Wasteland (comic)

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Wasteland

Publisher	Oni Press
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series

Creative team
Writer(s)	Antony Johnston
Artist(s)	Christopher Mitten, Ben Templesmith
Creator(s)	Antony Johnston & Christopher Mitten

Wasteland is a monthly comic series written by Antony Johnston, drawn by Christopher Mitten and published by Oni Press. Covers are by Ben Templesmith. Issue #1 was published in July 2006.

Wasteland is set one hundred years after the Big Wet, an unspecified disaster that destroyed modern society and, it is assumed, changed the world's coastlines. The story takes place somewhere in America, now a barren desert and dustbowl without modern technology. The seas are poisonous, and subsistence farming with small amounts of livestock appears to be the norm.

1 Format
2 The Big Wet
3 Storylines
4 Sunner Beliefs
5 Language
6 Story Arcs
7 Trivia
8 External links

[edit] Format

Each issue of Wasteland is 32 pages long (with the exception of issue #1, which was a special double length premiere) and contains 22 pages of comic story, one episode of the prose serial travelogue Walking The Dust, a letters column and preview page for the following issue. The remainder of the pages are taken up by ads, normally for other series from Oni Press and/or by Wasteland's creators.

The letters column sometimes contains pieces of submitted fan art, and Johnston himself often answers the letters.

[edit] The Big Wet

The most-seen explanation for the apocalypse comes from the Sunner religion, a sect that worships Mother Sun and Father Moon. According to their legend, the Big Wet was a retribution on the people of A-Ree-Yass-I for shunning the 'gifts' Mother Sun and Father Moon offered them.

[edit] Storylines

Thus far, the comic has established two distinct storylines. The first follows a scavenger named Michael who roams the wasteland, trading what he can salvage. His life changes forever when he finds a machine that talks in a forgotten language, supposedly giving directions to the fabled land of A-Ree-Yass-I, where mankind's downfall began. Michael tries to trade the machine at a small town of Sunners called Providence, and his fate becomes intertwined with the machine's.

The second storyline follows the political machinations of a large city known as Newbegin, where the city's leader Marcus (aka Lord Founder) is oppressing the Sunner population, most of whom are slaves.

[edit] Sunner Beliefs

Sunners have been shown to hold the following beliefs:

They worship 'Mother Sun' and 'Father Moon'
They cremate their dead in the open air
They are pacifists (though they appear to make exceptions for non-human creatures)
Fires are considered a form of tribute to their gods

[edit] Language

Many words and phrases from our own time have changed to fit the world of Wasteland, and writer Antony Johnston has stated in interviews that the comic's language is carefully constructed.

For example, many epithets involving animals have become solely references to goats - "Son of a goat", "Goatshit", "I'll be a goat's uncle", and so on. No reference has yet been made in the book to God, Christ or Jesus. The names of places and cities are new or changed ("Providence" is almost certainly not Providence, Rhode Island due to its non-coastal location, and one as yet unseen prominent city is is referred to as "Wosh-Tun"). Although the book clearly states it is set "Somewhere in America", no character has yet named the country as such, instead referring to their location simply as "the country" or even "the world". It is therefore assumed that place names have been lost and/or forgotten.

[edit] Story Arcs

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Issue #1 - "Some kind of Stranger" - The first issue is a double-length comic in which we are introduced to the trader Michael (Commonly called "scavenger man" by others) and Abi, sheriff of Providence. Michael is attacked by desert-dwelling creatures call "sand-eaters", but defeats them with the help of special telekinetic powers. Wounded but walking, he continues on to the nearest town, Providence, and trades the sand-eaters' possessions. One of the items he took from the sand-eaters is a machine that suddenly speaks in a bizzare language, which Michael decides to keep. There is a note with it, but as Michael cannot read, the shop owner, Doc, reads it for him. Michael does not believe what Doc tells him the letter says, and this is later confirmed by Abi, who was also in the store. Michael then leaves town, but collapses from his wound.

Later, as Abi cares for him, it is revealed that she too has special powers. She heals Michael's grave wound by simply placing her hands over the affected area.

In exchange for saving his life, Michael is forced to stay behind at the town and help defend them from a sand-eater attack. The creatures are defeated, but during the batte the town is razed to the ground, leaving only fifty people alive. Michael leaves the townsfolk once again, and now Abi and her friend Jakob must lead them to the nearby city of Newbegin.

Issue #2 - "Maps & Legends"

Issues #3-5 - "Descend The Shades of Night"

Issue #6 - "Dying Freedom"

[edit] Trivia

All the story titles are taken from songs. So far, artists whose song titles have been used include The Sisters of Mercy, R.E.M., Machine Head, Paradise Lost, Flowing Tears and Siouxsie And The Banshees.
The book has a theme song, composed and performed by Johnston, which can be downloaded from the official website.
In Season 1, Episode 6 of the TV show Heroes, issue #1 of Wasteland can be seen on the desk in Micah's bedroom.