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Posted in: Comics, Review | Tagged: ABLAZE Publishing, Benjamin von Eckhartsberg, graphic novel, gung ho, post-apocalypse, Thomas von Kummant, young adult
Gung Ho: A Vibrant European Take on the Teenage Post-Apocalypse
Gung Ho is another entry in Young Adult post-apocalyptic fiction, this time from European creators Benjamin von Eckhartsberg and Thomas von Kummant in the form of a comic series collected into gorgeous hardcovers from ABLAZE publishing.
Gung Ho is the post-apocalypse from the kids' point of view. It takes place far in the future after civilization has collapsed, and safety can only be found in fortified villages and towns with draconian rules. Zack and Archer Goodwoody, orphaned brothers who escaped a brutal prison-like orphanage, make their way to Fort Apache, a fortified town, to try to make a new home there. They're greeted by the seemingly benign if hardnosed leadership and start to make friends with the local kids, but their presence and intolerance for the cracks and hypocrisies in the town's rules set them on a course of conflict with the adults who run the place, and their strengthening friendship with the kids there also signals a future rebellion.
In terms of the YA post-apocalypse genre, Gung Ho might be one of the best examples currently being published. The genre is inherently visual, and von Kummant's vibrant, colourful artwork offers the best version of the story. His use of warm, almost Disney-bright colours offset the usual dull, dark, grey, muddy art of other post-apocalyptic stories to make the comic extremely readable. It's as if the art style reflects the kids' view of the world – they grew up in it and don't see it as a place of despair, only the world they know and try to snatch moments of fun and joy out of, doing their best to rise above the despair, brutality and betrayal they constantly encounter. The adults in their world, their parents, and the leaders who are supposed to keep them safe constantly lie to them and betray them for convenience and political expediency. The kids may not know the full extent of the adults' duplicity, but they can sense it and rebel in the ways you expect teenagers would. The rage and hormonal horniness in the kids ring true; their impulsive actions where they lash out at each other and just as quickly turn around and help each other is the most hopeful part of the story. It sidesteps the nihilistic Hobbesian view of the world in post-apocalyptic thrillers. In case you always asked, "Hobbesian" is named after the English philosopher John Hobbes, who posited that "life is nasty, brutish and short," which post-apocalyptic series like The Walking Dead like to indulge in all the time. The overriding theme in these stories is that the people the heroes meet are always out to screw them over. The yearning of these stories is the wish to find people trustworthy and compassionate enough to join the heroes to form a supportive community.
ABLAZE has done everything to make this series feel special, printing the series in two thick, lavish hardcover collections so far that turn the story into the reading equivalent of a TV binge-watch. Reading each volume feels like the equivalent of binging a season of a TV show with its twists and turns smoothly coming in that comforting way that genre storytelling offers.
Gung Ho Vols. 1 and 2 are now available from ABLAZE Publishing.
Gung Ho Vol. 1 and 2
7/10
One of the best Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic graphic novels out there, an immersive story about teenagers discovering the lies and betrayals their parents and adults put them through as they fight to not just survive but live and have a good time.
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