Coming soon from Band Of Bards is The Last Goodbye, and I had the chance for an advanced look.
In the year 2096, a man and his dog journey through the barren, apocalyptic wasteland that was formerly the United States. On a quest to return home one final time before the earth becomes uninhabitable, this wanderer stumbles across a tribe of mutant cannibals seeking to devour one of the few surviving human communities. Will he trek on and leave the people to their fate, or will he seek redemption for the mistakes of his past?
(W) Travis B. Hill (A/CA) Ben Humeniuk
Based in an apocalyptic wasteland, the first thing that strikes you in this story is the art. The washed-out tones bring you into it, and that, combined with the flashbacks, makes this a striking read.
The flashbacks are a small but important part of the story and build not only on the character aspects but also on the point and ending of the whole story.
As the story progresses, we get some interesting background on the world and the people in it as it now stands. The Earth and civilisation are not in a good place, and the world is falling apart. That’s not to say there aren’t good people, and they are shown up well here. There are some exciting aspects, and I like the setup and the new normal in place.
The story's villains are monstrous, and I like how they are built up very nicely. This builds into the story.
The story's pacing is excellent, and we really get a ‘Mad Max’ feel from it, with some old tech and old ways building into this new normal. There is a fair degree of heart to this story, and with the addition of the dog1, there are some heart-pulling aspects.
This was an excellent one-shot and something for fans of this sort of genre!
The Last Goodbye is out on the 26th of June 2024, get it on Forbidden Planet here:
The dog lives!