featureComic book review - Amelia Sky Issues #1-#3
Taking a cue from great storytellers like Robert Kirkman, George A. Romero and John Krasinski (more on this later), Amelia Sky has the bones of a post-apocalyptic which reinforces the argument I’ve always maintained: post-apocalyptic storytelling is as much horror as it is science fiction. In this comic book, arguably more so.
There’s something innately creepy and jarring when we put children in harm’s way. Or, more to the point, when we put young women in the path of a malevolent evil which is so vast, so seemingly unconquerable, so systematic in its destruction of all that is good - which elevates just how far horror can push post-apocalyptic storytelling. Sure, it’s a trope, but when masterfully executed it can leave you reeling for days after your first read-through. Amelia Sky is one such comic book.
Taking a cue from great storytellers like Robert Kirkman, George A. Romero and John Krasinski (more on this later), Amelia Sky has the bones of a post-apocalyptic which reinforces the argument I’ve always maintained: post-apocalyptic storytelling is as much horror as it is science fiction. In this comic book, arguably more so.
Written by Jermaine M. Boyd and art by Gwynn Tavares, the reader is thrust headfirst into a world that, like a cancerous tumour, is gradually being eaten away under the cover of darkness. At the centre of it all is the main (and title) character, Amelia Sky, who while acting as an audience surrogate, gradually pieces together a world she wakes up to. Not unlike the start of favourite films like 28 Days Later or comics like The Walking Dead, except unlike Grimes, Amelia begins to unlock a latent godlike ability while she searches for the parents who abandoned her.
Issue 3 inner page
Jermaine M. Boyd leans into his scriptwriting experience heavily in this series while throughout issues 1 to 3, we start to see a maturing writer who, like Amelia Sky, creeps out of the darkness and into the light. Issue 1 is more of a flirtation of what a horror comic book about a girl abandoned in the middle of a monster-filled apocalypse could be while Issue 2 plays with a one-last hope of survival that fills you with anxiety and dread. Then there’s issue 3, in which the idea of a conspiracy theorist is cranked to the max in this sweltering steam room of unending torment as Amelia unlocks her powerful potential. Boyd plays with this idea that with each success, victory or step forward that Amelia experiences - there must be a cost or two steps back. A harsh reality that makes this dark world seem all the more inhospitable.
Nothing censored. Everything gained. As Amelia Sky draws on the very best of science fiction horror to create a gradually unfolding tale that isn’t rushed, understands its audience perfectly and will scare the holy s**t out of you!
The development of Gwynn Tavares’ artwork over the three issues is an instant one to track as she plays with a few different styles that, in their way, adequately suit the different storylines of each issue. But it’s issue 3 in which Tavares’ nightmares are truly made flesh - when the monsters outside pale in comparison to the monsters of ourselves. A true Romero lesson that is learned from the first panel right through to the last.
While the argument can be made that Amelia Sky borrows from a copy of different IPs for its source material, the argument can also be made that almost everything has been tried in both TV/Film and Comics. So it’s refreshing to see both Boyd and Tavares borrow in equal measure from the sci-fi horror monsters that have both haunted and enticed us for the last 20-30 years.
I touched on the similarities to The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later, but there’s also the sense of nihilistic dread in Ridley Scott’s Aliens as much as the endless hordes in David Twohy’s Pitch Black with a dash of John Krasinski’s sound-sensitive shriekers in A Quiet Place. Not to mention the “side-quest vibe” you get in The Last of Us mixed with Amelia’s abilities which evoke shades of Geoff Johns’ Geiger.
Nothing censored. Everything gained. As Amelia Sky draws on the very best of science fiction horror to create a gradually unfolding tale that isn’t rushed, understands its audience perfectly and will scare the holy s**t out of you!
Amelia Sky is currently funding on Kickstarter, you can grab all the issues here till the 21st of February. You can read an interview with the creators here.
About Anthony Pollock
Anthony Pollock
Aussie, Writer, Editor at PhasrMedia.com, 5+ years spent writing about Comics, Equally passionate about Horror and Science Fiction. You can follow him on twitter / x here.
