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APOCALYPTIGIRL. UN ARIA PARA EL FIN DE LOS TIEMPOS
The premiere graphic novel from underground sensation Andrew MacLean (Head Lopper), ApocalyptiGirl is an action-packed sci-fi epic!
Alone at the end of the world, Aria is woman with a mission! Traipsing through an overgrown city with her only companion, a cat named Jelly Beans, Aria's search for an ancient relic with immeasurable power has been fruitless so far. But when a run in with a creepy savage sets her on a path to complete her quest, she'll face death head on in the hopes of claiming her prize and, if all goes according to plan, finally returning home.
Alone at the end of the world, Aria is woman with a mission! Traipsing through an overgrown city with her only companion, a cat named Jelly Beans, Aria's search for an ancient relic with immeasurable power has been fruitless so far. But when a run in with a creepy savage sets her on a path to complete her quest, she'll face death head on in the hopes of claiming her prize and, if all goes according to plan, finally returning home.
136 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2015
29 people are currently reading
1360 people want to read
About the author
Andrew MacLean
74 books151 followersMassachusetts based comic artist, Andrew R. MacLean is the creator of the SNIP SNIP, Head Lopper, and Daruma. His work can also be found in Department O, Colonial Souls, Meatspace, Outlaw Territories, Bad Karma, and others.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 492 reviews
December 11, 2015
It’s the post-apocalypse and a woman putzes around the desolate planet with her cat in her knapsack singing arias to herself. She’s trying to repair a large mech suit, which is important for no reason, while fending off cliched tribal survivors who are trying to kill her, also for no reason. That’s the whole book!
Phewf - it’s a real struggle to find a story in Andrew MacLean’s ApocalyptiGirl! Rambling and boring just about covers it for the script. It’s unclear why anything the woman’s doing is important or where anything’s headed - context and character development are absent so the reader can’t hope to care about anything that’s going on.
There’s an attempt at explaining how things came to be this way but after a couple of pages of convoluted nonsense MacLean gives up and has the woman drive around on her motorbike slicing arms off instead!
The artwork is an appealing blend of manga and wood block art, and reminded me quite a bit of Michael Avon Oeming’s style too (who also happens to be MacLean's buddy). It looks very pleasant and clean and it’s the only part of this book I liked.
ApocalyptiGirl is very poorly written and conceived dystopian sci-fi. Andrew MacLean’s a talented cartoonist though and I recommend his far better comic, Head Lopper, over this forgettable effort.
Phewf - it’s a real struggle to find a story in Andrew MacLean’s ApocalyptiGirl! Rambling and boring just about covers it for the script. It’s unclear why anything the woman’s doing is important or where anything’s headed - context and character development are absent so the reader can’t hope to care about anything that’s going on.
There’s an attempt at explaining how things came to be this way but after a couple of pages of convoluted nonsense MacLean gives up and has the woman drive around on her motorbike slicing arms off instead!
The artwork is an appealing blend of manga and wood block art, and reminded me quite a bit of Michael Avon Oeming’s style too (who also happens to be MacLean's buddy). It looks very pleasant and clean and it’s the only part of this book I liked.
ApocalyptiGirl is very poorly written and conceived dystopian sci-fi. Andrew MacLean’s a talented cartoonist though and I recommend his far better comic, Head Lopper, over this forgettable effort.
February 6, 2016
Just glance at the cover for a moment, and you know all you need to know about this book. The story does not add anything of interest - same old, I'm afraid.
July 23, 2016
wtf did i just read? cute cat tho
June 28, 2021
Think Paul Pope x the post-apocalypse + Adventure Time. Aria wonders a future world with her cat Jelly Beans searching for some device and tinkering with an old mech while beset by Morlocks. There isn't much world building here. The first half of the book is just Aria meandering around this world, eventually stumbling upon the device she's apparently been looking for for 6 years. The story is thin and definitely could have used some fleshing out. The art is unique. I didn't like it at first. It's got a bit of that Peppa Pig flatness to the side profiles, but it did grow on me.
Dark Horse has re-released this with a couple of bonus stories. The bonus stories have a different art style that isn't as distinctive and make Aria look like a child. Gone is the long-limbed, doe-eyed look. The two stories don't add a whole lot to the overall story.
Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Dark Horse has re-released this with a couple of bonus stories. The bonus stories have a different art style that isn't as distinctive and make Aria look like a child. Gone is the long-limbed, doe-eyed look. The two stories don't add a whole lot to the overall story.
Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
October 2, 2015
I'm sorry to say that I was quite disappointed by this one. The plot was far too thin to be satisfying, as was the world-building. The main character, Aria, is inconsistent. In one scene, she makes a thing about not killing someone, only to immediately turn around and kill lots and lots of other people. She's also incredibly loud for somebody who should reasonably be trying to keep from being detected. The super convenient aliens at the end felt like a cheap way to resolve a story that was floundering for a conclusion. At least it was a very quick read.
July 20, 2021
★ 2.0 Stars ★
Apocalyptigirl, is about Aria, a woman living in a post-apocalyptic world in the future. To get by, Aria scrounges the land with her loyal cat, looking for parts to fix a giant robot - sounds cool right?
The thing is, the story is too short, so short that the worldbuilding and characterbuilding feels paperthin. I wish I had loved it, because it really has all the makings of a great story - as well as some nice art, it just falls flat.
Apocalyptigirl, is about Aria, a woman living in a post-apocalyptic world in the future. To get by, Aria scrounges the land with her loyal cat, looking for parts to fix a giant robot - sounds cool right?
The thing is, the story is too short, so short that the worldbuilding and characterbuilding feels paperthin. I wish I had loved it, because it really has all the makings of a great story - as well as some nice art, it just falls flat.
August 6, 2015
The artwork was decent enough, and the relationship Aria had with her cat was quite sweet. But the story wasn't all that interesting and the few characters were flat and cliched. Just meh overall.
January 31, 2025
Andrew MacLean has a solid art style but so far I've found all his comics to be a bit boring with some over-writing. Here's no exception. Cool artwork, but the world-building lacks something and the story is a bland. I did like Aria and her cat.
March 5, 2018
The thing I liked best about this graphic novel was the cover art. Oh, and Jelly Beans, the cat, is cute. The story made no sense to me at all, and I was bored for much of the reading. Also, do we really need the bad guys to be "tribal" in this day and age? Ugh. I did like the art, but found this one somewhat preachy, and having aliens swoop in for the rescue is an unsatisfying end to an unsatisfying story. Oh, sorry, was that a spoiler? Well, here's another one: skip this one.
December 11, 2015
It's hard to discount a handful of convenient holes in this sci-fi adventure of a young woman in search of tech in a land of weapon-toting ape men; but if one can, for a moment, step over or aside these errors, APOCALYPTIGIRL: AN ARIA FOR THE END TIMES is a rather nifty graphic novel.
There is no short of apocalypse comics, that's for sure. But what there is a shortness of, and the glaring industry-dearth APOCALYPTIGIRL aspires to supplant, is the presence of female leads whose value is enumerated by their passion for their cause, no matter how lonesome, impossible, or oddly prophetic it may be. In this graphic novel, a young woman named Aria enters year six of being stranded on a planet overgrown and under attack. She has but her wits, her motorcycle, and a cat she found and has since named Jelly Beans.
Visually, this book marries sly and angular designs with a soft, uncomplicated color palette. The result is a broadly festive and action-friendly contrast that makes Aria's curling frowns, collared jacket, and knack for blaster guns a clever and unassuming array of This is How Things Are. It shouldn't always work, but it does. And you believe it. Aria has long arms, flat shoulders, and legs shaped like bananas, but she's a badass with a machete and she knows how to rock an open-end wrench like nobody's business. Visually, it's a compelling ride. There are some continuity errors, but most readers will probably gloss over them.
APOCALYPTIGIRL is a straightforward book until it's not. Aria must search for an energy source buried beneath the smoldering wreckage humanity induced upon the world. But a long time has passed and her prospects are dim. There are orchards in the middle of metropolises, and vagrant barbarians patrol the landscape with wild dogs. There are old mecha units sitting in parks, surrounded by apple trees, while white-tail deer nibble on old-growth ivy. It'd be beautiful if it wasn't so haunting; equally representative of what was, is, and may never be again. Civilization.
But when Aria clashes with a youngster from one of the regional barbarian tribes, she lands herself in a firefight or two, muscles the energy to murder, and for some random reason, crosses paths with the proponents of the planet's evidentiary decline (who themselves pilot mecha units and cause wanton destruction, go figure).
This is all good and well, one supposes. However, MacLean muddles the story with irrelevant mythology (A holy war written by the stars? No thanks. Not needed.), a weird and out-of-place dream sequence (Too short to be emotional and very distracting.), and inconsistent/redundant narration (Aria talks to herself in narrative boxes and in speech bubbles. Why?). If APOCALYPTIGIRL had eschewed these devices, then Aria's adventure would feel less like a deluge of the terrible and the inconvenient and more akin to the tale or survival of one girl against a world of others (in a world of others . . . her world of others).
APOCALYPTIGIRL is a beautiful book, when it makes sense, and is a nice addition to the growing oeuvre of lady adventurers doing awesome stuff. But it's not very coherent and may have benefited from a narrative adjustment that saw more than one primary speaking character.
There is no short of apocalypse comics, that's for sure. But what there is a shortness of, and the glaring industry-dearth APOCALYPTIGIRL aspires to supplant, is the presence of female leads whose value is enumerated by their passion for their cause, no matter how lonesome, impossible, or oddly prophetic it may be. In this graphic novel, a young woman named Aria enters year six of being stranded on a planet overgrown and under attack. She has but her wits, her motorcycle, and a cat she found and has since named Jelly Beans.
Visually, this book marries sly and angular designs with a soft, uncomplicated color palette. The result is a broadly festive and action-friendly contrast that makes Aria's curling frowns, collared jacket, and knack for blaster guns a clever and unassuming array of This is How Things Are. It shouldn't always work, but it does. And you believe it. Aria has long arms, flat shoulders, and legs shaped like bananas, but she's a badass with a machete and she knows how to rock an open-end wrench like nobody's business. Visually, it's a compelling ride. There are some continuity errors, but most readers will probably gloss over them.
APOCALYPTIGIRL is a straightforward book until it's not. Aria must search for an energy source buried beneath the smoldering wreckage humanity induced upon the world. But a long time has passed and her prospects are dim. There are orchards in the middle of metropolises, and vagrant barbarians patrol the landscape with wild dogs. There are old mecha units sitting in parks, surrounded by apple trees, while white-tail deer nibble on old-growth ivy. It'd be beautiful if it wasn't so haunting; equally representative of what was, is, and may never be again. Civilization.
But when Aria clashes with a youngster from one of the regional barbarian tribes, she lands herself in a firefight or two, muscles the energy to murder, and for some random reason, crosses paths with the proponents of the planet's evidentiary decline (who themselves pilot mecha units and cause wanton destruction, go figure).
This is all good and well, one supposes. However, MacLean muddles the story with irrelevant mythology (A holy war written by the stars? No thanks. Not needed.), a weird and out-of-place dream sequence (Too short to be emotional and very distracting.), and inconsistent/redundant narration (Aria talks to herself in narrative boxes and in speech bubbles. Why?). If APOCALYPTIGIRL had eschewed these devices, then Aria's adventure would feel less like a deluge of the terrible and the inconvenient and more akin to the tale or survival of one girl against a world of others (in a world of others . . . her world of others).
APOCALYPTIGIRL is a beautiful book, when it makes sense, and is a nice addition to the growing oeuvre of lady adventurers doing awesome stuff. But it's not very coherent and may have benefited from a narrative adjustment that saw more than one primary speaking character.
March 28, 2024
The tagline "A sci-fi epic about a postapocalyptic life...and cat ownership" guaranteed I was going to like this book! Wrong.
I picked up this slim graphic novel on a whim, for I liked the front cover, and I'm a sucker for cute cats. Aria is a young woman alone in a post-apocalypse world, traveling with her cat Jelly Beans and singing opera while trying to reanimate a giant mechanical man, all while trying to evade two warring primitive tribes. While originally she seemed peace-loving, the tribes get their butts kicked when they dare mess with her picking apples. Her mission becomes more clear later on, as she searches for a power source that will restart the photon grid and return her to the mother ship and fulfill her duty. If only those pesky tribes would stop trying to attack her and her cat! Unfortunately, the story did not seem fully realized due to its thin plot. While at first it seems as if Aria is on Earth, the tribes look alien-like, and while that is explained at the end, it is off putting.
There is a bit of double meaning in the story for aria means "self-contained piece for one voice", and the character of Aria is alone; plus the author wrote, illustrated and inked this graphic novel all by himself. The coloring throughout is minimalistic and the art is cleanly drawn, with a good eye for detail. I will check out more work of MacLean's in the future, for I liked the look of his artwork. Plus Jelly Beans. I loved me some Jelly Beans.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2016/02/1...
I picked up this slim graphic novel on a whim, for I liked the front cover, and I'm a sucker for cute cats. Aria is a young woman alone in a post-apocalypse world, traveling with her cat Jelly Beans and singing opera while trying to reanimate a giant mechanical man, all while trying to evade two warring primitive tribes. While originally she seemed peace-loving, the tribes get their butts kicked when they dare mess with her picking apples. Her mission becomes more clear later on, as she searches for a power source that will restart the photon grid and return her to the mother ship and fulfill her duty. If only those pesky tribes would stop trying to attack her and her cat! Unfortunately, the story did not seem fully realized due to its thin plot. While at first it seems as if Aria is on Earth, the tribes look alien-like, and while that is explained at the end, it is off putting.
There is a bit of double meaning in the story for aria means "self-contained piece for one voice", and the character of Aria is alone; plus the author wrote, illustrated and inked this graphic novel all by himself. The coloring throughout is minimalistic and the art is cleanly drawn, with a good eye for detail. I will check out more work of MacLean's in the future, for I liked the look of his artwork. Plus Jelly Beans. I loved me some Jelly Beans.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2016/02/1...
July 21, 2015
There's a cat. So, that's cool.
I see the various influences at play in the art, but it just didn't jell for me. I found it particularly odd that Aria makes such a point at the beginning of not being a killer - right before spending the rest of the pages killing mercilessly and with apparent skill.
Whatever.
Kitty!
I see the various influences at play in the art, but it just didn't jell for me. I found it particularly odd that Aria makes such a point at the beginning of not being a killer - right before spending the rest of the pages killing mercilessly and with apparent skill.
Whatever.
Kitty!
Read
July 1, 2015I read APOCALYPTIGIRL over the weekend and loved the art!
August 5, 2019
With artwork that is eye-catching and fighting that is bloody and gory, I really enjoyed my short time in ApocalyptiGirl. The opera references and the quick interspersed backstory of the end of times add the needed depth in this one. I like Aria’s monologues and her little friendship with her cat. A pet she needs to make her life on Earth a little bearable…
Pick this one up for great art and a fast story with some spacey commentary on nature’s rule over the planet.
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/08/05/ap...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
Pick this one up for great art and a fast story with some spacey commentary on nature’s rule over the planet.
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/08/05/ap...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
March 2, 2017
This was really subpar. Plus the art was kinda funky looking. You will not really understand what is going on until the very end and its still "really that's it"?
December 12, 2015
Full of potential but messy and unfocused.
I've heard of this book for a while and I wanted to check it out, so when comixology had on sale, 'yes please!'. The art was the first thing that caught my eye, but how does this little tale read? Messy and lost.
World: The art is beautiful, it's stylish and the colors are very different for a post apocalyptic book. This is the best part of the book, it's captivating and very unique. In terms of world building, I can tell a lot of effort was made to create a unique world for which Aria to inhabit, there are large chunks of narration from Aria to world build and put in context Aria's actions and mission. However, it's clunky and overly artistic but at the expense of readers truly understanding what was the point. It's a shame cause I see glimmers of an interesting world here, but alas the writing let it down.
Story: Clunky and a hot mess. There is an interesting story here, Aria is an interesting character but as I said it was clunky and the pacing and story was choppy as all hell. I really wanted to like the story, overall it's an interesting story, but it tried to be too many things at once and then with the choppy pacing it just ended up being a mess. I said the world building had potential and I also feel the same way about the story, it just did not work due to the writing.
Characters: Aria is interesting because she's a mystery. She's very talkative but at the same time she also wanders in her dialog and train of thought leaving reader scratching their heads. She has a very clear personal voice which I enjoy, but because of the clunky dialog, the clunky world building (and her taking the bulk of the info dumping to readers) her tone ends up all over the place. One second she's charming and cute, the next she's cold and violent. I know this works for some books, but it did not work here because the writing simply was too choppy and Aria's character suffered for it.
So, at the end of the day the writing let this book down. The art is stunningly good, but the pacing, the world building, the dialog, the characterizations were all over the place and clunky as hell. There is a gem of a book in here, but it sorely needs an editor to find it.
Onward to the next book!
I've heard of this book for a while and I wanted to check it out, so when comixology had on sale, 'yes please!'. The art was the first thing that caught my eye, but how does this little tale read? Messy and lost.
World: The art is beautiful, it's stylish and the colors are very different for a post apocalyptic book. This is the best part of the book, it's captivating and very unique. In terms of world building, I can tell a lot of effort was made to create a unique world for which Aria to inhabit, there are large chunks of narration from Aria to world build and put in context Aria's actions and mission. However, it's clunky and overly artistic but at the expense of readers truly understanding what was the point. It's a shame cause I see glimmers of an interesting world here, but alas the writing let it down.
Story: Clunky and a hot mess. There is an interesting story here, Aria is an interesting character but as I said it was clunky and the pacing and story was choppy as all hell. I really wanted to like the story, overall it's an interesting story, but it tried to be too many things at once and then with the choppy pacing it just ended up being a mess. I said the world building had potential and I also feel the same way about the story, it just did not work due to the writing.
Characters: Aria is interesting because she's a mystery. She's very talkative but at the same time she also wanders in her dialog and train of thought leaving reader scratching their heads. She has a very clear personal voice which I enjoy, but because of the clunky dialog, the clunky world building (and her taking the bulk of the info dumping to readers) her tone ends up all over the place. One second she's charming and cute, the next she's cold and violent. I know this works for some books, but it did not work here because the writing simply was too choppy and Aria's character suffered for it.
So, at the end of the day the writing let this book down. The art is stunningly good, but the pacing, the world building, the dialog, the characterizations were all over the place and clunky as hell. There is a gem of a book in here, but it sorely needs an editor to find it.
Onward to the next book!
March 10, 2017
3.5 STARS
Quick review: I enjoyed this a lot. I think that the characters and action were a lot of fun. It was a short fast paced story which I needed in between the novels I have on my TBR. I liked the writing and the art style, although not my favorite, fit the world that McLean created nicely.
Full review: http://heathersreadinghideaway.blogsp...
Quick review: I enjoyed this a lot. I think that the characters and action were a lot of fun. It was a short fast paced story which I needed in between the novels I have on my TBR. I liked the writing and the art style, although not my favorite, fit the world that McLean created nicely.
Full review: http://heathersreadinghideaway.blogsp...
July 30, 2015
This was a great and unique read. The artwork was phenomenal and Jellybeans the cat love him!! It was short yet gave enough info on how they came to be where they are and who the other people are. Look forward to more from this author.
January 30, 2016
Andrew MacLean's ApocalyptiGirl is proof that style can move a comic a long way, but substance does really ground a comic. MacClean's art is interesting and the various conceptual apparatuses he lays on his story are also interesting. The character designs are strong and dynamic and the color work is very interesting. That said, while the concept of Aria, and even her relationship to Opera, is strong; her character is inconsistent and those inconsistencies are not justified by the plot. For those who feel that comics are bogged down by narrative techniques such as character development and self-consistency, I am sure this will be quite enjoyable. I, however, found plot felt incredibly rushed and did not earn it's metaphors or it's ending.
July 14, 2021
This is basically a comic employed as a classic sci-fi short story. It’s one and done, lightweight with a bit of a twist at the end. What you think you know isn’t necessarily so, but the revelation isn’t going to change your worldview. It’s just a kind of O. Henry-style of switch-up that makes you nod and go, “Good job.”
Coincidence again: the last book I read (The Blacktongue Thief) featured the protagonist caring for a cat despite being faced by all sorts of monsters and bad guys, as does this one.
Coincidence again: the last book I read (The Blacktongue Thief) featured the protagonist caring for a cat despite being faced by all sorts of monsters and bad guys, as does this one.
August 25, 2016
A woman with a battlecycle and a katana is stranded alone on Earth 27 (don't ask) with a cat, an out-of-commission battlesuit, and two hostile tribes of Morlocks.
Wow, was this ever silly. MacLean devotes all of two silly pages to world building. The characters look like they're made of Play-Doh. The title is silly. ApocalyptiGirl's quest is silly. Her decisions are silly. Her big moral dilemma is silly. And the resolution is trite (I bet you thought I was going to say silly.)
At 90ish small silly pages, it's quick at least.
Wow, was this ever silly. MacLean devotes all of two silly pages to world building. The characters look like they're made of Play-Doh. The title is silly. ApocalyptiGirl's quest is silly. Her decisions are silly. Her big moral dilemma is silly. And the resolution is trite (I bet you thought I was going to say silly.)
At 90ish small silly pages, it's quick at least.
October 9, 2015
Fun! So a girl and her cat are on a mission on some post-apocalypse Earth. Honestly, the story is not the main point of this book--though it is nice--but rather Andrew MacLean's expressive artwork. I particularly like how he draws cats. One is torn, with this book, between reading the story at what seems an appropriate pace, and lingering on each page admiring the line and color work. Best to read it at least twice, then, just to be thorough.
May 10, 2017
This was a really good story, well written and even with a jumpy plot still better than 99% of all comic books currently being made. This might actually only a 4 or 4.5 star but that is mostly for the stylistic art. Got to love a book with a strong smart and talented female protagonist. Good Stuff.
June 16, 2016
The art is PHENOMENAL. Story just okay. Bonus points for a cat named Jelly Bean.
February 22, 2025
SMH - That took an unexpected turn at the end with so many questions…..perhaps would have been more satisfying to start at the end?
August 19, 2020
I'm still pretty new to Graphic Novels as a genre. I remember when they were called "Comic Books" and you usually read them over and over, while laying on your stomach on the floor with a snack in one hand as you slowly browsed the various pictures. It was supposed to be something to do to relax and enjoy yourself. So I still approach each Graphic Novel with that same "la-dee-da" attitude and ready to quietly meander wherever the story and pictures take me.
With that in mind, I was also not expecting great literature or an on the edge of my seat thrill-ride. Which is good, because I didn't get either of those things with ApocalyptiGirl. What I did get was an interesting, all be it run of the mill, dystopian story with a likable main character ... and her cat.
Aria is a young woman on earth with the assignment to seek out any unknown transmissions and a hidden power source, while trying to survive two warring factions, and the occasional attack of cannibals and mutant dogs. In between her searching and kicking serious butt, Aria wanders through her everyday life making the most out of her isolation as the only normal human being left on earth.
I found it a satisfying action story with a few funny moments and a few poignant moments added. Aria ponders some weightier issues but not for long because the action keeps at a pretty steady pace. The illustrations are not complex, but still hold some interesting details that you don't want to miss. So don't flip through them too quickly. But it's her interaction with her cat, Jellybean, that is definitely the high point of this read. And I personally enjoyed all the different creative words used to identify sounds. Like "skritch, skritch" to depict Aria scratching Jellybean's head.
Although it has many violent fight scenes, they aren't illustrated too graphically. And with only mild profanity (hell) and no sexual content at all, I would say it's okay for pre-teens and above.
It's not a very long book, so if you're looking for an interesting Graphic Novel with a strong and capable young woman as the protagonist, ApocalyptiGirl is a good way to spend a relaxing hour. May I personally recommend you get yourself a package of Strawberry Twizzlers licorice as the corresponding munchie of choice?
Thanks for reading another one of my reviews.
Sincerely, Laura-Lee
Note that the book cover depicted here must be an older version because it doesn't show the one from the ebook I read and does not reflect the book's illustrations. So don't judge it by that. LL
With that in mind, I was also not expecting great literature or an on the edge of my seat thrill-ride. Which is good, because I didn't get either of those things with ApocalyptiGirl. What I did get was an interesting, all be it run of the mill, dystopian story with a likable main character ... and her cat.
Aria is a young woman on earth with the assignment to seek out any unknown transmissions and a hidden power source, while trying to survive two warring factions, and the occasional attack of cannibals and mutant dogs. In between her searching and kicking serious butt, Aria wanders through her everyday life making the most out of her isolation as the only normal human being left on earth.
I found it a satisfying action story with a few funny moments and a few poignant moments added. Aria ponders some weightier issues but not for long because the action keeps at a pretty steady pace. The illustrations are not complex, but still hold some interesting details that you don't want to miss. So don't flip through them too quickly. But it's her interaction with her cat, Jellybean, that is definitely the high point of this read. And I personally enjoyed all the different creative words used to identify sounds. Like "skritch, skritch" to depict Aria scratching Jellybean's head.
Although it has many violent fight scenes, they aren't illustrated too graphically. And with only mild profanity (hell) and no sexual content at all, I would say it's okay for pre-teens and above.
It's not a very long book, so if you're looking for an interesting Graphic Novel with a strong and capable young woman as the protagonist, ApocalyptiGirl is a good way to spend a relaxing hour. May I personally recommend you get yourself a package of Strawberry Twizzlers licorice as the corresponding munchie of choice?
Thanks for reading another one of my reviews.
Sincerely, Laura-Lee
Note that the book cover depicted here must be an older version because it doesn't show the one from the ebook I read and does not reflect the book's illustrations. So don't judge it by that. LL
May 23, 2015
So, this one seemed to appear out of nowhere for me. I had just discovered a review of it online that made it sound very intriguing, right up my alley as it were, and then I walked into my LCS and there it was. The art is beautiful in its own unique way, and that grabbed me right away. The character of Aria, and her relationship with her cat Jelly Beans, is charming, and I fell for her right away, and wanted to keep reading to get to know her story. I did not expect that story to be nearly as rich and detailed as it is. I was blown away by the depth of the big ideas in this slim volume. Some great world-building, but presented simply, and solely to serve to further the story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and look forward to further tales.
Also, while I always read everything printed in, on, or around a book, I am not always swayed by blurbs. When they come from luminaries like Oeming and Acudi, and are high praise, I certainly take notice.
Also, while I always read everything printed in, on, or around a book, I am not always swayed by blurbs. When they come from luminaries like Oeming and Acudi, and are high praise, I certainly take notice.
August 14, 2023
There is not a lot to "ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times", but what there is , is a lot of fun. The book does not present any real character development but it does offer some minor suspense as the lead character and her cat fight post apocalyptic tribes people and mecha warriors while in pursuit of a mysterious technological treasure. As such, the book might as well be titled "Mad Maxine" or "A Girl and her Cat".
March 8, 2018
First thing I do not exactly fancy on this comics is drawing. It just doesn't fit to the theme for me. But it somehow works. The comics has fast pace so the ninety-something pages just flew under my fingers in no time. And boy, it is good. Aria has it all. The story, the action, the finale. The atmosphere and style of panel development has action kick. I give thumbs up for this one.
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