With any story that can be conceived, there’s a great deal of thinking and brainstorming about what happens next to progress the tale being told. But I imagine that process may be either slightly easier or more difficult when it comes to writing stories depicting alt history. The countless ideas you can have to begin with could be great fun to work with, but what of the ideas you can conceive by wondering how differently history could have turned out? Your mind becomes a literary playground you won’t want to leave! And this fun and passion for producing great work clearly comes out in this first issue of Duck and Cover, a new original series from Comixology set during the earlier days of the Cold War in the early 1950s.
No matter what era it’s in, I love reading a good alt history story, bearing witness to how things might have, been had history played out another way. And with the writing of Scott Snyder, the Cold War takes an altered, more horrific turn, perfectly represented in a story that’s evenly paced and works to build the tension and fear of an alleged oncoming attack that can come at any time. The main characters are also given enough introduction to make you care about what happens to them within a story that is nicely balanced, with no one aspect of this comic overpowering another.
Seeing the events progress further in every panel is a real treat as well, with the artwork, coloring, and lettering by Rafael Albuquerque, Marcel Maiolo, and Bernardo Brice respectively, you’re put straight back into yesteryear, right in the middle of it all, the details being so accurate you’d swear the creative team behind this grew up back then. Everything from the buildings to the very clothes they’re wearing is exactly as one who lived in the 1950s would expect it to be. Even the parts of this comic that would be considered fantastical and unrealistic given the setting of this story, you still get the feeling that what you’re seeing should be there.
There are too many good things to say about issue one of Duck and Cover and not nearly enough space to list them all here but believe me when I say this is a great read worthy of adding to your collection. The premise set against a real-world event rife with fear and uncertainty, with an added surprise element that will catch you off guard, this is something that needs to be read in its completion. So, for now, boys and girls, I’m going straight to Comixology to find out just how long this series lasts, because finishing this tale, for me at least, is now a mandatory thing. My only question to you now is, why haven’t you gone to Comixology yourself to experience this art for yourself?
