Undiscovered Country has been a wild ride. The series focuses on an America that has been walled off to a world devastated by disease and what is found when an international team ventures across the American border. The first arc took us on a Mad Max-like adventure with giant fortress cities on wheels and roving bands riding mutant animals. It was everything, including the kitchen sink, of ideas and the second arc seems to focus on explaining some of the insanity. Undiscovered Country #7 kicks off that second arc as our team has made it into the next zone on a train. But, that’s not the big focus on the issue.

Writers Scott Snyder and Charles Soule have begun to give us some answers to the madness in Undiscovered Country #7. Some of the story focuses on twenty years before the story as the United States begins its devolution into insanity. We get hints as to the science and the why things have gone bad as representatives from the various zones, the U.S. government, meet to discuss the state of the nation.

Through this simple scene, we learn so much more about why things have gone the way they have but also what is at the heart of this new America. What is up with the different zones and what lies ahead? We start really learning that here. We also get more of the philosophy of this nation in what feels like a critique of the current state of affairs.

And that’s where Undiscovered Country gets really interesting. A pandemic. A country walling itself off from the world. It all feels a bit too on the nose for today’s news. All we need us mutant animals but cannibal ants and murder hornets can fill that niche. How this series would be read would be very different if the current state of the world wasn’t what it is. As is, the comic series feels like an exaggeration of the spiral down the toilet we’re currently experiencing.

The art in Undiscovered Country #7 is a bit less insane compared to the previous arc. There aren’t mutants or crazy structures, yet, to have fun with. Instead, it’s mostly a train ride and a government meeting that has our focus. But, the art is still key. Giuseppe Camuncoli and Leonardo Marcello Grassi handle that and the details in the government meeting tell as much a story as what is said. It’s a pivotal scene that will leave you lingering to get the details. Matt Wilson provides colors and Crank! the lettering and while the visuals aren’t as over the top, they may be more important. Where before they shocked us into reality, the art in this issue helps tell the story of a nation.

Undiscovered Country #7 is a new arc and a decent starting point for new readers. You should absolutely read the first arc but this issue is focused more on explaining the current state of the nation, both imaginary and in reality. It continues to build the world that Snyder and Soule have come up with much like the first arc. What’s impressive though is how they do it feels like it has shifted gears a bit. An impressive start to what is a beyond intriguing series.

Story: Scott Snyder, Charles Soule Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Leonardo Marcello Grassi
Color: Matt Wilson Lettering: Crank!
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.15 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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