Chris Condon and Jeffrey Alan Love’s News From The Fallout is a comic that brings a new dimension to the clash between darkness and light. Part of that’s due to the story, which features a malevolent force contained within an atomic bomb. Part of it’s how Condon has been blending the anxieties of the nuclear age with our deep fear of the unknown things that lurk in the dark. But a large part is how Love’s taken what’s basically shadow puppetry and applied it to comics, and News from the Fallout #6 shows what might be his best use of this style.
For starters, there’s the way that News From the Fallout #6 blends together Love’s art with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering. Otsmane-Elhaou’s letters have their own distinct style, but throughout this issue, they blend into the character silhouettes, resembling their inner thoughts. The letters even stretch alongside a character’s body, especially when a cat purrs, or more disturbingly, when the infected General McCoy starts laughing – the shadows comprising his body forming a jagged “Ha Ha Ha”.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s a large stretch of the book where it’s nothing but darkness as Private Fallows and the remaining survivors of Joe’s Diner navigate a massive canyon. At first glance, this might sound boring, but Hassan-Otsmane keeps it lively by incorporating Condon’s words into the art, helping steer both the character and the reader through the darkness. Every so often, whenever a gun goes off or the light of day beckons, you’ll be able to make out specific figures – especially once the mysterious spore has transformed them.
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News From The Fallout #6 also dives deeper into Fallows’ life, specifically why he’s so quick to run from danger. The opening sequence clarifies something I’ve been musing on for a while: Fallows is a Black man, which recontextualizes past conversations and adds a new subtext to the fight against McCoy. Being Black means that you’re almost always in a race against systems, against racism, against expectations and stereotypes. You’re running for your life, which Fallows has excelled at. “I was born free,” he says in the opening narration. “And hell, I aim to die like that too.”
Condon stays true to those words, setting up a final confrontation where Fallows finds himself between an abandoned radio station and the hordes of the nuclear-infected monsters. This sets the stage for what’s one hell of a title drop, followed by an ending that veers between the bleak and the defiant. Either way, it shows that sometimes you run out of places to run, and what matters is whether you take a stand or let whatever’s chasing you take the lead.
Even though it’s the last issue, News From The Fallout #6 keeps the same mix of abstract art and atomic-fueled horror until the very end, while also painting a story of finding light in the darkest hours. It’s been unlike any comic I’ve ever read, but that’s why it stands out, and why you need to check out the whole story.
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