Black River

A band of women struggles to survive a dangerous, dying world in an amazing depiction of bleakness that manipulates familiar post-apocalyptic tropes. Simmons (The Furry Trap) is no stranger to creating atmospheric horror, using dense black-and-white linework for vivid depictions of destroyed cities and people with nothing left to lose. Dead, angular trees, plain, grimy clothing, and eyes that range from burnt-out to sheer insanity mix with swirling, angry backgrounds, setting a scene better than any horror movie could. The women, who are physically and emotionally varied, literally walk through set pieces designed to show how hellish the world has become. This culminates in their capture by a male gang, and unfortunately, Simmons opts to go for the easy path of sexual violence as the traumatic capstone. Though it's handled tastefully%E2%80%94the worst of the situation is implied%E2%80%94this is an unnecessary storytelling shortcut in an otherwise brilliant story that shows where true horror lies: not in monsters, but in our own fear and desperation. (June)