Comic Book Review - TOXX #1

Rob reviews TOXX #1 from Wolven Press…

From first reading Evan Carothers and Eric Palicki’s end of the world survival story, I couldn’t help but see the similarities between a few tales I’d experienced before. Set within a dying, radioactive filled world, TOXX tells the tale of those unfortunate to have survived the initial apocalypse. Now living in the shattered shadows of the old world, the humans they remain have to contend with dwindling resources, crazed mutants, and each other. While this alone doesn’t set TOXX apart from any other tale of sci-fi survival, it does have quite a unique hook - its protagonist happens to be pregnant! 

But wait. How does this make TOXX different? Well since disaster struck some thirty years in the past, there hasn’t been a child born into this hellish landscape. So throw in murderous settlements, backstabbing, and the promise of a free future, and TOXX #1 sets itself off to a great start. 

Created by Carothers and written by Palicki, TOXX tells the story of Claire, and her companions Brody and Hux. As members to a group of hunter gathers known as R.A.T.S. the group venture out from the underground safety of Tainer Town in search of supplies. With planet Earth now an irradiated wasteland due to irreversible climate change, humanity is forced to seak shelter underground - just like rats. Anyway, after a routine scavenging trip, Claire finds out she’s pregnant which is both s blessing and a curse. See, no child has been born since the collapse some thirty years prior. So with Claire now conceiving, herself and her unborn child have become quite a commodity. Not willing to see their friend become a human pin cushion form experimentation, Brody and Hux whisk Claire away to the surface in search of a myth dubbed the Miracle Train. 

However, those who run Tainer Town have agendas of their own. And when the opportunity to barter their Doctor - who has valuable knowledge on a way to treat the radiation - for a chance to reclaim Claire, well the steak’s suddenly get much higher. 

While some opening issues lead their readers down a mine shaft of exposition dumps with very little set-up, TOXX manages to balance these two sides exceptionally well. The opening and concluding chapters of this issue helps to establish the current predicament to its cast, while leaving the middle to delve into a buffet of world building, exposition, and character building. It’s also presented in a way that keeps the story flowing organically as Claire uses her own downtime to keep a diary of her experiences for her unborn child. 

Art comes from Ben Worrell, with colour work by Marta Gasparoni, with both working well to create the barren sun ravaged landscape. Everything has a Mad Max/Tank Girl feel with dusty deserts, intersecting the decaying ruins of civilisation hidden underneath it. The heavily mutated flora that scavenge this environment are also exceptionally designed with a strong showing of teeth and claws, with hints as to what they once where hiding underneath. Gasparoni’s colours come in plenty of muted browns, and orange which helps to build this barren world.

Overall TOXX #1 sets off to a strong start. It’s post apocalyptic story oozes of styles seen within Mad Max, Fallout, The Walking Dead, and The Last of Us, but even with these heavyweight influences, TOXX stands on its own two feet. With plenty of room for Carothers and Palicki to expand the narrative direction, TOXX is already shaping up to be an epic read! 

Rating: 8/10

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