This title is described by many as the sordid love child between Fallout and Mad Max. I’d prefer to compare its lineage to The Road and the British comedy series Carry On. I knew within the first few frames that this was going to be something a little bit different, but only a little bit. Post apocalyptic stories are nothing new, so my initial concern was that this was going to be yet another dystopian vision of the future. Thankfully, Factory manages to spit shine the rust off, bringing a fresh take to an otherwise dulled genre.
Yacine “Elgo” Elghorri is the brains of the operation, both writing and drawing this short comic book series. He is a Paris born talent that has put his hand to many a successful titles including the much loved TV series Futurama.
I once read a short story (Dogscape) about a world where everything was a derivative of a dog. A scientific experiment gone haywire meant that the biological matter of one canine spread across the earth; the soil became meat, the leaves became fur, water became blood, the entire planet became a live squishy bulk, writhing and beating as if one giant organism. It was an unsettling yet humorous vision of the future. Factory’s art style is reminiscent of that disturbing short story, if the giant dog was slowly dying. Everything seems rotten and pustule, and yet the characters within this hot mess of a planet are a chubby little bunch. Imagine a Trump caricature crossed with a cherub, and you’re somewhere close. They’re truly ugly abominations, carving a path through the wastelands in search of their absolution; oozing puss as they trot. It’s an entertaining contradiction between a harsh environment and its inhabitants.
The story plays out mainly within the dead deserts and disgusting slums, where people are forced to eat each other for sustenance. You are left to fill in the blanks to a certain extent; the reason behind the apocalypse is shrouded in mystery. All we know is that there is a basic hierarchy. The majority of the worlds dwindling resources are horded by one percent of the human population. The bottom of the societal food chain are utilized as a work force for the factories. Sound familiar?
Overall, I thought Factory was a bit of fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. The plot is well paced and kept me intrigued throughout. The characters, although one dimensional, are well presented. They take us from point A to point B without becoming stale. If you want to read a brief and whimsical tale about the end of the world that is likely to hold your morbid curiosity until the last frame, then crack on.
-Daniel Roberts