Rajat's Random Ramblings: Retrograde in Review (Too many R's?)

 

Imagine an Earth, very similar to our Earth, yet different.

Different in many ways, despite being so similar.

Residents of this other earth do not use iPhones – they can only trust and rely upon their own "eye".

The world wide web means less than a spider’s web to them.
The only computer they can use, is their own brain.
There are none of the easily recognizable gadgets and products which we have become so used to that we can’t even imagine leaving our house without them.

What? Getting mixed up, yet intrigued?
Welcome to the world of Retrograde.

A whole new world born from within the folds of imagination that had found its roots in the brain of Akshay Dhar.

After a few independent stories, Warblade and WereHouse, we finally get to witness Akshay’s solo work on a series and I must say it was well worth the wait.

Retrograde is the story of a world without technology, where modern science no longer has much meaning and humans have to rely on their own mind and body to survive from day to day.

No, we are not talking about an Amish colony (although that might have been fun). It is a much darker and bleaker place and the residents' struggle to stay alive and carry on to the next day is a regular exercise.

It is a black and white book which, as I have previously stated, is one of my favorite mediums and suits the tone of the story well. Color might not have looked as effective as the shaded black and white does.

Avik Kumar Maitra is the artist for the series with inking and coloring by Swapnil Singh and Naval Thanawal respectively.

The artwork is raw and exciting to look at. If it does not look immediately impressive or striking, that feeling will subside quickly as you move ahead through the story.

The pencils are executed very finely and Avik seems to have done a commendable job in giving it exactly the kind of tone that suits the environment.

We find ourselves witnessing an Earth which has gone through some life changing experiences that have managed to break our planet. Humans are trying to survive on a day to day basis, food is scarce, technology is almost gone and whatever is left is basic and rudimentary.

We are introduced to a bunch of rag-tag humans comprising of Razza, Prem, Scott, Tabby, Julie, Gyan and our narrator Sheena. They are one of the few remaining groups of survivors who are trying to stay alive and feed their families and keep them safe, which isn’t always easy.

My major complaint with Akshay’s past works was always the fact that he took too long for the buildup, and because of that by the time the story caught a better pace, we would be at the end and the readers could sometime lose track.

In Retrograde I have absolutely no cause for complain. Right from page two we find ourselves in the middle of action and the pace at which the story progresses will give you no time to breathe! All you can do is to turn the pages to try and keep up with it.

Another interesting point which I noticed: the restraint and control of both the artist and the writer.

In this type of a story-line, there is almost always a tendency to go to an extreme – either extreme violence or extreme gore. Retrograde has commendably managed to strike a perfect balance between the two.

There is gore – but it’s not something you would cringe at

There is violence right in the beginning but it’s not the kind of extreme violence you’d want kids to stay away from.

In fact, despite being a dark and grim book, you can let your kids read it without any worry about the things they might see in the comic that are objectionable or offensive which, as I said earlier, is definitely worth of appreciation.

Almost every story or movie I have seen that even briefly touches the post-apocalyptic scenario is guaranteed to have bloody, flesh and bones aplenty!

Anyway, moving ahead in the story we are introduced to the other members of the gang and get to know a few details about them. The story slows just a little bit at this point, but then it is the buildup for the big action which, again, does not disappoint.

The gang tries to protect themselves and their community against some natural predators and a short but intense battle ensues.

This leads to the end of this issue one of Retrograde.

As I said, the plot is detailed, meticulously planned and impressively executed.

Some might argue, and perhaps they might be right upto a certain extent, that the story sounds vaguely similar to The Walking Dead or other countless post-apocalyptic / post-epidemic books. Although the basic premise follows the similar baseline of our planet being in the grip of something horrible which destroyed millions and millions of people, the similarity ends there.

There are no zombies, no "one man in the world full of only females", no 'Mutants' or any of these other clichés which are ever so easy to succumb to while planning a story like this. Akshay has managed to avoid them very smoothly, making his own graceful path, leading to a fresh and intelligent plot.

All in all, I can’t wait for the 2^nd issue, and this is not only because Akshay is a friend and fellow Addict, but because I was impressed by the improvement in the so-called weaker areas for which he was criticized by me and a few other critics in the past.

It is not easy to break the mold you are comfortable with and work on something new and different and still land on your feet instead of on the butt, and that in itself made this book a worthwhile buy for me.

The next part of Retrograde will be released in the Delhi Comic Con this coming February and I hope to see all of you there, all dressed up and demolishing the place with the sheer awesomeness of us comic addicts!