We Are Here Forever

Gish’s companion volume to her popular webcomic of the same name expands on its cartoon-apocalypse premise in a collection of charming, new-to-print short stories. Set in an undefined future after an unspecified extinction event wiped out human civilization, each story follows the adventures of the Puramus, a race of blobby purple catlike aliens who now populate Earth and whose cuteness is outweighed only by their naïveté. For the most part, any drama is low-stakes; will perpetually anxious Jingle work up the moxie to read her poetry at an open mic? Can the warrior trio of Pot, Box, and Bowl find their king a second “flarg” (actually a skateboard) in the rubble of a nearby city? There’s a shadow of the macabre in the background, though, in the unanswered question that becomes Jingle’s obsession: why are all the humans skeletons now? Gish’s goofy designs and cheerful coloring contrast jarringly (and hilariously) with the comic’s existential dread; the final chapters, which flash backwards to the aliens’ first contact with humanity, are laden with chilling foreshadowing. Much of the character development will be lost on readers unfamiliar with the webcomic, but the absurdity of the humor stands independently in this light spin on postapocalyptic fiction. [em](July) [/em]