If You Find This, I’m Already Dead
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Dan McDaid
Colorist: Bill Crabtee
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: September 2024
Robin is a big city reporter, heading into a hostile pocket dimension called Terminus alongside a team of marines. When Robin is left to fend for herself on her own, how will she survive a strange, wonderful and terrifying new world? The newest comic from acclaimed writer Matt Kindt, with art from Dan McDaid, If You Find This, I’m Already Dead is one of the most high profile releases from Flux House, Kindt’s creator-owned imprint at publisher Dark Horse Comics. All three issues are collected into one oversized hardcover, which debuted in September. Kindt accurately described the series as:
If Moebius, Richard Corben and Jack Kirby had a baby…
The series somehow lives up to that. Our main protagonist is Robin, a journalist who specialises in war zones and areas of conflcit. When the marines supposedly safeguarding her are all killed quickly, she has to use her skills as a journalist to learn the language, culture and people of Terminus and ensure her survival. This is very much a narrative where the power of journalism is at the core of the story, and for that, mileage may vary. It’s a rather unique take on it, acknowledging and addressing some of the flaws and weaknesses of journalism while still promoting its power and ability to potentially change the world. That all makes the series sound far more serious than it is. Despite what the title suggests, this whole book is a lot of fun. There’s a sense of wonderous adventure to Robin’s exploration of Terminus, which is in and of itself a fascinating and well thought out fantastical setting. It might scratch a similar itch as Alex Garland‘s recent film Civil War, which tackled a similar theme albeit in a more realistic setting.
Over the course of three issues, we learn more about Terminus, its inhabitants, and why the Marines were sent there. It is admittedly, quite confusing at first, as you’re very much just sent into the story without much context. However, that ends up making the mysteris of the first issue more interesting, and the most important stuff all gets explained as you go along. It’s not a series that holds your hand, and Kindt and McDaid hint at just the right amount of things to leave you with some mysteries that you can still rack your brain about once you finish reading. In terms of worldbuilding, this series is pretty top notch, fleshing out the visual identity of Terminus and giving us enough information that we can imagine what the history of such a violent, wonderful place must be like. The biggest archivement of this series is the balancing act it successfully conducts between awe and terror. The world of Terminus is sad, scary and overwhelming. It’s also beautiful, unique and fascinating. This does a lot for the book, making it feel incredibly compotent and unique.
Matt Kindt does a great job with the writing across the series, particularly Robin’s internal narration, which is all written to resemble one long journalistic article. The various mysteries and thrills throughout the series are expertly written, with such a deft hand that often you don’t realise a detail is playing into something important later on. For example, the nature of the planet as a living, breathing thing becomes quite important in a third issue twist that might be somewhat baffling to those who aren’t quite paying enough attention. It’s a rewarding read, which gives you a lot depending on how much you put into it. A lot of the dialogue across the series is in a fictional Alien language left untranslated, which is a minor gripe of mine. I think they should’ve included some sort of alien alphabet so the reader could figure out said dialogue for themselves. Robin is an interesting protagonist, at the same time motivated and dedicated to being an observer until she can’t anymore. Her emotional journey is a bit predictable, but is handled well and feels timely.
Dan McDaid’s artwork is the standout aspect of the book. Great big surreal spaces, like the inside of a planet, huge alien towns and strange, unsettling liminal areas are all drawn in incredible style and detail by McDaid. Whilst the visual influences of the book are clear, that’s not a bad thing in the slightest, and the book still develops a unique identity by contrasting cold, standard military gear, equipment and uniforms with the alien and the bizarre. McDaid does as much of the worldbuilding as Kindt, purely though visual details that help the reader theorise the history of Terminus and how it functions as a society. It’s also just a pretty book to look at, with Bill Crabtree‘s color work playing an important part in adding emphasis to the book and ensuring that this series looks great, reads well and jumps off the page.
Overall, If You Find This, I’m Already Dead is a great read, a riveting and interesting adventure through a unique and well realised setting. It approaches it’s subject matter from a unique perspective, and whilst it covers timely political themes it never buckles under the weight of those, still providing a fun and exciting narrative. This is sure to be a exhilarating and interesting read for most, but also features some of the best and most interesting artwork I’ve seen in a comic all year, so check it out if only for that alone.
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