The Good
A group of friends decide to bury a time capsule in Angeles National Forrest, but find a bunker located in their digging spot. Inside the bunker they find notes written to all but one of them with instructions on their part in an upcoming apocalypse and why it needs to happen.
The idea of future-selves sending messages to the past is a fantastic concept. Better yet, I love the idea that these people have to let the end of the world happen. There's been a lot of comics about the end of the world, but most take place after the world has ended. I like this take on this story. Writer Josh Fialkov gives us a different spin on the end of the world genre and heavily mixes in science fiction elements.
The first issue gives the reader a fine story as well as a lot of mystery. It opens up a ton of questions for the reader to chew on. We know that these people are partly responsible, but how are they involved? Fialkov gives the reader just enough to think about to keep them roped in for future issues. How did this bunker get sent back in time? That's my biggest question about this issue and series. There's a few more moments, towards the end of the issue, which we get a bit deeper into what needs to happen with these characters and the future of the world. I won't spoil it, but this book contains layers upon layers of super-cool story.
The art here is incredibly solid. Joe Infurnari did the art on this book and one thing I really liked about the issue was the difference between current times and the future. During current times, the shading is grey, with what seems like a mild blue tint, and during future scenes, the shading is grey again with a mild brownish tint. I love this little change in the book. It beats having to put a caption up in the corner every time you switch over, and this book does jump back and forth a lot. As these characters read their notes, we catch glimpses from the future, and this shading technique really works at keeping the reader in the moment. Aside from that, I really enjoyed Joe's are throughout the issue. He has a very cool style, and one that really fits the story and Fialkov's writing.
The Bad
I was a bit bummed there was no colors, mainly because of the opening credit pages. We get to see these washed over colors, much like in a Ben Templesmith book, so I was looking forward to that. The book is in B&W, so I was the tiniest bit sad until I got over myself.
The Verdict
Today, you're probably pretty bored and just staring at your computer, like you do on a Monday. You probably should head over to Comixology and pick this issue up for $1.99. This is a really fun start to a very intriguing series. I like that there's a lot laid out for the reader, but there's a ton of unanswered questions to keep you on board. Plus, it's an apocalyptic story. Who doesn't want to see the world end in some horrible way, in comic book format? The art has its own great style, and I loved the different types of shading during the future and contemporary scenes. Fialkov and Infurnari have something awesome going here, so jump on now. Overall, I highly recommend this issue.