Wasteland, Book 4: Dog Tribe

WASTELAND, BOOK 4: DOG TRIBE

Collects WASTELAND #s 21-24

The shortest collection so far sets aside the intrigue of Newbegin for the moment and redirects attention to Michael and Abi, our strange humans with supernatural abilities neither is eager to advertise, as they make their way to A-Ree-Yass-I, which may either hold the key to salvation or prove as big a disappointment as Newbegin was for the survivors of Providence at the start of the series.

Much of the action still centers around politics, however, this time around competing Dog Tribes, intricate creations of Antony Johnston (once again ably illustrated by Christopher Mitten) that further reflect how society can splinter and grow eccentric from what we now consider normal, given circumstances extreme enough to demand it.

Basically, as Johnston’s own outline included in the collection details, Dog Tribes take their cue from canine behavior, but are otherwise elaborate versions of Indians as they might appear a hundred years after an apocalyptic event like the Big Wet.  And like medieval European societies, intertribal associations can be fixed with strategically arranged marriages, which is exactly the occasion Michael and Abi stumble into.  The whole collection tells you everything you need to know about Dog Tribes and the events that lead to another fine mess that quickly devolves into opportunistic chaos, in case there was any doubt that Newbegin was an aberration in these times.

The bad news is that this detour proves a wicked opportunity for someone else, Gerr, the assassin sent by Marcus to finish the job interrupted by the Sand-Eater attack, who manages to worm his way into the unsuspecting good graces of our heroes as they struggle to extricate themselves from the Dog Tribes.

Gerr is so successful that Michael actually invites him along on their journey.  Michael has already admitted to reaching A-Ree-Yass-I once before, and he confesses under duress to Abi what is likely an unreliable version of that experience during their captivity. 

There is much decompression of the basic narrative in WASTELAND, but Johnston is endlessly inventive and immersive in his own mythology, so where this kind of storytelling can be a problem in other comic books, here you don’t really mind.  In fact, the more you read of WASTELAND, the more you hope the stories continues however Johnston wishes to tell it.  DOG TRIBE is a perfect example of how brilliantly he can do just that.