Comic Review: Mall #1

Mall #1

Vault Comics

Writer: Gary Dauberman & Michael Moreci

Art: Zak Hartong & Addison Duke

Ok, so picture this: the world has ended. The last known remaining habitat for the human population is an old shopping mall. Inside, despite common assumptions, the inhabitants struggle with clan and gang wars besides every other social issue you might consider that rises from human greed. This is the world of Mall.

Right off the bat, the first issue presents us with what happened to the world. Or at least what the main character, Andre Walker, knows about the end of the world. According to him, things just stopped working and chaos erupted. Then, humanity found itself trapped inside a shopping mall, believed by Andre to be paradise even in the “life that was”. The comic then cuts to a woman running away from two masked figures who are trying to steal her baby. We then find Andre knocked out in a room beside the dead body of Delmon Gold, the leader of the Mall. Andre then fights to get out of harms way until met with old acquaintances.

Moreci writing is highly talented and skilled. Not only he knows the initial exposition is somewhat necessary but he manages to make it a brief introduction do Andre’s personality traits which are confirmed later in the chapter. Plus, he makes the best of said exposition by making it based on the character’s view of the world of the comic which isn’t necessarily the absolute truth. The progression of Andre’s misadventures has a precisely regulated pace, taking time to introduce new characters and concepts needed to follow the story more accurately. We understand a little more of how the society inside the Mall is organized and what kind of rules take place in its population day-to-day life and every new aspect presented makes the whole thing even more interesting and compelling.

Although it may not fit every reader’s preference Hartong’s style is very intriguing. It reminds this reviewer of Frank Miller’s (maybe mixed with Umbrella Academy’s Gabriel Bá) drawing style but a lot more contained and stylized in its own matter. The poses and facial expressions raise humor when needed but without killing the tension of the moment they’re shown. Sometimes the drawing is highly detailed and shaded, other times it is minimalist and flat. There is a great dominance of warm colors over cold ones, especially in the opening sequence, where we’re getting the background on the world’s demise. It all sets the tone of an arid apocalypse deriving from global warming and a series of natural disasters that we all know very well from other franchises. It all varies in the orange spectrum except when the old mall store products are displayed which serve to compose beautiful panels as well as to remind us that this used to be a shopping center and not really a fortress for humanity to take a stand. One can only imagine what that will mean in the future.

This is a solid first issue. The writing presents us the world, as well as some main characters and the artwork, makes the reading compelling though it might not to that to everyone. Despite that, the creative team appears to have a good alignment of what this project is about and is delivering precisely what was intended which, for me, looks incredible!

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