There are many things that bring me joy: dad jokes, gelato, the scent of an old book... But few things put a big smile on my face quicker than stumbling upon a story that features people slowly falling in love in a post apocalyptic world, what can I say? I am wired like that, and few indie comics deliver exactly that with as much panache as Indigents does.

On this exciting and action packed tale of survival and love, shit hits the fan at outstanding speed. As if we were watching a movie, the camera sucks us in by slowly approaching an all American hottie, Dakota. The well-built teen is casually talking on his phone, and we quickly learn that he's a jock on a mission to buy beer for a party that wasn't meant to be, because the world as he knew it has ceased to exist

A terrible disease has spread like wildfire and society as a whole is crumbling at its very core, the enemy is not a dehumanized and a morose horde of zombies that you could easily distract with « sky flowers », and they aren't easily avoided because neither their limbs nor brains are rotten .

Those affected by the new plague look like murderous and chaotic junkies, hooked on god knows what, fearless in their adrenaline high. The « diseased » lose themselves to madness and Bloodthirst, but they retain and even enhance their physical prowess, making them absolutely terrifying. They attack each other and everyone they encounter in a twisted battle royale, where their goal is to unleash their most predatory instincts without any kind of restraint, until extinction.

It is in the glimpses of violence and carnage that the artist excels at making painfully clear the helplessness and desperation of the impending dusk of humanity; and this return to the primitive state of man remind us, that as Thomas Hobbes famously said in the Leviathan « man is a wolf to man », and the day that the last diseased will fall, the nightmare will be still far from over.

But do not let dread overcome you just yet, fellow reader, there is a silver lining to this tale.

When Dakota seeks the safety of isolation and runs into an accident, he encounters Kennedy. Small, delicate, kind yet strong, and terribly brave to be willing to lend a helping hand under such threatening circumstances. Though at the beginning they are wary of each other, and their relationship hits some bumps on the road, they come to accept that even if it's not true anymore that safety is found in numbers, to have at least one person who got your back can make facing the apocalypse a much less daunting task.

This is for you if:

You like tough cookies

You enjoy a good slow burn

You are seeking LGBTQ+ representation

You are into action and gore

You dig beautiful scenery and attractive character design

You enjoy a thrilling tale of survival