When I was researching comic books and graphic novels that weren't superhero based, and were must reads for science-fiction and fantasy fans, Andrew MacLean's ApocalyptiGirl kept popping up. I thumbed through it once or twice in the store before finally deciding to get it, but upon reading it, it gave me very mixed feelings.
The comic is set in a distant future when earth's society has collapsed into tribal groups after a devastating war over a powerful energy source. In this world Aria, our main character, is searching for something while fixing up an old robot-like machine, and singing French aria's to her found cat Jelly Bean. It started off SO strong. Aria is an incredibly likeable character who, while narrating, realizes she's narrating to herself, and points it out. She has conversations with herself, because, aside from Jelly Bean, she hasn't had anyone to talk to in six years. Through her you get a little bit of backstory on how the earth collapsed, how society fell, and the unique geographical landmarks that were a result of the war. There's conflict between her and one of the tribes, we see her searching for something, something that isn't revealed until the end, but it feels like it's all leading up to an incredible story.
But it doesn't...
The second half of the story rushes to a dull end, where nothing from the first half really matters. There's zero character development, there's zero character interaction, the backstory that was explained in the beginning has nothing to do the rest of the story, even rebuilding the robot, something we see her doing throughout the first half, doesn't come to much. In the end it gets destroyed anyway. The ending felt so rushed, and that's something that I've learned about comics, that more often than not, they feel rushed and lacking in the story and character department. ApocalyptiGirl would have flourished as a large graphic novel, or a serial comic book series, but instead it's a stand-alone where nothing really happens.
HOWEVER, ApocalyptiGirl does have one strength that's very strong. The artwork. It's a blend of appealing manga and wood-block style art that is super clean and eye-popping and reminded me a lot of Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time. And anything that reminds me of Adventure Time can't be all that bad. In fact, throughout the first half, when I was enjoying the comic, I wished MacLean would produce an Adventure Time-type show for this story. The artwork is so intriguing and so unlike the comics I've read thus far... it's just too bad that there's no story within the pages. It's all flashy, beautiful art with no sustenance.
