by Joe Schickman, Reporter

Salvation: A Long Ride to the End of the World is a thrilling, neo-western meets cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic tale, which masterfully triangulates on an instantly classic narrative in a unique and creative style. Writer Anthony Mauro adeptly crosspatches long standing western archetypes and cyborg body horror, placed against the backdrop of a thrilling action packed mystery. At the heart of that mystery is the mythical city of Salvation and the long lost world from before the wars which destroyed the earth, now even forgotten to myth.    

Official Synopsis:
Salvation, a mythical city at the end of the world. Many believe it is a bedtime story; few know better. In a world irreparably ravaged by a war between humans and machines nearly a millennium ago, the few remaining robots in the world have started traveling East, looking for Salvation. But they’re not the only ones.

When brother and sister, Isaac and Klay, are captured by a warlord and his cult of cyborgs looking for a way to the city themselves, they must put their hope in a centuries old robot whose core programming is to kill. Armed with nothing but a story, they must journey across the wastelands in search of Salvation.

It’s a long ride to the end of the world.

Creative Team: 
Writer: Anthony Mauro 
Artist: Quan Chu
Letters & Design by: Lucas Gattoni

Our curious narrator, accompanied by his wolf companion, reveals through the story of Klay and her brother Isaac that once long ago humanity reveled in its technological prowess, creating machines to serve as slaves. That hubris led to unparalleled destruction after a rogue AI named Ares rallied an army of machines to rise up against an unprepared humanity. The ensuing war had no winners. Now titans from those ancient days are left buried in the wastes, their instinct to kill seemingly all that remains, and humanity and robots are left only in small sparsely scattered pockets as an uncaring sun scorches the land. The robots have long since begun their pilgrimage east  through Jericho, one of the few remaining human cities, “and into the world beyond… beyond no man’s land… passed the end of the word, to Salvation.”

Bands of marauders, made up of murderous cyborgs who worship machines as part of a cult called “The Meld”, are seeking the mythical map to Salvation, supposedly stored on an ancient chip which is in the possession of Klay and Isaac’s clan. But The Meld’s warrior king, Vaughn, won’t let anything stand in his way, determined to bring that chip back to his machine overlords, along with those he needs to help unlock its secrets. Meanwhile, The Pilgrim, a recondite robot and unstoppable harbinger of danger, sometimes called The Steel Rider, The Faceless Man, or even Death itself, is also seeking the chip and the map it holds. Eventually the Pilgrim and Klay go off on what Klay has been warned is a doomed expedition, but hope in salvation spurs her on. 

From beginning to end, Salvation is filled with compelling characters and themes all surrounded by unprecedented perils. Narrative framing devices open each chapter with a quote and a journal entry which make the world concrete and relatable while disseminating information in engaging ways. Quan Chu’s artwork gives form to the uncommon setting with beautifully surreal line art, richly conveying the beleaguered world. The truly twist ending, which genuinely leaves the reader hanging by a nail at the cliff’s edge, fulfills the narrator’s promise that this story will linger on the mind. Throughout this story, we are reminded again and again that the dead want nothing, but the living can’t wait for the next part of this series.  

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Salvation: A Long Ride to the End of the World – 3.5/5 Zeuss Cannon Shots.

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