The Last Fall #1
Written by Tom Waltz
Art by Casey Maloney
Published by IDW
The Last Fall is a war comic about one man, Sergeant Fall, and the losses that he’s experienced on the battlefield and at home because of the war. In the Lettya sysem, Krovin and Merkonia are at war while their shared star enters a red giant phase that will doom all of them. Krovin was formerly a poor planet that was colonized and exploited by Merkonia, and Merkonia needs its fuel reserves to escape the growing star. Krovin is fighting back to resist this, and a bloody stalemate has developed. This comic is off to a good start, with a nice balance between expository dialogue, character development, and action panels. Indeed, this is one of the stronger opening issue comics that I’ve seen in a while.
Sergeant Fall and a group of Merkonian soldiers are pinned down while trying to take a Krovinite base. Disobeying direct orders from his superior to retreat, Fall single-handedly leads a counterattack and takes the base. The lieutenant upbraids him before one of the priest-commanders, who in turn silences the lieutenant and praises. Fall will have none of this divine benediction for war and openly blasphemes, merely saying that he was there to kill Krovinites and that God had nothing to do with it. Fall briefly remembers his family on Merkonia, and speaks with one of the men in his unit before going outside to reflect on how lonely soldiers are.
First off the bat, this comic deserves credit for subverting the Gears of War look for soldiers. For years now, any time we soldiers in print or on a screen, they have to resemble shaved gorillas on steroids. Sergeant Fall, on the other hand, has a babyface, and is basically a normal-looking guy. That doesn’t stop him from being a fantastic soldier, which is as it is in reality. Maloney’s clean art style works really well here.
The comic does a nice job of introducing us to the setting with a one-page blurb on the history and setup for the 
conflict. Though this may be incorrect, there seemed to be a sort of parallel with the wars going on in the Middle East: a war over energy resources, one foe originally the imperialist/colonizer, a religious component, etc. However, it doesn’t try to make the story into a straight allegory for the war in Iraq or elsewhere. Waltz draws just enough parallels to real-life conflicts that Fall’s experiences are applicable to numerous soldiers, giving them a certain real-life truth value. War may be hell, but it’s mostly sad.
What I’m curious about going forward are Fall’s motivations. Numerous soldiers have fought without really believing in the conflict they’re a part of, but what is it that keeps them going? If Waltz and Maloney are willing to explore the topic, this could be both an interesting comic book and a worthwhile exploration of what keeps soldiers going when they have little else.
