Afterlife Volume 1
- PAPERBACK: 192 PAGES
- Language: English
- ISBN: 1-59816-692-1
- EAN: 978-1-59816-692-7
- AVAILABLE: NOW
- MSRP: $9.99
MANGA + COMICS
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User Reviews
REVIEWS
AFTERLIFE
What happens when you die? Every religion has an answer. Philosophers debate about it. Artists try to capture it. Scientists try to define it. And they’ve all got it wrong. There is no Heaven, there is no Hell. There is no punishment for lack of morals or reward for a decently lived life. There are no virgins, no pearly gates, no fire and brimstone. There is only a void of eternity, where every… single… person who has ever lived goes. In this world, Mother Teresa and Hitler stand side by side pondering, L. Ron Hubbard and David Koresh fist fight to pass the time, and priests from the Catholic, Taoist, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths sit in a circle and point fingers at each other. Forever.
But in this ethereal nothingness, there are some problems, as space is becoming increasingly hard to find, and there are of course the “demons” that attack and drag souls off into the black void. To keep the people safe from these creatures, and to try and keep some order, there are a few selected who become Guardians. Thaddeus is one of these selected, and has been given an organic bodysuit that he uses to fight, defend, and keep the general peace. Thaddeus has lost track of how long he has been in the Afterlife, and tries to keep some sense of sanity with the secret journal that he keeps, and his friendship with the other Guardians. There are many times when Thaddeus has just wanted to quit, and when rumors of The Gate — a supposed portal out of the Afterlife — reaches him, he finally comes to the first real decision he has been able to make since dying.
Creators Stormcrow Hayes and Rob Steen have reached into the deepest and darkest recesses of the minds of the human collective and brought to the surface the awful and horrible truth about what is waiting for us after we breathe our last breath on Earth. What they have to offer us is a mind-numbing nihilistic view point, that given credence by the wrong people, could spell the ruin for everything that has been created since the dawn of man.
What is even more disturbing perhaps, is that even as Hayes and Steen set out to destroy every single religious viewpoint and every single justification to lead a moral and righteous life, they have in their own twisted way given birth to yet another faith-based religion that matter-of-factly offers all the answers. Yes, there is a soul, yes there is an afterlife, and no, nothing you’ve ever done — good or bad — and nothing you’ve ever accomplished matters. And if there is a Creator, it certainly doesn’t care and has left a long, long time ago.
Afterlife is being published by TOKYOPOP, known as one of the premiere importers and translators of Japanese manga for the English speaking world, while maintaining the original digest-sized format of the Japanese originals. Even though Hayes and Steen are both American, their creation fits in remarkably well with the attitude of their Japanese counterparts. Rob Steen’s black and white artwork in particular falls in line with the manga style, and is filled with deep blacks spreading to infinite, speeds lines during the actions sequences, and bizarre panel layouts that make each page an eye-popping adventure in themselves.
Clocking it an 180 pages, in Afterlife, Hayes and Steen offer quite a lot to take in, and by the final page your entire outlook on life could very well be changed forever. A careful reader will be able to decipher just what has been brought to the page, for this is no mere comic book, but both a warning and lesson that must be learned before it is too late and one finds that the only thing waiting in death is emptiness and nothingness forever, and ever, and ever, and ever…
This review of Afterlife by originally appeared at Geeksofdoom.com.
AFTERLIFE
What happens when you die? Every religion has an answer. Philosophers debate about it. Artists try to capture it. Scientists try to define it. And they’ve all got it wrong. There is no Heaven, there is no Hell. There is no punishment for lack of morals or reward for a decently lived life. There are no virgins, no pearly gates, no fire and brimstone. There is only a void of eternity, where every… single… person who has ever lived goes. In this world, Mother Teresa and Hitler stand side by side pondering, L. Ron Hubbard and David Koresh fist fight to pass the time, and priests from the Catholic, Taoist, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths sit in a circle and point fingers at each other. Forever.
But in this ethereal nothingness, there are some problems, as space is becoming increasingly hard to find, and there are of course the “demons” that attack and drag souls off into the black void. To keep the people safe from these creatures, and to try and keep some order, there are a few selected who become Guardians. Thaddeus is one of these selected, and has been given an organic bodysuit that he uses to fight, defend, and keep the general peace. Thaddeus has lost track of how long he has been in the Afterlife, and tries to keep some sense of sanity with the secret journal that he keeps, and his friendship with the other Guardians. There are many times when Thaddeus has just wanted to quit, and when rumors of The Gate — a supposed portal out of the Afterlife — reaches him, he finally comes to the first real decision he has been able to make since dying.
Creators Stormcrow Hayes and Rob Steen have reached into the deepest and darkest recesses of the minds of the human collective and brought to the surface the awful and horrible truth about what is waiting for us after we breathe our last breath on Earth. What they have to offer us is a mind-numbing nihilistic view point, that given credence by the wrong people, could spell the ruin for everything that has been created since the dawn of man.
What is even more disturbing perhaps, is that even as Hayes and Steen set out to destroy every single religious viewpoint and every single justification to lead a moral and righteous life, they have in their own twisted way given birth to yet another faith-based religion that matter-of-factly offers all the answers. Yes, there is a soul, yes there is an afterlife, and no, nothing you’ve ever done — good or bad — and nothing you’ve ever accomplished matters. And if there is a Creator, it certainly doesn’t care and has left a long, long time ago.
Afterlife is being published by TOKYOPOP, known as one of the premiere importers and translators of Japanese manga for the English speaking world, while maintaining the original digest-sized format of the Japanese originals. Even though Hayes and Steen are both American, their creation fits in remarkably well with the attitude of their Japanese counterparts. Rob Steen’s black and white artwork in particular falls in line with the manga style, and is filled with deep blacks spreading to infinite, speeds lines during the actions sequences, and bizarre panel layouts that make each page an eye-popping adventure in themselves.
Clocking it an 180 pages, in Afterlife, Hayes and Steen offer quite a lot to take in, and by the final page your entire outlook on life could very well be changed forever. A careful reader will be able to decipher just what has been brought to the page, for this is no mere comic book, but both a warning and lesson that must be learned before it is too late and one finds that the only thing waiting in death is emptiness and nothingness forever, and ever, and ever, and ever…
This review of Afterlife by originally appeared at Geeksofdoom.com.
Thaddeus and Mercutio are guardians in the Afterlife, maintaining the peace in this strange world of the dead that gets more crowded every day. As the population reaches its limit, the organic mass that is the body of this world begins to show signs of sickness and decay! The inquisitive Thaddeus yearns for an answer to it all, much to the chagrin of his best friend Mercutio, who is consumed with the need to find his one true love, Arabella.
Thaddeus:
A philosopher struggling to find meaning in a meaningless world, Thaddeus refuses to think about his former life, instead focusing on his duties as a Guardian. However, even his duties are called into question and he's forced to choose between duty and his quest for answers. Thaddeus' journal from the Afterlife can be read here: http://notesfromtheafterlife.blogspot.com.
Mercutio:
If Thaddeus is philosophical about the world in which they exist, Mercutio is the opposite, a pragmatist. His only concern is to find his lost love, Arabella. But there is a dark secret to her past that he never learned during his life.
Stormcrow Hayes, writer:
Described as a well-mannered, sweet-natured, nihilistic punk, Stormcrow Hayes claims that living in Los Angeles hasn't made him cynical, just more enraged. He has worked on several projects for TOKYOPOP, including adaptations for the best-selling .hack novels. Other projects include the e-zine The Idiot (www.theidiotmagazine.com), of which he is the editor, and his first feature film, The Deal (a thriller starring Penelope Ann Miller, Henry Thomas, and Dean Stockwell), which will be available on DVD later this year.
Rob Steen, artist:
Rob Steen is a New York-based artist who illustrated Ricky Gervais' children's books Flanimals and More Flanimals. Other works include a short story for Elephantmen published by Image Comics in late 2006 and a color version of David Hine's Strange Embrace from Active Images. He is currently working on the third volume of Flanimals. www.RobSteen.net
Is there an after life for the Afterlife?
The afterlife in Stormcrow and Rob's vision is not one composed of ethereal singing and flapping wings, nor is it composed of molten rock and brimstone. It is a wasteland of flesh where everyone who has ever died gets deposited. It is a place of impassivity, not judgment. And therefore it allows for the unleashing of raw human nature, unbounded by fear of an almighty yet shackled by the truth that there is an eternity. This results in a chilling psychological study of individuals who are trapped between not knowing whether they've lost who they are or are on the verge of finding it.
~Luis Reyes, Editor
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Only registered members can post comments
it's not too bad
CREATUREOFTHENIGHT91
11.13.2008 12:00 AM
cheers? ok then... i think it looks kool. must find out where it is
GOTHCHICK896
04.24.2008 12:00 AM
awesome story, good point to. When I read alot of storys i can never figure out why the hero wants to save everyone either. Keep 'em coming!
HALFHEARTEDHERO
02.28.2008 12:00 AM
looks awesome
ELMOLJS
02.25.2008 12:00 AM
Yeah this comic rocks!!! I especially loved Allen Ginsberg. Read it and you'll see what I mean. Cheers!
ASDAV
01.25.2008 12:00 AM
I would love to see the second volume :'( its been since April that Afterlife was never heard again. I must find out what's going to happen in the second volume.
THEFLOODALCHEMIST
10.31.2007 12:00 AM
soo kwel! very interesting
KITTY101
10.27.2007 12:00 AM
That's pretty sweet, although they need to put some pants on that guy ^_^
BURN
09.22.2007 12:00 AM
its awesome
THATDUDE
07.24.2007 12:00 AM