Four Panel Folly Comic museings.

Indie Comic Fun Times – Everything Dies #1

...everything except a hairy, naked God.

Everything Dies #1 by Box Brown is available at his online store HERE.

For a comic with little humor in it, Everything Dies #1 makes me chuckle quite a bit. Box Brown's knack for translating aspects of life and religion to their literal representations is responsible for those chuckles. By presenting these representations it is like he's saying “See this stuff we were always told? How we take it for granted? See how silly it kind of is?” For example in many religions God is a bearded man without clothing. So Brown draws a hairy, naked guy building the universe. I saw this and thought “Wait a minute... yeah... Yeah, that dude was in the buff constantly.”

Brown's art isn't perfect. He has some trouble with perspectives in backgrounds and sometimes the shading can look rough and rushed. These faults are quickly squished though by how much I dig his overall style. He draws simple characters with nice, meaty black lines. Brown also manages to get a lot of different character designs from his simple style. All his creations share the “Brown-appeal” of each other but look unique. This is something I always appreciate seeing in a comic.

If there were stars of Everything Dies #1 they would be the master and pupil from the series of short stories Heart of Stonework. This issue contains three separate lessons of Buddhism as the master trains his inquisitive pupil. These stories are neither preachy nor do they feel too dumbed down. I also really like how the moral to the story is never spelled out for you. Brown allows you to have the same epiphanies as the pupil character. After all, figuring something out for yourself has greater impact than reading it.

Though the Heart of Stonework stories are the main entree, I can't help but like the short story Alpha the best. It's a series of “how the earth was formed” legends from religion. Brown covers everything from Voodoo to Atheism. The real kicker to this part of the issue is thinking all the other religions have ridiculous stories of creation only to find your religion taught an equally insane explanation. It's a nice humbling moment for everyone.

Everything Dies #1 is an excellent comic. It's the first in the series but most of the stories within can be enjoyed on their own, so there shouldn't be a fear of commitment with a new series. It deals heavily with spiritual and religious themes, which is the only reason I can imagine someone not enjoying it, but they are handled without condoning or condemning. Plus, if hearing about religions besides your own is that big of a deal, not enjoying Box Brown's work is the least of your worries.

So, basically, I'm saying buy Everything Dies #1. If you don't like it I guarantee you know someone who will. Your grandma could even like it! I dunno, I never met her!