Hundreds of years after the world ended and human society was rebuilt from scratch, a self-interested smuggler is forced to traverse a new continent of danger and mystery to deliver a child messiah to High Level, a mythical city at the top of the world from which no one has ever returned.

I know of Rob Sheridan of his work with Nine Inch Nails and their “Year Zero” alternate reality game. His work influenced some things I’d later do so to see how he’d apply his world building to comics is something I’ve been excited about.

High Level #1 is all about the world building as we’re thrown into a future society where there’s clearly a caste system and the “haves” inhabit a place called High Level where they exploit the workers with promise of climbing the social ladder. But, High Level may also be a myth, a modern Biblical story in a way to control the masses and focus their energy and dreams.

High Level weaves these concepts into a story focused on Thirteen a scavenger scraping a living and just surviving in this world while keeping her head down from the war that wages around her in different regions.

The art by Barnaby Bagenda and Romulo Fajardo is beautiful and haunting in a way. The grime and dirt is around but at the same time there’s bright neon colors to distract. It’s an aesthetic we’ve seen in numerous apocalytpic stories but it still works. Every detail, every color choice, tells a bit of the story. Things look functional but at the same time worn and used. The world is lived in and in ways more real due to that.

The story is subtle in its politics to start, instead focusing on the world building and in many ways feels like Sheridan’s previous ARG work. It sucks you in and then layers on the deeper meaning. The first issue touches upon it but it’s focus is the hook and story and to build a world we want to see more of.

Story: Rob Sheridan Art: Barnaby Bagenda, Romulo Fajardo
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review