First published within a single compilation volume back in February of 2016, the fifteenth instalment in the post-apocalyptic ‘Crossed’ series was entitled ‘Crossed Volume 15: Badlands’ and collected together issues 81 – 86 of the comic series which formed the story ‘The Lesser Of 2 Evils’. The six comics were both written and drawn by US comic book writer and artist Mike Wolfer.
DLS Synopsis:
The small group of survivors had so far managed to stay undetected by the Crossed, largely because of their unique hiding place. The middle section of a suspension bridge had been left standing, whilst the two leading ends had fallen away during the destruction which the Crossed unleashed upon the town of Granville.
The only way to reach the group who were hauled up in this isolated middle section of the bridge structure, was to cross the river and climb the metal rungs attached to the central support. However, the river’s current was strong. Furthermore, should a Crossed somehow make it across the water, then the survivors were ready with rocks and other projectiles, to keep from climbing up the rungs.
Although, their presence on the central bridge section hadn’t gone wholly unnoticed. Survivors – Morgan and Olivia – had spotted the shelters that the survivors had erected upon the partially-collapsed bridge. They’d also seen a small fire lit on the bridge’s main surface, which was subsequently extinguished before an argument broke out. All of which drew attention to the survivors’ location.
Before the C-Day apocalypse hit, Morgan and Olivia had travelled from Oklahoma to attend the ‘Slash-Mob Horror Convention’. So, when the disease swept through the town, it left them dressed in their 1980s style costumes and alone in an unfamiliar town. However, they still had each other and their trusty survival book – ‘Surviving D-Day: Living through the zombie apocalypse’.
The two girls were doing well considering the world had gone to hell. Luckily, they’d been preparing for the apocalypse for years. Zombie apocalypse preppers! Although, they didn’t envisage the end of the world being quite as brutal as what the Crossed unleashed. Their plan, however, was simple. They’d join this small group of survivors and teach them how to survive. How to live through an apocalypse.
After all, joining a group of survivors was probably the only way they’d make it through this violent chaos. They just had to get them on side, and trust in their advice…
Here we have a self-contained Crossed story which takes us back to the post-apocalyptic roots of the entire series. Unlike many of the other Crossed stories that which later focused more on the violence and atrocities enacted by the Crossed, this one is more focussed upon survivor group dynamics within a post-apocalyptic environment.
In many ways, the story feels like its cut from the same cloth as ‘The Walking Dead’ (2003 – 2019). We have a handful of survivors, all bringing their own opinions, attributes and prejudices to the table. An eclectic mix of individuals, from different walks of life, cramped up together in this isolated middle section of an otherwise collapsed bridge. A pressure cooker environment if ever there was one.
Enter our two supposed heroines! They’re suited up in proper 1980s attire, with boobs practically bursting out of their garments. However, looks can be deceptive. These two are more clued up on surviving within a post-apocalyptic world than you might think.
What follows is a load of squabbling from those on the bridge, eventually leading to a mission to retrieve supplies from a nearby pharmacy, as suggested by the new arrivals. Yeah, all sounds very ‘The Walking Dead’ right?! Well, not quite. Because writer and artist (yeah, this man did both) Mike Wolfer has stuck with the core ethos of a Crossed story – it’s gotta contain unparalleled displays of extreme violence and gore!
And fair do’s to Wolfer – he absolutely delivers with the violence when it’s time for a fresh dose. You see, the graphic novel sort of drip feeds us these moments of extremity. But when it’s time for another serving of brutality, Wolfer goes all out.
We’ve got a scene where an infected has his cock cut off by a sexy surgeon who’s also infected. Only to have a thick iron support jammed into where his genitals were, then a horse’s cock wedged onto this steel support. The whole scene is reminiscent of James Herbert’s ‘The Fog’ (1975), only taken to even more perverse extremes.
Then later on we have a guy who’s already had his eyes ripped out, who the Crossed then proceed to shove a pair of sheers up his rectum, whereupon the inevitable internal chopping commences. Yep, it’s all pretty harsh extreme horror torture porn stuff and then some.
Alongside these graphic scenes, Wolfer keeps up the ongoing theme of lowbrow sleaze. In fact, Wolfer’s story probably has some of the sleaziest elements to it, out of all of the ‘Crossed’ stories thus far. A few of the key characters are the principal drives behind this.
Firstly, we have Barbi, who’s portrayed as a cougar/MILF wannabe; constantly on the prowl for some young male flesh and flaunting her attributes.
Then there’s Chuck, who’s basically a lecherous old man, who’ll do anything for a bit of action. We also have the aforementioned Sexy Crossed Surgeon, who’s driven by the need to constantly perform unnecessary surgery on people. She’s also hot as hell and goes around flaunting what’s underneath her surgery gown.
Finally, out of the two newcomer’s, it’s Morgan who’s the one getting her breasts out at the first opportunity along with spouting a litany of flirty suggestive lines. As an example, after watching the Crossed doing their thing, she mutters to Chuck “It’s sick and twisted. Absolutely disgusting. But damn, it kinda gets me wet”. Yeah, this girl’s hot for it!
Essentially, the whole thing’s akin to a sexed-up, ultra-violent story from ‘The Walking Dead’. But it works! And delivers a strong and decidedly gritting ending that’ll leave you smirking.
The graphic novel runs for a total of 160 pages.
© DLS Reviews
