Assorted Crisis Events #4 Review- A Crisis of Consiousness
From Image Comics
Written by Deniz Camp
Artist Eric Zawadzki
I can’t be the only comic book reader who feels like the mythos and world building of Deniz Camp is living rent free in their head these days, right? With the subsequent issues of the brilliant creator driven anthology series Assorted Crisis Events being particularly perturbing, instilling the reader with a sense of harrowing dread with a central thematic focus on the confounding and complex nature of time.
“Get out of my head, Deniz,” I want to cry. “I have enough existential dread as it is without your help!” Yet, I can’t help but read releases of this title until the despair abates and I find that hours have flitted away unnoticed- and such is the exhilarating yet terrifying meta-reading experience of Assorted Crisis Events that I need to relay to you this week!
If you are unfamiliar with Deniz Camp’s recent work, then I would point you towards his other excellent, monumental, industry changing titles The Ultimates at Marvel Comics and Absolute Martian Manhunter at DC Comics (which is a rare feat in and of itself to have not one but two massively popular ongoing titles happening at the same time, at two major publishers.) Which contributes towards making Camp’s third expansive and powerful title from a third major publisher at Image Comics, even more of a prodigious career defining achievement. However, it is truly the content and unique perspective that this series offers that should be the primary topic of discussion, and not just Camp’s prolific status as a comic book creator (perhaps I’m just “fan boying out” as an aspiring indie comic creator myself).
Since issue #1, this series has proven itself to be a forward thinking, emotionally fraught, culturally reflective series that explores a broad range of topics that most modern writers would find themselves incapable of elucidating in a coherent manner. Rather than rigidly confining itself to its initial premise or expected theme, Assorted Crisis Events exists as a much looser thematic narrative commentary than traditional main-stream anthology release, with each issue feeling truly independent and concise. Aside from our displaced time traveler figure who graced the cover of issue #1, there is almost no interconnective tissue between releases. Which allows the individual issues of this series thus far to carry a lot more thematic weight and intention, leaving the reader with a profound, holistic reading experience that arguably makes more of an impact psychologically than typical installment issues in the weekly cycle of comic books.
Additionally, I have to point out and commend the exceptional, unique, inspired artwork from Eric Zawadzki in every single issue of this series so far, showcasing an eclectic style and broad range of focus that makes each issue feel “personalized” and distinct.
If you are looking for a modern comic book series that explores difficult concepts and highlights far-reaching universal principles with complex morality, then Assorted Crisis Events is the series you can are looking for, and is certainly an exciting “palate cleanser” of a series if you re more accustomed to reading serial superhero titles.
But let us talk more specifically about the impactful events of issue #4, which means,
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
In a single page, our protagonist ages five years, as he awakes from his sleep as a child and groggily rises as an adult. Which may be the most poetic and profound opening I’ve read in a comic book and is certainly the most succinct introduction of a premise I have read in a comic book in quite some time. The narration “Time flies,” tells us all we need to know about this issue both literally and figuratively. Instilling the reader with a sense of ennui and reflection on a first glance which is a testament to the masterful storytelling of all talents involved. Furthermore, it is indicative of the particularly revealing and disturbingly honest quality of this entire series, which does not hide its themes or secrets from you, but rather forces you to confront them.
From here, we follow our protagonist, Mikey, as he stumbles to a job he doesn’t remind applying for, sitting down for work he is figuring out on the job, only to find that months have passed and he’s moving into a new home in a building with a bunch of neighbors he can hardly remember the names of.
Going into this review, I realized that the description of events as they take place in this story, would not sound as alluring as they are played out on the page, because of the unique harmony of both the writer and artist’s vision that you have to truly experience firsthand to believe. As I said, this series explores deep seated human fears and universal struggles that are deliberately stated bluntly and yet rendered magically.
There is no better testament to that fact than the realization that this entire issue is only sparsely colored with the same three repeating simple tones of red, white, and blue (which is an even more profound, subtle revelation/jab at American work culture that I hadn’t even considered until writing this review) and yet the placement and inking of these colors by superstar artist Jordie Belaire is so precise, effective, and varied that I wouldn’t be surprised if most readers didn’t notice until a few pages in.
Our focus mercifully slows down for a moment, as we are introduced to one of Mikey’s neighbors who utters the fateful words, “Time flies, man. Time flies.” Which seems to replay in the mind of our mercurial protagonist as he stands over the neighbor’s dead body on the autopsy table, having been listed as his emergency contact.
From here we follow Mikey as he becomes increasingly dissatisfied with the circumstances of his life, making choices that he either fully doesn’t understand or emotionally invest in until it is too late- marrying a woman he doesn’t like, having multiple affairs, having multiple children in a flash, realizing he is losing track of time, getting fired from his job that he never even understood.
This sequence of layered, fluid, heart wrenching event is made all the more tortuous with the added implication in one quick instant that Mikey may indeed be literally trapped in a rapidly progressing flow of time and not the simple, idle, emotionally distant and jaded middle aged man that he appears to be. However, this idea is only meagerly applied, with the narrative never pointing in one direction or the other, allowing for different interpretations of the story in progress, essentially leaving it up to the reader’s own perspective of the mundanity of life and fickle time to choose.
From here, we follow Mikey as he tries at last to hold onto his agency and cling to fragments of the story of his life like lifeboats in a storm, only to find that life has passed him by when he wasn’t looking- his house gone, his family moved on, his lover dead, etc. These revelations, coupled with the fateful prognosis of cancer, leads Mikey towards the side of a bridge where he glimpses our “man out of time” standing on the ledge, and miraculously recognizes him out of all the people in his life. Finally, Mikey lights a cigarette, only to find that it has already burned out, before falling through the air, left to wonder if he jumped or if he fell. In our final page, we see Mikey’s son staring at his father’s body, acquainting the next generation with the foreboding lesson that “time flies,” as he realizes he hasn’t seen his father in ten years. Where did all the time go?
Assorted Crisis Events #4 is a memorable, poignant, reflection of the horrific reality of modern life and work culture that cuts to the heart of the sickness eating away at so many lives, which is the inability to stay present. I hope that you will seek out this series and digest this issue for yourself so that you may feel compelled to consider altering your own perspective, while also enjoying an entertaining series that could very well soon be discussed in the same fashion as other timeless, poignant works such as Hariton Pushwagner’s, Soft City or Blankets, by Craig Thompson. No matter how seasoned a comic book fan you are, it is important to recognize and celebrate those issues in the medium that push beyond the boundary of “an entertaining story with capable visual art,” and become something lastingly relevant and touching such as this most recent issue.
Please support your local comic book stores and find yourself lost in the pages of Assorted Crisis Events #4, on shelves now!
-Nicholas Aaron Hodge
