Review: ‘Once Upon A Time At The End Of The World’ #9 Channels The Pandemic
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
If the pandemic left you feeling like you have lost a connection – whether with loved ones or even the greater world – you’ll related to this issue all too well. As their world is falling apart around them, the main characters subconsciously turn on each other. It’s a great example of a creative team working together with words and illustrations to drive their point home.
Overall
8.5/10We’ve seen the rise of Golgonooza. Now it’s time for the fall.
The once-alluring paradise at the center of the current story arc in Once Upon a Time at the End of the World is now rapidly degenerating into a no-man’s land. That seems appropriate given that most of the planet is a post-apocalyptic hell. But it seems that it’s the planet itself that is killing Golgonooza with its mysterious poisonous fumes.
That is what the story is about on the surface. But writer Jason Aaron is trying to tell a much deeper, more relatable tale here. Faced with a challenge that each believes only they can solve, lovers Maceo and Mezzy begin to grow apart. They first lose their physical connection thanks to the masks they are forced to wear (an uncomfortable reminder of our own pandemic) and then their spiritual connection slips away. Through the series’ flash-forwards, we’ve known the two would separate, but now we begin to understand why it happened.
Aaron even gives each character their own separate narration, demonstrating how far apart they are growing. Anyone who has lived through the pandemic can relate to this turn of events.
Artist Leila del Duca brings that separation to life in her illustrations. At one point Maceo and Mezzy are trying to sleep in their bed, which now appears to be massive – further showing the distance between the pair. And a reveal at the end shows how disgusting each has become to the other. It’s a great case study of writer and artists building off each other.
In addition to tearing about their relationship, del Deca also now gets to dismantle the amazing Golgonooza, named after William Blake’s city of imagination. The pillow fight dome is covered in cobwebs. The forest trees are choked by the mists. It’s truly paradise lost – in more ways than one.
With one more issue left in this arc, there’s not a lot of hope left with these characters. In the next few issues, we’ll see how much damage they inflict upon each other, and whether they can reconcile when they meet again. Again, it’s something that is all too relatable for many readers.
Once Upon a Time at the End of the World #9 is available for purchase today.
