Dystopian fiction, is one of those genres that seems to be popular right now. No one can dispute the fame of the Hunger Games, as the class wars displayed in the series mirrored a lot of what has been going on in most societies. Then there is the understated pedagogy within the themes of Snowpiercer, a definitive examination of class both allegorically and literally. Both of these movies, play on humanity’s worst fears and makes us confront the world’s issues no matter how seemingly insurmountable it may appear.

Then there is the more audacious but realistic takes on dystopian fiction, such as Warren Ellis’s Ruins, where instead of experiments and extinction level events creating new superheroes, it creates nasty abnormalities and painful fatalities.  I also must mention Y: The Last Man, where all the male mammals in the world have perished, except a young man named Yorick. As different as these takes are, and as many more they are, very few with the exceptions of Zombieland and Shaun Of the Dead, ever really infuse humor into it alongside the grim realities of living in a world, a shadow of its former self. This what I appreciated in Shaman’s Destiny, a tale of a dystopian future, who can find the absurdity in a grim future.

In the first few pages, we meet Malik, a high school football player, who has been chosen by Gaea, the protector of the Earth, to destroy demos and monsters. He is traveling by foot across the New Mexico desert, with his “sensei” Jeph where they come across a town, which at first, it seems is desolate, but soon finds out, it is a town of zombies. He also meets shaman like himself, named Dominic, who is trying to figure out why Gaea has chosen Malik, as the new shaman. By issue’s end, a betrayal of a new acquaintance, leads to many questions, and upends any preconceived notions that the reader may have where the story was going.

Overall, a gripping and uproariously funny story that is both exciting and well developed. The story by Kyrun Silva is masterful, as he writes internal monologue not like anyone I have read before. The art By Silva complements the story well. Altogether, a story that takes everyone’s expectations of zombies and heroes, and subverts them in a very entertaining and refreshing take.

Story: Kyrun Silva Art: Kyrun Silva
Story: 9.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Buy