Review: ‘Once Upon A Time At The End Of The World’ Vol. 2 Is Uneven

The second volume of Once Upon a Time at the End of the World starts off and ends with a bang – so to speak.

There’s lots of banging at the beginning of this trade paperback, which collected issues #6-10 of the series. I mean, a LOT of banging. Maceo and Mezzy, who held each other at arm’s length through most of the first volume are now lovers in the wasteland. And they don’t need any excuse to get on top of each other. Two young kids in love and having lots of sex. OK fine, we get it. We don’t, however, need to see it. At least, not that much of it.

Worse, all that sex doesn’t do much for the story that writer Jason Aaron is trying to tell. Yes, he has a lot to say here about the fleeting nature of love and how we are ultimately our own worst enemies. But this section of the story is about the pair creating a paradise in a post-apocalyptic world. And they succeed, at least for a time. That is, until the final bang, which is a well-done closing to the second story arc where Maceo and Mezzy literally see each other as monsters.

In between though, it is uneven. There’s an entire section with no conflict. Leila del Duca’s artwork improves toward the end of the TPB, but some of her illustrations are quite basic while others are much more intricate. Had she remained more consistent, the volume – and readers – would have been served.

The series will wrap with the third arc, which begins this week. Despite its setting and its uneven nature, the tale is ultimately a love story. The boy has met the girl, then he lost the girl. We’ll see if anyone sticks around to see if he gets her back.

Once Upon a Time at the End of the World Vol. 2 is available for purchase today.