WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE?: I’ll Never Forget You (Spoiler-Free Advanced Review!)

What would happen if you took High Fidelity, The Outsiders, and Red Dawn, mixed those together while listening to early 80s punk? You would have Matthew Rosenberg’s latest offering, What’s the Furthest Place from Here. A post-apocalyptic tale where kids rule the lands, keeping their neighborhoods safe and their records even safer. 

The book opens with Sid and barging on her friend Prufrock proclaiming she had “found it.” After some slick back and forth, we move from the bathroom to the central part of what we find out to be an abandoned music store. From there, we get subtle hints of what might be Rosenberg’s favorite era of punk and why the first issue comes with a 45, which is clever packaging and fits in with the mentality of the punk scene, which is all over this book. Unity, the crew, and standing up for what you believe in are all celebrated not only in this book but the characters as well. Not only is What’s The Furthest Place From Here one of the strongest books I’ve read this year, but this is absolute proof that Rosenberg builds better worlds than Sid Meier. 

This book is loaded with little, super-cool musical nuances, thanks to Tyler Boss, who, much like Rosenberg, shines ever so brightly in bringing this world to life. I adore how Boss’s art feels straightforward with no filler, adding to Rosenberg’s characters’ believability. One of my favorite examples of this is the very last panel in the book. It’s lonely, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s terrifying.