After a six-month break, Assorted Crisis Events is back this week with issue #9. Possibly the most creative team in mainstream comics, Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki tackle the anxieties and unfair treatment of laborers in the gig economy. To further shine a light on the mistreatment of workers, Assorted Crisis Events #9 explores the life of a twenty-something taking on a job fighting in a pointless time war, where soldiers from every era of human history battle to the death. Oh, and our main character is a temp with no training!
Assorted Crisis Events #9 opens on Chuckie, a kid looking for work through a temp app that clearly preys on those who need cash fast. Wearing a hockey jersey and sporting a backpack, he gets on a bus and takes in the Temp app spiel. Its main credo is “time is money,” which he soon learns is a double entendre when he gets off the bus and sees warriors from different cultures.
After freaking out, Chuckie runs into his manager, who is decked out in Roman garb but seems nice enough. From there, we witness Chuckie and his compatriots fighting to the death, with heads being lopped off, bullets getting fired, and even robots shooting off laser weapons. It’s total chaos, he’s not ready for it, and nobody really cares if he’ll make it or not.
Seems like he should have had some training.
Credit: Image Comics
As the story unfolds, we learn about his family, whom he wants to send money to, and witness the Temp app screw him over due to time-jumping tomefoolery, and slowly make connections with his manager and others. The point being made won’t be lost on anyone, as the system and larger organizations like Temp abuse workers in need.
The big twist of it all is that he actually makes decent money from side hustles like helping to build pyramids with Egyptians or kidnapping famous historical figures so folks like an Elon Musk lookalike can look cool. These interludes, including some bonding at a bar with all sorts of historical figures, add a bit of flavor and flair to Chuckie’s mostly miserable existence. This all builds to a high-stakes, cataclysmic finale that’s bigger than anything Camp and Zawadzki have done yet in the series, and also possibly the darkest.
Speaking of Zawadzki, his ability to play with layout and expectations visually continues to stun. Clever page turns lead to advertisements peppered in the issue, which show the greed and false narrative being spread by the organization, juxtaposed well with the chaos of Chuckie’s day-to-day. A showstopper double-page layout showcases how the page composition adds mind-bending purpose as one of the leaders in the war is seen pointing on the left page with gutters splayed out, words in some, and in between panels starting with a close-up of Chuckie’s eye, and zooming out further to show him fighting characters cast in yellow. It highlights Chuckie and shows unending war and violence. Other pages show Time Magazine covers, a close-up of a cellphone with a temple once-mattered for sale, and other clever visual feats that make you linger for a while. It’s clear Zawadzki puts a lot of time and thought into every scene.
Assorted Crisis Events #9 reminds readers why this series remains one of comics’ most imaginative ongoing titles. Deniz Camp finds fresh ways to explore exploitation and economic anxiety through a wildly original premise, while Eric Zawadzki fills every page with visual ideas that reward careful reading. Equal parts dark satire, science fiction, and emotional character study, this issue delivers one of the series’ strongest installments and builds toward a finale that leaves a lasting impression.
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