Oblivion Song, Chapter One

Oblivion Song #1

by Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici (Contributor), Annalisa Leoni (Contributor)

A decade ago, 300,000 citizens of Philadelphia were suddenly lost in Oblivion. The government made every attempt to recover them, but after many years, they gave up. Nathan Cole...won't. He makes daily trips, risking his life to try and rescue those still living in the apocalyptic hellscape of Oblivion. But maybe...Nathan is looking for something else? Why can't he resist the siren call of the Oblivion Song? Collects OBLIVION SONG #1-6

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Horror

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2018

About the author

Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of that publisher.

Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.

In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.

Reviews

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastically written otherworld fantasy meets gritty drama. The artwork is beautiful, my only complaint is the coloring’s monochromatism can sometimes muddy details. Other than that, I’m excited for this series more than anything else by Kirkman.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

Giant monsters walk the land while small groups of humans try to survive - Oblivion Song is basically Image’s answer to Dark Horse’s BPRD: Hell on Earth, and, like that series, it’s pants!

The more detailed plot outline is that 10 years ago 300,000 people were transported to another dimension – “Oblivion” – after a crazy science experiment gone wrong. Now, said crazy scientist is trying to rescue as many of those 300k, as well as his brother, through solo inter-dimensional trips. Hmm. Sounds like it’s gonna be a while ‘til he catches them all!

The problem is that the broader story I mention above is gleaned mostly from the back cover blurb – Robert Kirkman’s definitely not brought his A game to his new ongoing title and, aside from the “scientist looking for his brother” storyline, I had no idea what was going on for most of the book. I also didn’t care – this isn’t even a remotely interesting read!

Indistinct story, generic amorphous blob monsters chasing poorly- defined (if at all) characters across your typical post-apocalyptic wasteland – bo-ring! It was the scene between two characters – couldn’t tell you who they were - in a restaurant talking about ending their affair that I realised I couldn’t care less about this series and that I wouldn’t be coming back for any more.

Full of tedious, bland nothing from the uninspired writing to the fugly art, the first book of Oblivion Song is one-note, astonishingly dull and unimpressive – Kirkman’s worst series in years.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept never really grabbed me.
It's kind of weird on multiple levels and it just didn't explain enough on any of them for me to get a really good idea of whether or not I want to continue with the series.



Ok, so the gist is that some sort of a dimensional rift (or something) filled with monsters opened up and swallowed part of a city. This scientist dude keeps going back into the rift to try to find and save any survivors, always hoping that he'll run across his brother in there somewhere (<--something happened between them). He's aided by 2 more scientists, a married couple that has their own problems due to the husband having been stuck in the monster zone for a while. The government wants him to shut his project down, he's fighting against the system, etc., etc., etc..



Then there's another side to the story from people who live/lived over in this other place. By the end of it you're not sure what's going on - and maybe not so much in a good way?
I mean, stuff happens but it was kind of vague if that makes any sense?
Eh. I'm not so sure but I'll keep reading.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the premise very intriguing. Part of Philadelphia gets transported to another dimension full of giant monsters. Now it's 10 years later, a scientist has figured out how to reach the other dimension and is bringing the people back one by one. This would be 5 stars for me if it wasn't for the poor art and coloring. I couldn't tell the characters apart and the monsters even just looked like part of the landscape. The colors were all part of dusky color palette that never varied no matter what was portrayed so none of the figures in a panel stuck out. This could be really good with a better artist.

Received an advance copy from Edelweiss and Image. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good start to Robert Kirkman's new series. I'm digging it so far and look forward to see where it's going. The artwork's gorgeous, with a special shout-out to the colourist; beautiful work!

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread: 08/04/2024

Its always fun rereading Krikman stuff and I love this volume, it starts off with action right away and you get the explanation of whats happening pretty fast and the pacing is awesome, only something that Kirkman can do and its post apocalyptic so its him at his best and I love the characters involved and the twist with the lead character Nathan in the end and how its a family drama with mystery of what this world is and all that. Seriously epic and like I said last time awesome designs for the monsters here and yeah there is a lot of mystery but there are other characters who have got their own story and thats awesome to read about!!
____________________________________________________________________________________
10 years ago a portion of Philadelphia was lost in another dimension named Oblivion and obviously people were trapped there and we pick up with out protagonist Nathan Cole and its upto him to rescue these people but he is finding his brother Ed mainly. This Oblivion region has monsters of various sizes and even dinosaurs and some which look like infected-bacteria too. And then there are faceless men here and there is a lot of mystery as to what caused "the transference" and we still don't know a lot about Oblivion but then again its just the start. The govt has given up and erected a wall honoring people lost but Nathan hasn't and he rescues people and then finally he does save some, and next time he goes there he meets people and we learn more about what he did and that last page was a shocker and gives some motivation to why Nathan is doing what he is doing. Its a slow read but an intriguing one and promises a lot. It falls somewhere between post apocalyptic and escaping from it into reality but what if you don't wanna escape? A good start for sure.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit sceptical at the start. I found it awfully slow with the world building and the introduction of the characters. Ive always enjoyed post apocalyptic themed stories and this was no exception. The slow build up really ramped up until the ending. I can see the world or worlds being explored more and I hope Im right. Worth a shot if you like slow burn scifi stories with real characters. Vintage Kirkman.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent world building and some nice hooks, with room for improvement in the future.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good opening but I guess I was expecting more.

So we start off with a guy running away from monsters, shooting people, and then everyone teleports back to the real world. We learn that there's another dimension, world, and it took a good amount of our people in a certain event. In this universe the people are hunting by monsters since we are on this world. So it's up to our main hero, Nathan Cole, to go into this universe to save people. His mission? To find his brother Ed...but to what end?

Good: The story is interesting enough. Other dimension stories can fail but here it works well enough. I also think Nathan is a pretty interesting character, dealing with his own set of PTSD as well as most other characters dealing with it. The monsters and designs are pretty unique too.

Bad: Some of the art can be pretty ugly though. Especially when there isn't a lot of movement. The pacing is a bit odd and the story feels like it comes to a full stop at moments.

Overall, it's a good start. Interesting enough to see where the next one goes. A 3-3.5 out of 5.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read and enjoyed an advance edition of the first trade, featuring four of the first six issues. It's a fun story that feels a little bit familiar, but the writing and characters are interesting and layered, and there's a compelling twist at the end of issue 4 that sets up much conflict to come.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten years ago -- in an event that evokes the storied Philadelphia Experiment -- several blocks of Philadelphia were displaced with an alien landscape filled with monsters. The monsters were killed, the space has withered to a wasteland, and some of the people who disappeared were rescued from an alien dimension called Oblivion, but long after public attention has turned to other matters one man continues a quest to find the many people who never returned -- including his own brother.

While not as gripping as The Walking Dead, this is a decent start to a sci-fi thriller packed with action and adventure, twists and turns, and some intriguing relationships.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Oblivion Song #1-6.

[Jason Rico · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Walking Dead + Black Science + Black Hammer.

That's Oblivion Song.

I had not heard anything about Kirkman's newest title until I was lucky enough to get my hands on an Advance Reader Edition TPB, featuring the first six issues. From the synopsis alone, I knew it was right up my alley, and honestly, it was as good as I'd hoped it would be.

In Oblivion Song, Kirkman creates a new sci-fi world filled of monsters that immediately sucks you into the mystery surrounding the Oblivion event. What caused it? Will it happen again? It's big science fiction, but it's really the characters that draw you in. Take the main character, Nathan Cole, for instance. He's a scientist on a very personal quest to try and rescue those stranded in Oblivion, but there's more to it than just wanting to bring back those that have been displaced. It's clear there is more to his story and you can't help but want to follow along.

Helping Kirkman bring these monsters and characters to life are Italian artists Lorenzo De Felici and Annalisa Leoni. De Felici does the linework, while Leoni does the colors. The art is beautiful while still gritty enough to meet the demands on this story.

I would highly recommend you check this one out upon its release.

[Gabriell Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nutno říct, že Kirkman očividně ví, jak psát série na volumka. Parádní rozjezdový první sešit, potom docela výplň a na konci zase parádní sešit, končící slušným cliffhangerem. Táhne se tu na pozadí dost tajemství, aby to člověka udrželo v pozoru a kresba si neznámý svět dává taky hodně příjemně, ale od Kirkmana člověk (nebo minimálně já) očekával víc. Druhé volumko je zatím rozhodně na read-listu, ale pokud si hodí stejnou strukturu jako tohle, tak nevím, nevím, jak dlouho s touhle sérií vydržím.

Mohlo by se vám líbit, pokud:
- chcete příběh s post-apo feelingem částečně zasazený do jiné reality

Spíš vás zklame, pokud:
- nepřekousnete pomalejší rozjezd, kde první dva booky jsou spíš sbírkou náznaků, vyplní a cliffhangerů
- potřebujete art u kterého se slabší povahy nerozpláčou

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first arc of Oblivion Song is setting up a pretty cool story. In typical Kirkman fashion, the characters and how they are developing takes center stage while the world they are in is there to tweak everything and add that little extra special something.

Not much else to say. Its a slow burn...but I find all of Kirkman's work to be like that and I don't mind. It's fun to let things simmer and stew until they explode with confidence.

I'm a sucker for anything post-apocalyptic feeling and this definitely fits the bill. Will most certainly be carrying on with the next arc.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirkman, the man responsible for at least one excellent apocalypse (Walking Dead, for the uninitiated) is back with another. This time on a much smaller scale, he spared the world and partially obliterated the one city that one might argue is ripe for fictional obliteration. And he has done so through science.
While no one may know why his dead walk the earth, the reason the spectacular megafauna of Oblivion works, is because someone somewhere goofed up while messing with parallel dimensions. Now it’s here, it’s wild and its hungry.
Most people who were able to get out, did so ages ago, some remain trapped in the (play the theme song) danger zone. And then there’s one man dead set on saving and bringing out as many people as possible out of it, a man driven by a desperate desire to find his deadbeat brother he believes might still be alive in there. Nathan, a man of secrets, the most devastating of which you don’t find out until book two, so stay with it.

Which brings us to the next question…should you stay with it? For me, it’s a yes, because I enjoy apocalyptic fiction, graphic novels and creature features. It isn’t a super excited jump up and down on the couch yes, because it isn’t all that original or all that engaging and I don’t care for the art…and also couches are just not meant for that sort of abuse.
The art might be the main drawback here…bum dumtz. It’s weirdly offputting, weird faces, weird angularity. It’s perfectly serviceable and, unlike his zombie books, got technicolor on its side, but it leaves a lot to be desired. But overall, it just never enters the greatness territory, though it makes itself comfortable with just good.
Am I reading more? Absolutely. Because it’s there and I am interested enough. Stay tuned for reviews of volumes two and three.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

Reread this years later and came away with the exact same impression. Go consistency!

[I' · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a promotional ARC of this comic, however, this hasn’t influenced my review about it.

When I first read the idea, the basic plot, of this graphic novel I thought it would be super cool. I’m usually in for story lines that look like alternate dimensions, people disappearing and enthusiastic scientific experimenting stuff. But after I read this one… well, that was about it.

I found all the characters pretty typical, as in nothing I haven’t seen before, without any twists. After a while, I felt the same about the storyline. It was like, I was reading something I’ve read before, and I was nor intrigued nor interested by the characters and what was happening to them.

The art, although I liked it in style, was a bit difficult to follow in regards to the colouring and mostly the colour pallet used, as they made everything very monochromatic, dull, and nothing really stood out of it. I guess that was their aim, but to me as a reader, it made it less appealing.

Is not that I liked it, or disliked it, I was most of all, indifferent to it when I finished it: hence the “it was ok” rating.

[Rian *fire and books* · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reading/opinion might be hindered because this was a physical ARC and not the final copy.

This was a solid intro to a new series but I wasn’t connecting to the characters. For a start my reading felt disjointed due to a lack of chapter separation. I’m hoping the final copy adds to that.

The setting was ~spooky~. Steven King would create a world like this for sure. I loved the small Pacific Rim vibes I got and can’t wait to see if this gets more sci-fi love.

Characters. Yeah. I wasn’t connecting. Nathan was totally believable and fleshed out, as well as the humans in Oblivion. Here’s the thing though, his girlfriend? Bridget? Duncan? Nope. They all annoyed or frustrated me.

Art. Oblivion was creepy af and I loved it. I think the color choices were perfect too! The monsters... oh. No. I don’t want those in my backyard no sirree! The downfall however was people’s eyes. I really didn’t like how they were illustrated. Like, EYES DON’T GET THAT BIG!

Ultimately I gave this 3.5 stars for the lack of chapters/fluidity issues that stemmed from that and the eyes.

[La Espada en la Tinta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narrar un desastre natural no es tarea fácil: se precisa de un narrador muy hábil para poner en situación al espectador y que este se muestre partícipe del relato de los acontecimientos y que no suenen distantes, lejanos, como si lo ocurrido no le terminase de llegar aunque ponga empeño en ello. Sigue leyendo...

[Jakub Kvíz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Premisa je zajimava, ale rozjezd je dost vlaznej, takze do nejakyho finale prvniho story arcu sem se doslova pronudil.

Nicmene od nejakyho patyho sesitu to zacina nabirat grady. Puvodne sem to chtel zahodit uplne, ale druhymu booku dam nakonec jeste sanci.

Kresba mi moc nesedla, ale da se na to zvyknout. Proste klasicka Evropa :D.

[Chihoe Ho · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid start to a new series that has captures my interest. The plot itself isn't anything groundbreaking but I enjoyed the narration of it and the artwork. It's still early in its introduction of the storyline though so things could really shake up, for better or worse.

[Travis Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more fun than I expected. Solid original sci-fi story with some good amounts of mystery. The art is kinda meh.... I will be reading volume 2 because they set up some good plots that have room to expand.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

review - https://youtu.be/NPi_rdyKdFM

[Octavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gustar me ha gustado, PERO no es nada del otro mundo, pese a ser más o menos original.

[Ina Korsgaard Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't help but feel like this is very much like every other Robert Kirkman comic.

[Omaira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me temí lo peor en las primeras páginas, ya que no me gustaron ni las ilustraciones ni el arranque tan brusco de la historia, pero luego me enganchó bastante.

Antes de empezar el cómic, os aconsejo que sí o sí os leáis la sinopsis, pues no hay una introducción propiamente dicha que ayude a que no situemos un poco en la historia. En las primeras viñetas ya vemos a un tío en un entorno deprimente persiguiendo a unas “personas” y luchando contra unos seres/monstruos que no sé ni cómo definir. Pongo lo de “personas” entre comillas porque las expresiones faciales de los humanos no eran muy naturales, es como si casi siempre tuvieran cara de espanto y eso les diera un aire siniestro. Luego ya me fui adaptando, aunque también tengo que reconocer que vi una evolución en este asunto y noté cómo los rostros de los personajes se fueron suavizando y se adaptaban mejor a lo que dicho personaje estaba viviendo en cada escena.

Sin contar los anexos con las portadas, créditos, etc., el cómic tiene unas 120 páginas y yo diría que las 30 iniciales son las que más indiferencia causan porque no te saben meter de lleno en la historia. Pasada esa parte y ya teniendo claro quién es quién, el interés aumenta y para mí fue un vicio ir pasando las páginas para ver cómo iba a acabar todo.

La trama gira en torno a la desaparición de parte de una ciudad, y no me refiero solo a los ciudadanos, también se incluyen edificios y todo lo que había allí. Eso ocurrió hace una década y el Gobierno parece querer pasar página, algo con lo que no está de acuerdo Nathan. Él es un científico y sabe cómo acceder a la dimensión en la que están los desaparecidos. Lleva años haciéndolo e intentando traer de vuelta a los que están allí, pero no es fácil.

Como personaje, Nathan me dio más de una sorpresa. Vamos descubriendo poco a poco todo el trabajo que ha ido realizando a lo largo de los años y cuál es su razón principal para hacer lo que hace, pero lo que más me dejó fuera de juego es lo que se desveló al final. Es alguien obsesivo en algunos aspectos y no sabe escuchar a los demás, pero no es algo molesto porque encaja bien con el desarrollo de la historia. Los demás personajes son muy complementarios, es decir, aportan lo justo y no sobran, pero no hay nada en ellos que sea tan llamativo como para desear que tuvieran más protagonismo. El más interesante es el que cobra importancia al final. Está relacionado con Nathan y en cierto modo es obligado a hacer algo que no quiere, aunque no me convenció que no diera más guerra a la hora de ceder. Conocer qué será de él y las consecuencias de lo que Nathan confiesa es lo que más me intriga del siguiente volumen.

Desde mi punto de vista, para que este cómic fuera perfecto, faltó explicar mejor el detonante de la historia y no apresurarse tanto en el desarrollo de los acontecimientos finales. A nivel artístico, mis quejas se centran solo en lo de las caras y en lo poco definidas que están las criaturas monstruosas (son como masas amorfas y las tonalidades que se usan con ellas son muy similares a las de los fondos, así que no es fácil distinguir bien su forma).

La puntuación real sería un 3,5/5, pero le doy el 4/5 porque acabó atrapándome mucho más de lo que esperaba y porque los fallos del principio se van solventando poco a poco.

[Whitney (The Cover Collector) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm. This is a hard title to rate. I wanted to give it a 4, but then changed it to a 1. I settled on two stars because I DID enjoy a lot of it, there was just too much wrong here.

This book is basically Rick from the Walking Dead transferred to an alien dimension. I just can’t believe that those people would willingly stay in Oblivion. They made a city together and have been there for ten years? Okay, but Oblivion is supposed to be this creature-eat-anything world. This place is labelled as a nightmare. Of course, you’d beg to wake up! It feels like Rick -I mean, Ed- just wants to escape his shitty life on Earth, and in the meantime, will drag those survivors down with him. When there’s a better alternative (like not being eaten alive), I kinda think anyone would take it.

The MC in this story is actually the brother....I’ve actually forgotten his name (*Looking back I see it is Nathan). His character is pretty bland, as is everyone’s. Their personalities are basically copypasta from TWD. I really don’t care if one of the couples (as a single person I noticed that everyone was coupled up) is having relationship issues and cheating. Yawn.

Anyways, I can believe that Nathan’s motives from going into Oblivion is to find his brother. I can believe he has a hero complex and/or death wish. But I cannot believe that the government said, ‘fuck those people’ and did nothing to save them, especially when the technology to do so exists. And I definitely can’t believe that Nathan is the one who caused 300k people to be moved to Oblivion. Where are all the other genius scientists who would be studying this insane (and first in known human history) occurrence? That is laughable and insults the reader’s intelligence. But, okay.

This story is incredibly shallow and dumbed down. It’s lazy writing and shitty world building. The character’s reactions are not realistic and, frankly, I’m disappointed in Robert Kirkman. It almost feels like a quick cash grab with the amount of thought put into it.

[Des Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've followed Kirkman pretty faithfully since Battle Pope. It's not all diamonds, but Invincible is my favorite superhero series ever, so with that over, I have to be read to read and appreciate Oblivion Song right? Anyway, it's here, and it's pretty good! The premise is awesome, with a great pop-sci-fi twist to successful elements of The Walking Dead. There's a ton of potential to grow in a grip of directions, and I think Kirkman could really pull off something special if he tackles this right. De Felici is bomb on the art work too.

The only problem I have so far is the characters. I don't like anybody, and that's what got me to put down the similar Black Science. There's time to fix that, but seriously, I'm having trouble caring about the individuals.

[Alfonso Junquera perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

La premisa es interesante pero el ritmo un tanto lento.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very compelling! I'm looking forward to reading the next volume and getting more background!

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, despite my friends disagree on this, I like Oblivion song. The story, world and the art. De Felici's art, for me, bit resonates with my favourite David Rubín, and I really like it. It's playful, colourful, strong inking and sharp style. I'm really enjoying that. And I really enjoy the idea of the story too - the world swiped into another hellish parallel dimension, taking some people with it. I have weak spots for post-apocalypse themes. And Oblivion song tickles that spot. But I must say that I don't know what's Kirkman planning to do with this. if this would be 12 issue series, we are in the middle. We got some story, some interesting scenes, but it is rather slow with no bigger image. If it will be a long series, the start is very weak. If you want to pass a ball for long distance, you need to aim precisely and give it a full kick. With multiple short passes through the field you risk greatly to losing the ball. And with Oblivion song, the full kick is missing. Kirkman is (as usual) a show-off, playing with the ball on the spot before deciding to pass it or shoot. And it's short pass here. So I understand, why most of my friends are dropping off this series. Especially when it is a monthly one.