FUTURE IS NOW. 2299 is a sci-fi comics anthology of 11 stories set in the far future. Featuring over 80 pages of comics and art from:

Nolan T. Jones, Timothy Weave, Andrew Otis Weiss, Keith Pille, Kyle Starks, Derek Charm, Kevin Church, Jordan Witt, Carlos Aguilar, Caleb Goellner, Dylan Todd, Max Huffman, Max Bachhuber, Josh Trujillo, Lonku, Josh Krach, Mathew Digges, Robert Wilson IV

Welcome to the future, humanoid. Welcome to 2299.

Comic book creators have been crafting their own visions of the future since throughout their very existence, from the dystopia of “Transmetropolitan” or that current Marvel/DC storyline where they jumped a few months ahead. “2299”, meanwhile, features yet another look at the future that may come — but instead of a singular vision, multiple teams of creators come together to develop a world as vibrant as the book’s credits page.

On its surface, “2299” seems to fail at creating a coherent universe, at least in the traditional sense. The artists styles are varied, from the kinetically wild ‘Decagon of Doom’ to the warm ‘Elder’. There’s no plot that unites the anthology, but a sense of unity can be found in the artists’ energy. The post-apocalyptic world of ‘Fireside’ seems like it should have nothing to do with the fashionable ‘Runway’ story but they’re both such clear expressions of imagination that their place together seems natural. The tones may be drastically different (‘Gucci Mane 2299’ should likely belong nowhere near the sobering ‘Fantastic Life’) but they’re curated in an order that makes the jump from story to story feel less jarring and more like an extensive tour.

Because really, that’s what “2299” is: a tour. There’s babble about chronopriests and the often vague conflicting hints to the extensive lore of the year 2299, but they’re secondary to the different facets of society discussed. Some topics are as deadly serious as seen in ‘Fantastic Life’ by Kyle Starks. It mostly consists of a conversation between a man and woman but it utilizes its futuristic setting in brilliant ways from the smallest of details – like the woman dressing herself by pouring a dress onto her body – to the last page twist. On the flip side, there’s still stories like ‘Gucci Mane 2299’ which (I cannot express enough) is about the latest warrior who is successor to the title of “Gucci Mane”. Max Bachhuber and Max Huffman earn roughly several prizes.

Even in zany stories like that, “2299” doesn’t lose its heart. At its core, it’s an anthology more concerned with the human condition and how it pretty much stays constant over time, despite the introduction of jet packs and bug people. ‘Torrid Teens’ by Kevin Church and Jordan Witt is an excellent example of this. It revolves around a group of teenagers in post-Robocop Detroit but is less focused on the group’s antics and more on their way of speech. Their story is the type that could (with some tweaks) occur in the modern day, but its the interesting look into how language changes over time that makes it a stand-out entry in this already solid anthology — although I don’t know how to feel about it being 2014 and I’m already unironically using the word “hashtag” as a prefix.

Some stories are more traditional than ‘Torrid Teens’, like ‘Bug Brothers’ by Derek Charm which is a simultaneously creepy and cool origin story for two insect siblings on the run. Though it doesn’t offer too much in these three pages, ‘Bug Brothers’ gives enough to pique one’s interests, as does Kyle Starks and Dylan Todd’s ‘Fireside’. It’s my personal fave of the bunch and, without giving it away, imagine if Fallout had Adventure Time‘s sense of post-modern whimsy and swords. With all due respect to the other stories and creators, all of whom would make for great second returns, “The King of Utah” is a character I definitely need to see more of in my life.

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“2299” is a different take on the future than most other sci-fi projects. There’s no authoritative voice defining the lore of a world for everyone to agree to and then strictly follow. Instead, Dylan Todd and his co-conspirators have only agreed to one ideal: the future should be fun.

Or really fucking depressing in some cases. But that’s fun in its own way.

Final Verdict: 8.7 – Definitely check this book out. You can buy it on Gumroad for $2, and all proceeds go to The Hero Project. Please check this out, if only for more King of Utah and Gucci Man 2299.


James Johnston

James Johnston is a grizzled post-millenial. Follow him on Twitter to challenge him to a fight.

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