Here at the edge of things.

March 5, 2024 7:28 AM

(The child has opened the book again)
INDISS: Hark. (Closing the book with one enormous hand, scattering the dried flowers) Look not too closely, girl.
CHILD: I want to hear the voice, Indiss!
INDISS: (holding the book) I’m sorry. It isn’t fair. But we live beyond the end of such things. In the shadow of a great catastrophe. Or within its bleaching light.

Evan Dahm just finished the first passage of his latest web comic, 3rd Voice. In his words: 3rd Voice is a long-format fantasy graphic novel updating with one scene or so a week. It concerns an invented world in a state of apocalyptic crisis, and the precarious lives of many people therein.

3rd Voice isn't set in the same world as the previous comics, but in something brand new. As with his other comics, it's wonderful. It's also being released in a slightly different format, with weekly updates of several pages, which has been working quite well (for me at least) so far.

Other comics by Evan Dahm:
Rice Boy
Order of Tales
Vattu

Previously on mefi

posted by destrius (15 comments total)

It concerns an invented world in a state of apocalyptic crisis, and the precarious lives of many people therein.

fantasy you say

I like the graphic style and look forward to tucking into this, thank you destrius
posted by elkevelvet at 7:59 AM on March 5 [2 favorites]

I jumped on in mid-Rice Boy and read faithfully till the end of Vattu, but I haven't yet started Third Voice. Looking forward to it, though. Dahm is clearly a storyteller at the top of his game, and he ain't done yet.
posted by Pallas Athena at 8:05 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]

It's very good, and I can't wait to read more - it feels a bit more grounded than some of his previous works.
posted by sagc at 8:07 AM on March 5

You're in for a treat! Third Voice is their best work by far.
posted by phooky at 8:09 AM on March 5

fantasy you say

For the non-invented apocalyptic crisis, please refer to the post immediately following this one.
posted by destrius at 8:15 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]

> bit more grounded

I loved the presence of the bicycle. There should be more bicycles in fantasy.
posted by ver at 8:33 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]

...I just read the entire thing. In one setting. I'd love to buy it in print when it is done - anyone have any experience with the other in-print works from the same fellow?
posted by _DB_ at 10:22 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]

Rice Boy brings back memories; can't believe it's been 18 years. Dahm is really quite talented and tells a good story.
posted by kjs3 at 12:06 PM on March 5

...I just read the entire thing. In one setting. I'd love to buy it in print when it is done - anyone have any experience with the other in-print works from the same fellow?

I have the full set of four Vattu books and they are very nice and all line up on my shelf. However, there is usually a pretty significant delay between the book finishing online and going to physical publishing.
posted by Hamusutaa at 3:00 PM on March 5

i didn't think i really liked it at first but through the day i read it all.

it's 378 pages for those wondering, with the next part starting up April 1 2024
posted by glonous keming at 5:43 PM on March 5

If this had been verbally pitched to me, I would have been "eh." In the event, I clicked and then couldn't stop clicking through until the "Resumes in April" notice.

It's sticking with me, for reasons I can't usefully unpack yet.
posted by german_bight at 7:00 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]

Usually when I think about post-apocalyptic fiction, I think of tales of scrappy determination with Fallout-esque amoral wild west vibes, which the beginning of the passage does feel like. But very quickly it builds up this sense of bleak hopelessness, and you can sense the pain and despair behind everybody's eyes. What is it like, to live when there's absolutely nothing left to hope for? That really drew me in.
posted by destrius at 7:36 PM on March 5

I'm really excited about this! I recommend the launch videos for those who like diving deeper into what Dahm is thinking about with this work:

Part 1 (includes a fun retro trailer at the beginning! and his version of a "pitch" for the series which is neat to listen to while thinking about what's been made so far in the first book)
Part 2

He has a few other videos worth looking at on his channel.
posted by rivenwanderer at 10:43 AM on March 6

There's also an old fashioned letter column page that I find very charming.
posted by rivenwanderer at 10:58 AM on March 6

Well, this has eaten up a lot of my time over the past week; thanks!
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:14 PM on March 10