Years after a nuclear apocalypse, a new society has risen from the ashes...and their bible is an old Ranger Scout manual.
A young Ranger Scout named Kit has endured the harsh survivalist upbringing needed to conquer the irradiated Colorado Badlands. But after discovering a terrible secret once lost to history, Kit must risk everything on a dangerous quest to uncover the truth behind the Ranger Scouts' doctrine.
From multiple Ringo Award-nominated writer David Pepose (Spencer & Locke, Going to the Chapel, The O.Z.) and artist Luca Casalanguida (James Bond, Lost Soldiers) comes a post-apocalyptic coming-of-age tale that proves when all you know is a lie, a Scout's Honor is the only way to move forward.
SCOUT'S HONOR #1
Writer: David Pepose
Artists: Luca Casalanguida, Matt Milla
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Publisher: Aftershock Comics
Release Date: January 6, 2021
Cover Price: $4.99
Score: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Dystopian stories in comics are fairly common and vary in quality. Some are too expansive sacrificing character development for action or too convoluted to follow with characters that are unlikeable and simply a chore to read. With 'Scout's Honor' from Aftershock Comics, writer David Pepose has found the perfect mix of action, world-building, and character work to make this new series a welcomed and engrossing entry into the dystopian genre that sets itself apart.
As described, the world has gone to ruin from a nuclear war and the survivors have emerged with a new-found allegiance to the teachings found in an old Ranger Scout manual. Their deity is Doctor Jefferson Hancock whose tenets of the Scout code are sacrosanct. It's bred patriarchy within a survivalist cult and the young Kit is one of the best Scouts they got. Secrets abound, rival factions lurk nearby, and the world as they know it is about to be turned upside-down...again. It's one hell of a first issue.
Pepose's pacing is great and all the information you need to know about who these characters are and what they stand for is interwoven naturally through the dialogue as a consequence of their actions. There's never a lull or unnecessary scene that feels heavy-handed. The good thing about religious zealots they love to talk and monologue so like vegans, cross-fitters, and atheists it doesn't take much prompting to get them to divulge their ideology. A lot happens in the first issue, the stakes are clearly laid out and Kit's motivations and ultimate burden are revealed. There's so much left to mull over after the final page and so much to look forward to.
Fueling this action-packed story is the art of Luca Casalanguida and Matt Milla. There's not a single bad panel. It's all so well designed and choreographed the story flows and the action pops. Milla brings some bright colors to what normally would be a dark shadowy desolate landscape of a dystopian future we're used to seeing. Instead, it's a fireworks show of eye-popping violence and action. Carlos M. Mangual's lettering is exceptional and so varied throughout as the situations change.
'Scout's Honor' is the perfect storm of a great concept supported by efficient writing and fantastic art. Pepose breathes new life in the dystopian genre creating an exciting new adventure full of action, drama, and surprises. It's been described as 'Mad Max' meets 'Mulan' and certainly echoes those films in ways but it's really an already fully formed blockbuster all its own.
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