"Twilight’s Last Gleaming"
Writer: Arvid Nelson
Artist(s): Matt Camp, Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse
Editor’s Note: The first issue of ZeroKiller arrives in stores this Wednesday, September 19.
ZeroKiller has a great deal going for it. While this second issue isn’t reach-out-and-grab-you exciting, it mixes an interesting premise with an intriguing protagonist. Put it all together with some fantastic art and a bit of humor and you’ve got yourself a winner.
ZeroKiller, not unlike Nelson’s other Dark Horse title, Rex Mundi, is an alternative history, but this one takes place in the same year as our current era. However, the world is a vastly different place. In 1973, a good many people thought that a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union was inevitable. Unfortunately for those living in the world of ZeroKiller, they were right. Jump ahead two decades and nothing is the same. While some remnants of civilization exist, most of it is tribal and savage. In the flooded New York City, folks get by as best they can. As if living in a barbaric society wasn’t hard enough, what’s left of the U.S. federal government (called JOCOM) occasionally shows up and “harvests” any New Yorkers unlucky enough to be around.
None of this would work without the strong art that brings ZeroKiller to the page. New York City is a flooded, hollow husk of what it once was. Very early on in this second issue a missile is fired at a helicopter passing through the canyons of NYC’s skyscrapers. In addition to providing excitement, this also allows the art team to just how empty and decrepit the city has become. The following page with the twin towers echoes this, as well as providing an eerie reminder of just how worse things could be.
The titular character’s reaction to this also provides some interesting insight into ZeroKiller’s intriguing protagonist. Small hints like this are dropped throughout the second issue and they certainly make for more interesting reading then a dossier or a caption filled exposition. What is also interesting is what the reader will be able to infer. Zero is a hard man who’s extremely skilled at his job, that is, a garbage collector – a kind of bounty hunter for post apocalyptic New York. However, despite mostly working with his hands, he has no visible scars. From this one can take that he is either new at the job (unlikely given his fearsome reputation) or that he received significant and in depth training before engaging in his career. Since the second option is the most likely, it brings up all sorts of questions: Who trained him? Why isn’t he still working for them? Aren’t his trainers angry that someone they put so much time and effort into is now working on his own? Et cetera.
Zero isn’t the sole interesting character in his book. There are a number of supporting players that are introduced that make for some fun. There is also a scene where Zero interacts with some locals that will bring a smile to anyone who’s had to deal with loud mouths.
All in all, an attention to detail on most every level is what makes ZeroKiller work. While there are some incongruous bits, such as the existence of modern military hardware in a society that stopped developing in 1973, overall it works well and makes for an intriguing story.
If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at http://madbastard.hypersites.com
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