Nothing is ever normal in the Wastelands … especially when you’re all alone.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Ralph Tedesco
Artwork: J.G. Miranda
Colors: Bryan Valenza
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
What They Say:
In 2033 less than 1% of the population survived a devastating pandemic virus. Half of those who lived were immune while half of the survivors mutated into something disturbingly subhuman. Now decades later, the world has rebuilt in many ways but has become something else entirely. Strongholds of human survivors have been set up independently of one another across parts of what is formerly the United States. The rich live in highly guarded Utopias where technology and even an economy has been restored. However, the vast ‘wasteland’ between strongholds is a very dangerous and unforgiving place where the poor are forced to live in areas where gangs, pirates and the mutated roam free. Couriers are key to the survival of the Strongholds and are paid handsomely to deliver valuables between them. Eve Harper is one of the best couriers there is, but when she takes a job to find a missing shipment for an extremely dangerous drug dealer named Gillings, Eve is forced to use every trick she’s ever learned in order to survive the riskiest job of her life.
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
The world is in shambles, but when supplies are desperately needed, Eve is the one to call. However business has been slow lately, and when she receives a call from Jerrod about a new job, there is no chance she will turn it down. After a quick ride to his headquarters, Harper soon sees she is not the only one vying for the opportunity to earn some quick cash; but after some tricky negotiations, the more deserving of the duo has a better grasp of the situation and takes the lead. While the delivery of some much-needed medicines seems to be an ordinary run, the location is far from mundane, Eve has to take them to one of the gangs who scavenges the wastes – the Specters. This ruthless mob is not known for their diplomatic skills and since it is their leader who is depending on this shipment, the chance for failure is out of the question.
After receipt of the package and a check to make sure her batteries are charged, Eve departs the formidable security of Glass’ stronghold and makes her way to the ruins of Augusta, location of the bandits’ camp. With her navigation drone Artie her only companion, the flying robot keeps an aerial surveillance of the surrounding area, ready to warn his owner of any Primals in the immediate vicinity. These mutated creatures are the truest threat roaming the badlands between sectors, but they are easily avoided, given enough warning. However while the road ahead may appear to be secure, an errant piece of debris makes short work of Harper’s front tire, grinding the journey to a complete halt. As she attempts to repair the shredded wheel, Artie sounds an alert that they are not alone, movement quickly approaching from the surrounding ruins. One mutant may be an inconvenience, but since these abominations never travel alone, the two can soon expect some very unwelcome company.
In Summary:
The Courier: From the Ashes at first seemed like an interesting series when I started reading this new title from the creative mind of Ralph Tedesco. However, once the story began to take shape, it slowly began to materialize into something familiar that I had seen before, not from another publishers’ lineup, but in an entirely different medium. And then it came to me after I saw Artie, Eve’s floating drone companion – that robot looked strangely like Ed-E from the Fallout video game series, specifically the follow-up called Fallout: New Vegas. And curiouser still, the main character in that installment is also called The Courier, which may a simple coincidence. However once I made that connection, all the other elements began to fall into place, including mutants and various factions that had parallels to the gangs which harass the player within the same game. Of course all of these analogies may simply be my drawing conclusions where there are none, but it still seems odd for all of these similarities from two different sources in a series about a post-apocalyptic world.
But even with this eerily comparable storyline, I was still looking forward to once again viewing J.G. Miranda’s spectacular artwork, which was thoroughly enjoyable from his tenure in Grimm Fairy Tales: Apocalypse. However, after seeing the first paneled page, it is immediately noticeable that his drawing style has changed; gone are the smooth body contours and meaningful expressions which graced the characters’ faces, instead now the roughness of a cataclysmic landscape has weathered the actors’ features, giving them a haggard and gruff appearance which was not visible in his previous title. Perhaps I never noticed it before since the entirety of Apocalypse was almost completely enclosed in shadowy environments, dark hues and vivid colors, but now thanks to Bryan Valenza’s skill with the digital palette, the world is a sun bleached land of drab desert tones and muted urban interiors. While this does suit a world in which everyone will do anything to survive, this lack of any warm colors gives the land a cold exterior, which in of itself does communicate the desperation of the people within this desolate land.
The story of Eve Harper, courier who will deliver anything anywhere for the right price has begun with a rocky start, but as with any post apocalyptic narrative, hopefully this will change as we get to know the characters and their new world. Raiders, mutated creatures, familiar terrain and a quirky robot who quotes lines from The Princess Bride are an interesting cast to assimilate, but with time they will expand the landscape into something interesting. Now we just have to wait to see if our heroine will survive to make it though another issue and gain her reward.
Grade: B
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: April 05, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
