REVIEW: ‘Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End of Times,’ HC (Second Edition)

Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End of Times is published by Dark Horse Comics, written illustrated and lettered by Andrew MacLean. Aria lives on an earth that has seen better days. When the people who once flourished misused the Grand Photon much of their world got destroyed. Aria now spends her days with her cat Jelly Beans searching for the Grand Photon. All the while hoping to avoid trouble with the locales.

This post-apocalyptic story of a woman and her cat carries a mostly relaxed tone to it. While going about her daily routines, Aria spends time researching an ancient mech, and continuing her search for the aforementioned Grand Photon. Most of the dialogue and exposition are comprised solely of Aria talking to either her cat or herself. Given that she’s been alone for so long this is a reasonable approach to take. I liked Aria’s voice in Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End of Times. She comes across as pleasant and sincere.

While I enjoyed the character’s personality well enough, it doesn’t completely overcome the amount of exposition is in this book. Numerous pages are devoted to the explaining of what befell this planet and its inhabitants. This is mostly a problem due to the fact that little to none of this exposition actually matter to the story. How this world falls into ruin isn’t really a factor. The only point that is needed is that the Grand Photon was involved. Even while MacLean writes the rest with a reasonable amount of skill, it failed to come across to me as anything but filler.

The art MacLean provides for Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End of Times works well for the tone the story sets. The art is clear, and well organized on the page. While it does a good job overall in presenting its story it does suffer from a significant stumbling block for me. There is little to no consistency in anatomical proportions. Arms and legs vary wildly in length, and girth. The worst offenders of this pulled me right out of the story as soon as they entered my sight.

While the images sometimes struggled I did love the use of color. The color schemes in Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End of Times enhance all of the moods it’s story presents. This color usage was the strongest element of the visuals and went a solid way to help smooth over my shortcomings with the art.

From fixing up old mechs to unfortunate brushes with the locals, Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End of Times tells a fairly well-executed story of a woman and her cat. This story always succeeds at presenting itself in a clear, if often underwhelming, manner. While there are moments that shine I don’t know that I could recommend it in a market as bursting with fresh and creative stories as the comic book market currently is.

Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End of Times is available now.