Wild’s End #1: Turn Up the Radio

Wild’s End (2023) is a sequel series to Wild’s End (2014) by the same creative team. The premise behind the original series was that Aliens invaded a town in England, roughly around the end of the first World War. The characters were all anthropomorphic animals that were led by a retired veteran, who helped the townspeople fight back the invasion to save their home. Now, ten years later, Dan Abnett and I.N.J. Culbard return to this world once again to tell a separate tale with new characters who are also experiencing this invasion, which makes this a perfect jumping on point for new readers. Think “Fear The Walking Dead” as a spinoff of the original “The Walking Dead” series, there was a bit of overlap but for the most part it was its own story that relied little on the main characters and settings from the original.

Abnett is no stranger to long form storytelling, with his credits spanning widely amongst the Marvel comics universe, as well as his many Warhammer 40k novels. This is made very evident in Wild’s End #1, with Abnett doing a ton of leg work in setting up all of the characters, their backstories, as well as their motives. These characters are the heart of the story and they definitely come to life by the end of the issue. Their interpersonal drama takes over the story in a way that makes the ominous reveal of invaders feel frightening. By the time the crew arrives on land at the end of the issue, their drama is forced to subside as they are overcome by the fear and mystery that has overtaken them. Abnett’s setup early on really makes it easy to empathize with them, making the final cliffhanger that much more enticing for anyone who wants to continue with this series.

Abnett uses the idea of an old radio to convey the sense of danger throughout the issue. Early on the radio is performing normally and everything seems to be flowing like an average day. When the characters start to notice things going awry, the radio cuts out, giving an ominous and frightening sense of quiet that almost feels cinematic in nature. Then, the radio comes back on, spouting nonsense that the characters know is wrong. This highlights the sense and fear of the unknown, building on the sense of dread that is further expressed by the characters.

Culbard’s art gets to flourish with the different anthropomorphic character designs, giving each of these characters a unique flair. This also allows the narrative to play with the animal conventions, giving certain character elements depth. A perfect example of this is the captain of the ship, who is portrayed as an old dog. Anyone familiar with old dogs will know that they don’t usually respond quickly, and that they are very sluggish. This embodies the essence of the character in a way that using human characters wouldn’t normally do. There is also a character who is portrayed as a badger, who is shown having a brash attitude, as well as two Siamese Cat’s that are constantly finishing each other’s sentences. These elements are brought to the forefront by the choice of animals that are put into each character, driving the themes forward in a way.