Extremity #1
I initially picked this book up with no knowledge of it except that it was written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson, who’s Space Mullet webcomic I had been reading and loving for a couple of years. It was recently collected in print by Dark Horse and it’s good enough that I instantly bought the hardcover collection even though I had already read all of that content on-line. It’s so good….Despite the goofy title it’s a serious hard sci-fi romp in a completely original world that has some humor built into it and a very well develop cast of characters. I highly recommend Space Mullet, but this is about Extremity which, through one issue, shows a lot of very similar promise.
The world of Extremity is already fully developed by the opening page and like most of my favorite fantasy and sci-fi fiction, is very light on the expostion and back story. Or I guess I should say, it’s very subtle about it. There’s not a huge amount of explaining the organization of this world or how things got the way they are. We just jump into the lamentations of a girl who loves to draw, has built her whole identity around being an artist. It’s what she’s known for. But now she’s having to relearn the skill because some monsters CHOPPED OFF HER FUCKING HAND! And killed her mother. And presumably did many other terrible things to her tribe members.
As the story unfolds we find out that Thea (the artist ) and Rollo (Thea’s sister) are both essentially princesses of this group and their father is the ruler with the hilarious honorific of “Abba” which leads to fun scenes with large groups of soldiers prepping to leave on a suicide revenge mission and swearing their allegiance to Abba before they depart. It’s only funny on this side of the fourth wall though as the tension in the story is sky high and ratcheting up with every panel.
The group is clearly the subjugated group in this world. Their dwellings, belongings and weapons all look scavenged and well worn. They’re clearly planning an uprising or at least a stab at the heart of the ruling group that took hands and mothers from them. Everyone from Abba on down expresses fear for the mission ahead within just a few pages. Rollo, the eldest daughter confesses that she’s scared but ready to perform her duty…unlike last time, she will not hesitate. Her father impresses upon her the importance of taking this demonstrative act of revenge as the heir to…the Abbadom? Abbaness? Her body language betrays her declaration that she is ready.
Thea is sent out on her how stealth mission to sabotage the defense systems of their oppressors and you get the sense that she is much more ready for her task than her sister is. Rollo, predictably fails at her task, rather publicly but Thea steps up and enacts a vicious revenge play on the man responsible for her losing her hand.
The book closes on a private moment between the sisters with Rollo asking Thea very sincerely how it felt and if she feels better. Not mocking or high-roading her, but rather asking to find out if there is a path to cure the hurt that she feels inside. Did Rollo miss her opportunity to quell whatever rumbles in he spirit? The clear, but wordless answer on Thea’s face is “No”.
I suppose if the answer were yes, there’d be no need for an issue #2. Speaking of which, I somehow ended p with Issues 1, 4, 5, and 6, so I guess I’ll be looking for the collected edition at my local library to round out my reading list.
Comic read on 11/04/2017 at home on the couch.
