Sophisticated Sci-Fi. It’s not easy to do, but even more critical its not easy to do well. More often than not sci-fi can be about explosions and aliens rather than the nature of human and extraterrestrial life. All Against All is at the head of the sci fi table of sophistication. With mind melting art from Caspar Wijngaard and exquisite words from Alex Paknadel, it’s a great first issue to end 2022. And going forward a book to watch for 2023.
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer, Artist and Co-Creators: Alex Paknadel and Caspar Wijngaard
Release Date: December 7,2022
The Distant Future
A future so bleak it can only be enlightened by the colors and lines from Wijngaard. They’re work on Home Sick Pilots, and Limbo are enough to make him top teir in the realm of comic book creators. With his work on All Against All #1, the almost claustrophobic nature to the organic backdrops envelopes the page. On the more technical and “futuristic” side of things, its unlike most any sci-fi mediums you will see. The detail spent on the creatures that inhabit the page is top notch. One small issue that may arise-that I had noticed-trying to separate who was who in the page was bit confusing. the colors help a bit, but there general features all the same. Going forward, the reader needs to pay close attention to the characters.
The Present DAy
Paknadel is a wizard when it comes to words. The story they put to paper via the text (with precise lettering from Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou) is beyond recognition. The first issue of All Against All is smart and cultured. It tells the story of a future that, a lot like the art, has not be experienced before. A huge selling feature of, just another alien takes over earth story, is the fact that the state of the art mastery that Paknadel puts into this world. I found myself re-reading a lot of the story, and even re-reading the first issue multiple times. It can be a bit too smart for its own good at times. But that’s more of a reader vs reader issue. I find it impressive that this type of story exists at all.
Behind the sci fi and beyond the future. All Against All will be a human story. One about survival and about heart. Will you survive?
Rating: 9/10