If you’ve been around a while, you may know that I.N.J Culbard is one of my favorite illustrators. If it has his name on it, I’m going to read it. Lately that has been through his comics series, Wild’s End with Dan Abnett.
It’s a story of an alien invasion and a group of survivors just trying to warn the world. The story is fantastic and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Each of the characters–wait. Did I mention that the characters are all animals? As cartoony as it sounds, it actually makes for an interesting way to develop the characters because each one is a hint to their character, and all of them are well developed and interesting.
The whole tale is woven in an H.G. Wells style. It’s all old-timey (my favorite, right? ha!) and the setting is a quiet town in England where stuff like this doesn’t happen. All the aliens are long-legged lanterns or something. They’re not incredibly imposing to look at but they are deadly.
What I loved about this series is that it puts high stakes in a world where nothing seems serious. There’s something discongruous and extra unsettling to see such cartoony characters react in such dire circumstances.
It’s a great series, and it hasn’t been collected into a trade (yet) and while you can find them on Amazon, I want you to do something different! Find a local comic book store near you and try to find them! There’s 6 issues. If they don’t have it, ask if they can.
Comic book stores can be a ton of fun and you never know what you might find!