Advance Review– `Assorted Crisis Events’ #1 Makes Post-Apocalyptic Life Interesting

The comic book universe is no stranger to the occasional crisis. Every decade or so, DC rolls out a crisis of some sort, whether is one called identity, infinite, or the incorrectly termed Final Crisis. A new anthology series from writer Deniz Camp and artist Eric Zawadzki aims to make these crises a monthly occurrence.

Although not set in DC’s multiverse, Assorted Crisis Events deals not with heroes trying to combat these freaky incidents but instead focuses on the ordinary person who is forced to deal with them.

In the premiere issue, Ashley is doing her best to go about her life, despite a spate of abnormal events, from an ice age to ninja on motorcycles to a virus that killed off most humans. Now time is breaking down sending people and things from different eras across eras. It’s nothing for people to disappear only to show up a century before they were born or for a city block to be replaced with prehistoric swamplands.

Ashley though, rolls with most of the punches. Her biggest issue is the popularity of post-apocalyptic movies, many of which are being shot in her neighborhood. The movie explosions are as frequent as the ghostly figures of people popping into and out of the timeline.

Zawadzki’s visuals carry the issue. Just by looking at Ashley in the first panel, we understand exactly who she is and what her motivations are. Zawadzki is clearly having fun depicting a post-apocalyptic world, but it’s also a lot of work. And it shows on each page. Illustrators pressed for time on monthly deadlines will sometimes give certain panels the short shrift. Not so with Zawadzki. Every image seems to depict this sad reality with the right level of detail.

Credit colorist Jordie Bellaire for her ability to draw readers’ eyes precisely where she wants them to go. Bellaire uses a lot of reds – from cell phone alerts to roses placed on a grave to the occasional threatening sky.

Camp’s story, though good, may be the weakest element of the issue. He does an fine job of getting through the crisis exposition though Ashley’s lens, but the script itself could use a stronger conflict. After all, it’s Ashley against the crisis, and it’s clear from the beginning who is going to win that battle.

Still Camp raises some interesting questions about the nature of reality, particularly during difficult times. He keeps having characters cite the need for verisimilitude – the appearance of being real – which if nothing else will send readers to their dictionaries.

Assorted Crisis Events #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, from Image Comics.