Comic Book Review: “Fallen Empire” by Chloe Starling

I am VERY excited to be finally reviewing this comic. Believe it or not, I only began reading indie comics less than two years ago when I started getting involved with the community. Chloe’s was the first one that I bought, and it has inspired me throughout.

When I looked at the cover on her website, I knew instantly this would be the kind of thought-provoking science fiction that I live for and that the art style would be imaginative and detailed. This proved true, but you already know this because I said it. Here is the cover:

The story is about a robot who wakes up in a devastated lab and ventures on a quest for friendship. Will they find it? I won’t tell you: you’ll have to buy Chloe’s book to discover!

I loved everything about this: the illustrations are beautifully detailed, with every line telling its own story. And it barely needs text to carry you through the narrative. Only a few expertly placed words and punctuation marks. I loved seeing the main character exploring their newly found post-apocalyptic world, inspecting every crumbled object and human lookalike on their path.

And, as good narratives go, the robot’s motivation is always with us: it desperately needs connection in a world full of false positives.

Oh, and don’t you think this is a cheesy comic book (there’s nothing wrong with those, though!) But no. It comes complete with a big action scene full of heart-stopping moments. I won’t tell you more about it. You wish.

All-in-all, this is a nicely crafted piece that flexes its storytelling muscles very intently. You can see it is created by someone who spent their life surrounded by great stories, and the ending gives you a feast for thought. I was happy that I got to re-read it for this review. And thank you, Chloe.

Find Chloe on Ko-Fi and Instagram to know when Fallen Empire becomes available for sale!

See you soon.

Do you have or know of a comic that you’d like me to review? Feel free to drop an email: reviews@claudiamatosa.com.