Xenozoic Tales: Volume 1: After the End

Here's an old-fashioned adventure story, closely modeled on the EC science fiction comics of the 1950s, but with a modern slant. In the 26th century, Earth has been overrun by a new ecosystem, dinosaurs have returned and the grand old cities are half-submerged under water. It is the Xenozoic era, and human beings, having survived an environmental cataclysm in 2020, are still alive though split into tribes and co-existing with new creatures. Guiding readers through this world are Cadillac mechanic/shaman/adventurer Jack Tenrec (big cars have survived, too) and the ambassador/scientist Hannah Dundee. The duo embarks on a series of adventures grounded in bringing their two tribes together and learning more about the world outside their lands. Each of this volume's 12 stories stands on its own, but taken together fully show Schultz's world and form a larger epic. Jack is a worldly environmentalist, haunted by past events and determined not to disrupt the Earth again, and Hannah is more of a political animal. Both are daring, fierce explorers. Naturally, their snappy banter hints at a future romance between the mismatched pair. Schultz's artwork is directly inspired by pulp art of the 1940s and '50s, and his pages are almost bathed in ink as he renders every last detail in lush b&w. Even the figures and faces—square jaws and curvaceous bodies—resemble pulp heroes. Occasionally, Schultz seems so busy trying to achieve accuracy and detail, he fails to completely engage readers on a plot level. But he's made his own world with those borrowed parts, and it's fun exploring it with him. (Apr.)