By Thea Srinivasan

If there were one word, to sum up, this comic, I would call this “pitiful.” There was so much that could have been done with this, yet this was a piece that made me give myself a forehead slap. Before I go any further with this review, if you cannot handle violence or nudity, this comic is not for you.

Children of the Fall is about a young adult named Lin. She lives in a post-apocalyptic world where there are two factions. One faction is led by Jaran Sonin while another faction is led by her father.  After her mother was killed, she and her sister ran away from her father to escape to a city where she would not be recognized. One day, Lin’s father sends a gunman to escort Lin and her sister to meet up with their father. Lin tries to escape at first, but after nearly getting killed by another gunman, she decides to follow her protector to meet up with her father. From there, the story discusses her journey to meet her father and get her sister to safety.

I will applaud the creators for making an art style very similar to many of the modern Marvels’ comics. The details are impeccable, and both the characters and settings are highlighted in the artist’s style. My main problem with the art is the character design. I understand that many characters are often drawn in sexual manners.  While I don’t encourage it, I find it acceptable as long as there is a reason behind the design of the characters. But when the main character essentially walks around in a crop top and a pair of underwear, I begin to question how horny the creators were. Not only was the main character drawn provocatively, one of the villains just had to be drawn with a Shaolin style shirt that showed off part of his chest and muscles. Even though this is a post-apocalyptic world, give some logical designs to these characters.

Also, if an action scene is going to be drawn, I should at least be able to know where someone gets injured. I understand if the creators did not want to be too graphic with these scenes, but I would like to know where a person gets injured and not have to make guesses. Better yet, I wish the creators would have taken more time to give a battle sequence where everyone else but the pivotal characters get hurt until the “right moment.” This is like a Disney movie where the hero always has to come out on top somehow until just the nick of time, everything crashes down.

Finally, I don’t like the characters themselves. The main lead either has a forlorn expression or an angry expression when protecting her sister.  I understand that she is determined to get herself and her sister to safety and will do everything in her power to make sure her sister is safe. But what else is there? How much vengeance does she have her father? How much is she willing to sacrifice to get her sister to safety? I get to see more complexity from the side character than the main character herself.  I understand Lin’s sister is very young, but she could do more than just be silent and docile. The main villain is only in one or two scenes, and I have more time with the enemy’s gunman. Even then, I just see a regular killer who happens to have crazy eyes.  There was a goldmine of characters that just turned into a pile of empty slates. 

The plot overall had so much potential considering it focused on current issues instead of going wayward with aliens, future technology, etc.  I wish the creators took this tale and reworked everything because as a reader, I would hope to be able to engage myself with everything in the story instead of bits and pieces of things I like.

Overall, this piece is not worth reading. The art is comparable to other Marvels’ comics, but everything else is lackluster. This story is for the person who wants to deal with a wet dog. Although they look adorable, everything else about them is a giant nightmare for someone to deal with.

Score: 1/5

Children of the Fall
Arcana Studios