In Review: Epsilon by Andy Poyiaggi

By Antony Esmond on July 14, 2015

Written and drawn by Andy Poyiadgi
20 pages. Two colour printing.

The Story: A wheelchair-bound professor and a cubist robot called Epsilon are the last two people wandering an alien planet.

They discuss their friendship and how they have stayed behind to allow ‘The Alphabetas’ to travel off planet and hopefully survive.

Something does happen… ‘Omega Initiated’.

The Review: This is a short mini comic, with a cover that holds the promise of pop art; but then the reader has his senses twisted and changed when they open the comic and discover something still and quiet inside.

Epsilon is coloured in a pink/ grey/ white style that seems both strange and yet perfectly suits the overall vibe of the comic. The pair of friends/ companions/ colleagues travel through a landscape that reminds me of 1970s TV SF of gravel pits and hillsides.

The book is, essentially, a conversation that is conducted quietly and meaningfully within a bleak science fiction setting. It combines the themes of death and life with a strong theme of friendship. Logically and inevitably, a wave of death and non existence catches up on this mismatched pair.

This book speaks to much in a small and solemn space of time. The second hand seems to pause at moments, teasing the destruction of the characters. Their gaze into the distance fights against their lack of future.

Andy masterfully draws character out of these two in a very short space of time. It is a bleak joy that is beautiful and funny and sad.

• Andy Poyiaggi is a filmmaker and comics writer/ artist and the creator of other comics such as Lost Property from NoBrow Publishing and the glorious slice of life Teapot Therapy. You can find more about him at his website www.ajpoyiadgi.com or from Twitter @ajpoyiadgi

Many thanks for reading