The second issue in Jason Aaron’s (Southern Bastards, Avengers, Thor) creator-owned comic series Once Upon a Time at the End of the World continues the first issue’s impressive story-telling, expansive world-building, and gorgeous art, while providing readers with even greater emotional depth and character development, slowly building towards what will hopefully be an epic multi-year romance. Once Upon a Time at the End of the World is a unique story-building endeavor where Aaron has decided to split his post-apocalyptic tale of woe and wonder into three separate volumes all illustrated by a fully different creative team, exploring the lives of the two main character Maceo and Mezzy from the first time they meet and throughout their many adventures together.
Book One of Once Upon a Time at the End of the World – titled “Love in the Wasteland” – is gorgeously illustrated by Alexandre Tefenkgi (The Good Asian) with stunning color by Lee Loughridge (Stumptown) and expressive lettering from AndWorld Design (Wynd). While the writing remains top notch, both emotionally raw and genuine and expressive in its world-building, the artistic team behind Once Upon a Time at the End of the World continues to paint such an evocatively bleak, yet hopeful, vision of an Earth ravaged by environmental disaster, that the reader cannot help but be drawn into the world created and curated by Jason Aaron.
BOOM! Studios
SPOILERS AHEAD for Once Upon a Time at the End of the World #1 and #2!
Issue #1 of Once Upon a Time at the End of the World introduced readers to shut-in, naïve, yet hopelessly optimistic Maceo, the sole resident of “The Tower” after the tragic death of his parents years before, who has made a lonely but safe life for himself, at least until he saves the life of Ezmerelda. The fierce Wasteland-warrior, who goes by Mezzy, has apparently run away from a group of survivors known as “The Rangers,” whose history and relationship to the current post-apocalyptic world is slowly being revealed by Aaron in a truly exciting way, giving enough information this issue to keep the reader’s interest without yet revealing the whole background. As issue #1 ended Maceo decided to brave the Wasteland, after feeling a genuine human connection with Mezzy he hadn’t felt since…possibly ever, and went after her into the ruined world.
BOOM! Studios
Once Upon a Time at the End of the World #2 – titled “The Proverbs of Survival” – follows Mezzy and Maceo as they begin their journey together, showing the burgeoning friendship and eventual romance between the two unlikely heroes. Although some might see the “opposites attract” connection between the wildly different leads as being too tropey, Aaron handles it in a way that makes sense, tying Mezzy’s history with The Rangers – and apparent abandonment of their cause – as the emotional push she needed to see Maceo in a new light. Maceo may not have the Wasteland-skills needed to survive, like catching and skinning wild rats, but he brings a certain amount of “life” to Mezzy’s day, pushing her survival-mode way of life into something slightly more akin to “thriving.” Maceo adorably introduces Mezzy to Saturday Morning Cartoons, using his surprisingly crafty engineering skills to turn an ancient TV on, while cooking a candy-filled breakfast for the harsh survivor girl, who is used to eating raw rats for sustenance.
Fans of incredibly action-packed post-apocalyptic tales might find Once Upon a Time at the End of the World #2 to be a bit bereft of the monster fighting or desperate adventures in many other “end of the world” stories, but it is clear that Jason Aaron is taking his time developing his two main leads, so that when the eventual threats against their lives do escalate, the reader will care much more about the outcome. Even so, the issue could have done with slightly more tension, leaning way more into the character development than one might imagine from the horrific monster fight depicted on the gorgeous cover by Michael del Mundo. Yet, even without the threat of limbs being ripped from torsos, the intensely beautiful art by Alexandre Tefenkgi and Lee Loughridge continues to be a highlight of the series, with Maceo and Mezzy’s emotions displayed in crystal clear depiction, and a decimated world bereft of bright color but still illustrated with a lightness and wonder that makes the reader as curious as the newly adventurous Maceo.
BOOM! Studios
With gorgeous variant covers by watercolor artist Frany and acclaimed cover-artist Peach Momoko (Demon Days, Demon Wars), it’s clear that the comics industry continues to place its trust in the talented Jason Aaron, and Once Upon a Time at the End of the World #2 earns that trust easily. The sweetly innocent emotional core at the center of the series – perfectly on display in Mezzy’s truly thoughtful “Christmas gift” to Maceo – will continue to be the rock that grounds the expansive world-building fable being crafted by Aaron and his team of shifting artists. This writer is incredibly excited to continue exploring the growing romance between the mismatched heroes, as the dangerous Rangers ramp up their efforts to find the missing Mezzy. All this while the horrifying flash-forward from the end of issue #1 looms in the back of the mind, enticing readers to follow through on Mezzy and Maceo’s adventures to see where their journey takes them.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.