Comic Review: From the Ashes #2 (IDW Publishing) by Adam P.

From the Ashes might want to return to the ashes...

From the Ashes #2 follows a married couple, Bob and Michele, as they seek to eke out a living in post-apocalyptic New York City. They meet cannibals, mutants, zombies (who prefer the term Reanimated Americans and don't have any appetite) and anti-mutant anti-gay protesters.




Personally, I love post-apocalyptic comic books. The self-published Sword of My Mouth and Dark Horse's Rapture are two current mini-series which deal with mutants and cannibals respectively and they are both far more enjoyable than From the Ashes. Sword of My Mouth and Rapture are of course serious and dramatic whereas From the Ashes attempts to be funny and whimsical. The problem is that Bob and Michele are mildly amusing at best and somewhat annoying at worse. They seem to be your typical middle-aged happy-go-lucky American couple who pine for lost creature comforts and react to their odd surroundings but end up adapting fairly quickly.

The denizens of the rubble that used to be NYC are trying to make the most of the radiation-ravaged landscape in various ways. The cannibals eat carcasses and try to convert Bob and Michele to their ways, scorning the couple's preference for canned goods. The mutants get slighted insulted when Bob & Michele mention their tentacles and humps but are friendly just the same. The zombies apologize for their three-headed dog and try to convince our couple that being undead and never eating is the way to go. Although it isn't quite predictable, it's rather conventional, with forced humour and nothing tremendously inspiring.

Having said that, the book does work on the level of low-brow entertainment, the same you might expect from any late-night movie or run-of-the-mill sitcom. It's one way to spend 20 minutes of your time if you want to shut off the functions of higher intellect and see how a couple would react when everything they've come to know is taken from them, except each other. Although they do seem rather underwhelmed by it all.

7/10

In Stores July 8

Adam P.
Review Co-Editor