Review: The Wasteland Beyond The Wall
The year is 2015, but not as we know it...
In 1955 a new era of war began with the eruption of the Bio wars, pitting the uncontested United American Territories against the Communist Front of Indochina.
The conflict ended in 1975 when, for the first time in history, America lost. From the ashes rose a new world power: The First United Republic of America.
Merging with Canada and occupying most of Central and South America, using the latter for its natural resources and subjugating a percentage of the populace to forced labour.
A five story high, fully manned wall was built on the Mexican border. South of it, large industrial complexes were built to fuel the American war machine.
The Wasteland Beyond the Wall by British writer and artist Darcy Payton-Barnard is a violent, political action-packed dystopian thriller. A lone gunslinger in the Mexican desert hunts down a band of cannibalistic vigilantes called the Mortal Knights. Her gun is not her only weapon; a cybernetic implant in her forehead appears to give her some very unique abilities.
Meanwhile in Britain, an ally of FURA, an experimental cyborg is loaded onto a plane headed for America. The plane crashes in the Mexican desert and the fugitive cyborg (wielding a samurai sword with quite some proficiency) meets the vengeful gunslinger. They have the same enemy but will they realise this and join forces?
It is a blood-splattered debut with promises of more carnage to come, plus lots of foul language, so this is for mature readers only. This is a disturbing vision of an alternate world in which America has become a fascist dictatorship (even incorporating the swastika in its flag). The eponymous wall is oddly topical, echoing the efforts of a certain (now ex) president to keep out the undesirables...
The artwork is bold and expressive, pulling few punches in its depictions of violence. The futuristic elements are nicely designed and the desert setting gives it an atmospheric Wild West feel. The wasteland is a stark, beautiful, but unforgiving place; a fitting backdrop for the atrocities that follow.
Our two heroes meet, each unaware of the potential they hold to topple the evil empire that dominates the world with its grip of iron. Everything could change... but is there any chance that they will not kill each other first?
The Wasteland Beyond The Wall from Creative Vandalism
Zak Webber
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