by Tony Rhea, Reporter
Look out Lovecraft! This week I was able to read Wild’s End #1, and let me tell you, anthropomorphized characters are always intriguing. Do they work in a story with such an interesting backdrop? You’ll have to read on to find out!
Official Description:
Journey to alien-occupied interwar England, courtesy of the award-winning creative team of Dan Abnett (Warhammer 40K, Immortal Red Sonja) & I.N.J. Culbard (Salamandre, Tales From The Umbrella Academy), with Nik Abnett providing additional material!
Out at sea during the invasion, our intimate crew of unlucky voyagers returns to a world they once knew, their once-cozy seaside home now occupied by alien invaders.
Combining a rich cast of anthropomorphized characters in the tradition of Blacksad and aliens unlike any you’ve ever seen in the spirit of War of the Worlds meets Wind in the Willows! Wild’s End is a world unlike any other… one you won’t want to leave.
Creative Team:
Written by: Dan Abnett
Illustrated and Lettered by: I.N.J. Culbard
Additional Material: Nik Abnett
What starts as a simple story of a fishing crew heading out to sea with high hopes and motivations becomes a story that leaves you with questions and trepidation. While Skipper and his crew (who are all reluctant) try to train Eddie (Skipper’s nephew) how to be a fisherman, they contend with issues that leave them blind to what is going on around them. The sudden appearance of foretold shooting stars seems to harbor something sinister, leaving the crew of the Merry Beet with more questions than answers.
If I’m being honest, I’m a sucker for anthropomorphized characters. They’ll hook me just about every time. It’s not a guarantee of quality, to be sure, but it’s always fun to see. Abnett and Culbard revisit a world they created with an interesting cast of characters. I didn’t get the chance to read this initial story, but if this comic is indicative of its predecessor, then I will have to go back and check it out. Abnett’s clever use of these animal characters is a wonderful spin on a War of the Worlds type story. While this first issue doesn’t go too heavy on that side of the story, what it does do is deliver on introducing us to characters that are wonderfully diverse and fun to read. These characters could easily have been human, and could be people you know, with flaws and feelings that somehow don’t feel out of place in this animal world Culbard, for his part, ensures that each of these characters is wonderfully drawn. Characters of the same species are wonderfully distinct, and the simple-yet-wonderful use of color gives as much to this book as the expressions drawn for these characters. I especially liked the way that Culbard draws the sea, giving it a real sense of depth and motion.
Wild’s End #1 is an intriguing way to start this story that invites you to be left as in-the-dark as its characters, and does a great job of world/mystery building.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Wild’s End #1 4 out 5 lost lash-lines!
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