Wasteland (comics)


Wasteland is a monthly comic book series written by Antony Johnston, drawn by Christopher Mitten with covers by Ben Templesmith, and published by Oni Press. It debuted in July 2006 and ended in April 2015.
The series is set one hundred years after the Big Wet, an unspecified disaster that destroyed modern society and, it is assumed, changed the world's coastlines. The story takes place somewhere in America, now a barren desert and dustbowl without modern technology. The seas are poisonous, and subsistence farming with small amounts of livestock appears to be the norm.
The book also has theme music, composed and performed by Johnston, which can be downloaded from the .

Format

Each issue of Wasteland is 32 pages long and contains 22 pages of comic story, one episode of the prose serial travelogue Walking The Dust, a letters column and preview page for the following issue. The remainder of the pages are taken up by ads, normally for other series from Oni Press and/or by Wasteland's creators.
The letters column sometimes contains pieces of submitted fan art, and Johnston himself often answers the letters.

The Big Wet

The most-seen explanation for the apocalypse comes from the Sunner religion, a sect that worships Mother Sun and Father Moon. According to their legend, the Big Wet was a retribution on the people of A-Ree-Yass-I for shunning the 'gifts' Mother Sun and Father Moon offered them. It seems as though this mythic place's name is a play on words by the author, and a linguistic contraction in-world, for "Area 1/I" —a military base/lab where the bomb was created.

Storylines

Thus far, the comic has established two distinct storylines. The first follows a scavenger named Michael who roams the wasteland, trading what he can salvage. His life changes forever when he finds a machine that talks in a forgotten language, supposedly giving directions to the fabled land of A-Ree-Yass-I, where mankind's downfall began. Michael tries to trade the machine at a small town of Sunners called Providence, and his fate becomes intertwined with the town's sheriff, Abi.
The second storyline follows the political machinations of a large city known as Newbegin, where the city's leader Marcus is oppressing the Sunner population, most of whom are slaves.

Sunner beliefs

Sunners have been shown to hold the following beliefs:
Many words and phrases from our own time have changed to fit the world of Wasteland, and writer Antony Johnston has stated in interviews that the comic's language is carefully constructed.
For example, many epithets involving animals have become solely references to goats – "Son of a goat", "Goatshit", "I'll be a goat's uncle", and so on. No reference has yet been made in the book to Christ or Jesus; although God is mentioned in "Walking the Dust" text pieces, and issue 14 there is a priest who wears a cross, carries a bible, and refers to himself as a member of the "Cross Chain" religion. The names of places and cities are new or changed. Although the book clearly states it is set "Somewhere in America", no character has yet named the country as such, instead referring to their location simply as "the country" or even "the world". It is therefore assumed that place names have been lost and/or forgotten.
Based on the geographic descriptions in the "Walking the Dust" essays, accompanying the first 15 issues, it's likely that "Wosh-Tun" is Washington, DC. It's mentioned that east of Wosh-Tun lies the Black Water that separates the main land from the East Reach. The East Reach is connected by a landbridge to the mainland, which lies north of Wosh-Tun. It's possible that the Black Water is Chesapeake Bay and the East Reach is Delaware. West of Wosh-Tun lie the Suntop Peaks, which stretch far to the south, ending in a large peninsula. This could be a reference to the Allegheny Mountains and Florida.
Some words have the suffix "-age" added to them.

Collections

Oni are releasing trade paperback collections on an ongoing basis.
#TitleISBNRelease dateCollected material
1Cities in DustMarch, 2007Wasteland #1–6
2Shades of GodDecember, 2007Wasteland #8–13
3Black Steel in the Hour of ChaosDecember 2008Wasteland #15–19
4Dog TribeJune 2009Wasteland #21–24
5Tales of the UninvitedNovember 18, 2009Wasteland #7, 14, 20, 25
6The Enemy WithinNovember 16, 2011Wasteland #26–31
7Under the GodSeptember 19, 2012Wasteland #33–38
8Lost in the OzoneJuly 16, 2013Wasteland #40–44
9A Thousand LiesMarch 19, 2014Wasteland #46–51
10Last Exit for the LostJune 18, 2014Wasteland #32, 39, 45, 52
11FloodlandAugust 11, 2015Wasteland #53–60

The series was afflicted by serious delays after issue #26. Issue #27, originally planned for July 2009 was delayed to January 2010, mainly due to Johnston's involvement with Dead Space, and other projects.
As of July 2009, Oni are also releasing hardcover collections.
#TitleISBNRelease dateCollected material
1The Apocalyptic Edition: Volume 1July, 2009Wasteland #1–13
2The Apocalyptic Edition: Volume 2October, 2010Wasteland #14–25
3The Apocalyptic Edition: Volume 3September, 2013Wasteland #26–39
4The Apocalyptic Edition: Volume 4October, 2014Wasteland #40–52
5The Apocalyptic Edition: Volume 5October, 2015Wasteland #53–60

Awards