It used to be that the American comic book industry was all about superheroes and dominated by the juggernauts of DC and Marvel. Sure, there was the underground comix industry of the 60’s and 70’s and there had been companies like EC Comics in the early days, but thanks to some ugly social and legal pressures American comic books were relegated to “safe for kids” territory, which crippled innovation and new ideas for decades.
But thanks to things like crowdfunding, the rise of creator owned comics, more independent publishers, digital comics, ease of printing, a Hollywood system desperate for ideas, and the rise of Japanese and European comics in the American market, comic books are in a wonderful place where so many different people can tell so many different stories.
One of these stories is Vault Comics’ “End after End”. Let’s see how it turned out.
Written by David Andry and Tim DanielCover by: Sunando C
Illustrated by Sunando C
Colored by Kurt Michael Russell
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Life is nothing if not a series of endings.
School. Jobs. Friendships. Love.
Until THE end.
Walter Willem’s end was fast and unexpected. His was an unremarkable life. So, how is it that his story continues as cannon fodder in an endless war waged against an insatiable darkness hellbent on consuming all of existence?
And is Walter right in believing he’s arrived in the midst of this titanic battle as the one destined to finally end it?
That’s the tale of the End After End.
Walter Williems is dead. Well, not really but…sort of? After stumbling on a train platform and seconds away from getting run over by a train, he is transported to a mystical realm that is in a constant state of warfare. Now, in the moments before he dies, he has to learn how to fight and survive in a world of incredible magic and viscous darkness, and he is not ready for it at all.
“End after End” #1 is written by David Andry and Tim Daniel, and it is a great example of how comic books should be paced and how to maintain a reader’s interest. Walter’s death is taken care of in the span of a page, and once that’s done the reader is ripped away from the familiar and into a magical fantasy world filled with blood and violence. Andry and Daniel do a great job of showing how disorienting and insane this sort of transition can be. On top of that, the writers decide to forego the usual bird’s eye view of these types of stories and replace it with a sort of worm’s eye view, placing the reader on the ground and in the thick of everything as William tries to figure everything out as quickly as he can before he is hacked to bits or worse. Fortunately, the writers give Walter a mentor of sorts, in this case it’s a drunken elderly pixie who delivers his wisdom in a very blunt and honest manner that leaves very little room for flowery language or direct answers. It’s an interesting subversion of narrative tropes and for the most part, it works well.
The downside to having the reader placed right alongside the character is that the reader knows as much as Walter does, which isn’t very much. While this is certainly an interesting narrative choice that subverts the usual cliches, it’s worth mentioning that cliches exist for a reason. In this case, “End after End” #1 thrusts us into a magical world at war with very few clues as to who is fighting and why this world exists in the first place. For some readers, this might be a good thing since macro level exposition can get really boring really quickly, but if you’re looking for Walter to be given something to believe in and to fight for other than pure survival, you’ll probably have to read the next issue to see if they answer that question.
In many ways, the artwork of “End after End” #1 is a reflection of the script’s strengths and weaknesses. The artwork is provided by Sunando C, who has a style that is deceptively loose and appears messy, but once you focus on the images in the panel you see a tremendous attention to detail and incredibly expressive characters. Sunando’s strengths lie in how expressive his characters are, which is great when the comic needs to show how overwhelmed or desperate Walter is as the world explodes around him and the only thing he can do is hold on for dear life and pray he doesn’t die.
Continued belowHowever, like the script, the artwork for “End after End” #1 has an annoying habit of getting caught up in the little things at the expense of the big picture. In this case, Sunando’s choice to rely on close ups and tight shots of the characters gives the reader a close up and personal view of what’s going on, but it can make some of the more hectic action scenes jumbled and confusing. It’s a shame really, because there are hints at an interesting world on the edges of most of the panels. Sunando has some great character designs scattered in the background and we get to see Walter fight side by side with sci fi archers and strange barbarians, plus the enemy combatants look properly scary, but we’re never given enough space to breathe and enjoy the world that this comic has to offer.
“End after End “ #1 is a barebones fantasy survival story that thrusts its protagonist into a terrifying situation with little pretense and even less preparation, and does a great job of making the reader feel just as confused and as stressed as its protagonist. While it’s certainly an interesting choice, it’s an acquired narrative taste that probably isn’t for everyone.
Final Verdict: 6.7- It’s a solid survival tale, but the book makes the choice to put world building by the wayside which can be annoying for some readers.
