ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times

Creator: Andrew MacLean

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Pages: 88

Aria lives with her cat in a post-apocalyptic, overgrown city, fixing robots and staying out of harm’s way avoiding the local savages, while trying to find whatever she has been searching for in order to finish her mission.

Andrew MacLean has a very special style to his work that is instantly recognizable, not only in his art but also in the stories and the world he builds around it. the story is well written and makes the world and its characters feel real.

The art is equally good and charming and the loose, cartoony style with the bright colours fit the story and supports the tone and feel of the book very well.

Apocalyptigirl also has some great action sequences which conveys the characters motion very well between the panels and gives it a great flow altogether. This is further enhanced by good use of the page and panel layout.

My favorite character was by far, Jeally Beans, the stray cat which follows our protagonist around. It does not do much for the plot but just by being there it breathes so much life into the story and the world. The way it is drawn, conveys so much character that i came to like it within the first few pages.

Even though i liked the story and figuring out just wat was going on in this world, i also felt that there was a lot of unexplored potential. There seems to be a lot of world building going on which is newer really explored, and i felt like i just got to know what this world was about before the story ended. What im essentially saying is that i want more, and i guess that should be a good thing?

The physical book has some problems in the way that it is put together. The pages are glued too tight, which makes it hard to see the full pages and can be a bit annoying especially when it obstructs your view of the text.

If you like Andrew MacLeans style i encourage you to go check out Headlopper too.

Pros:

• Stylish and charming art.
• Great worldbuilding.
• Good Action sequences.
• Jelly Beans (the cat).

Cons:

• Unexplored potential.
• The physical book.

8/10 Excellent