It’s been eight long years since we romped, raged, and rallied in Dan Abnett’s “Wild’s End,” a twee and terrifying, anthropomorphized version of 1930s England. This iteration of “Wild’s End” will satisfy old readers who are familiar with the world, but also is an easy enough entry point that new fans will feel like they haven’t missed a thing. Let’s take an amble through “Wild’s End” #1, and try not to get vaporized by alien lasers in the process!
Cover by I.N.J CulbardWild’s End #1
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated & Lettered by
Reviewed by Kobi BordoleyLower Crowchurch is a small English community enjoying the peace of the 1930s, but when the town becomes the victim of an alien invasion, the residents’ lives are upended by the harsh realities of life-and-death violence. Led by the town’s outsider and retired war veteran, they will have to rally together to uncover the secret of their invaders and hope to fight back.
“Wild’s End” #1 packs a lot of story into its twenty-some odd pages. And not just any story, but a story about animals (in this case, a few dogs, a badger (skunk?), twin cats, and a few other stragglers) doing their darn best to get by in the busy-bodying town of Lower Crowchurch. It’s the 1930s, and Abnett goes a long way to show that there’s a post-depression, between-wars vibe to the town. Everything from the outfits to the slang and dialects feels lifted out of that proto-steampunky world. What we’re served, then, is a mixture of H.G. Wells, Watership Down, Emmett Otter’s Jug-band Christmas, with some Beasts of Burden and Zootopia to round it out. To put it bluntly, the vibes are immaculate, if the pacing is a little slow.
That’s one point to note: if you’re adverse to dialogue dense stories, especially ones that involve specific dialects, then “Wild’s End” #1 might be a bit of a slog for you. However, this one’s really worth the wait. The slow pacing really builds the anticipation and sense of eeriness that pervades that last third of “Wild’s End” #1. Even if you haven’t read the older iterations of the story, the solicit spoils that there’s going to be an alien invasion. However, we see no aliens in all of “Wild’s End” #1. Most of the story involves the aforementioned crew out at sea, doing a whole lot of grumbling over the lack of catch and just a little fishing. The days at sea drag by, and eventually the radio cut outs. This makes sense — they’re out in the Atlantic, the weather is choppy. Dramatic irony, of course, tells us that sh!t is hitting the fan back on dry land. When our intrepid crew hits the dock and there’s not a soul to be seen, the dread takes in the final third of the story flies by as we’re glued to the impending drama.
At this point, it all comes together. In the abandoned town, the anthropomorphized critters look softer, more delicate, and needing of protection. Their old-fashioned drawls feel so ill-equipped for whatever techno-terror awaits them, and the small pittances of shoreside squabbles seem to pale in comparison for what’s coming. Then “Wild’s End” #1 ends, and we’re hit with a “to be continued…” that leaves us wringing our hands.
At this point, we have to check in about the art in “Wild’s End” #1, as it really ties the story together. The last time we reviewed a “Wild’s End” story, we described Culbard’s art as “enchanting if somewhat quaint.” And, in enchanting and quaint fashion, it hasn’t changed much in eight years. “Wild’s End” #1 ebbs and flows with a blissful simplicity. The environment of Lower Crowchurch is rendered deftly, however Culbard isn’t afraid of drawing a cottage like a cottage, a dock like a dock, and boat like a boat. Basically, there are no frills in the art of “Wild’s End” #1, which is not at all synonymous with the art being bad. No, the art just gets its point across in a direct manner. The combination of the story and the pictures speak for themselves, no need for extra pretention here. If the detail’s lack in the environment, Culbard makes sure to give us a lot when it comes to characters. Each character in “Wild’s End” #1 has their own visual identity and sense of drawn pathos that pulls us in. By the end of “Wild’s End” #1, we feel as if we’ve spent weeks on the ship with the characters, just as they have with each other. The world of “Wild’s End” #1 may be a little simplistic, but it’s lived in and bountiful.
Overall, if you’re able to make it over the pacing and dialects in “Wild’s End” #1, you’ll be in for a treat. The plot works, the darkness abounds, and the story feels transporting and enrapturing the way a good comic should.
Final Verdict: 8.6. Slow boiling but worth the wait, the return to “Wild’s End” captures the terror and triumph of our first visit to Lower Crowchurch perfectly.
