If you pay attention to the comics media you know Black Mask‘s newest title The Wilds is the critical darling of the month.
Writer Vita Ayala described the book to Geek.com:
…humanity was ravaged by a plague that killed half the population, and turned a number of the remainder into essentially flower zombies. Humanity, to survive, has formed these walled-off city-states like settlements. We follow Daisy Walker, who works for a specialized settlement called The Compound – which is basically a mashup of the USPS and Black Market. Daisy is a Runner, which means her job is to find salvage to bring back to the Compound, and also to ferry cargo (which can be goods, people, or just messages) between settlements. Being a Runner is a brutal job and few make it to retirement. Runners are basically exploited, but without them, society as it stands, could not work.
Thematically, the book is about how marginalized people (PoC, and especially WoC) are exploited. How PoC are expected to perform massive amounts of physical and emotional labor with no reward, and often until we are used up or die.
Artist Emily Pearson and colorist Marissa Louise work together to compellingly illustrate a world where the bleak reality of the end times can co-exist with the beauty of flowering undead.
If you live in the Bay Area you can talk to Pearson about her vision when she makes a stop on March 10 at Cape and Cowl Comics in Oakland. She’ll be at the 1601 Clay Street comic shop from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. both signing the first issue and creating sketches. Check out the Facebook event here.
The Wilds team includes lettering from Jim Campbell and editing by Danny Lore.
If you can’t make it to Cape and Cowl to pick up a copy and meet Pearson please check out our list of Bay Area Comic Book Stores. Most will likely have a copy unless, of course, the book is sold out.
Matthew Rosenberg