The Infinite Horizon

Starred review from May 14, 2012
Dugan and Noto’s Eisner-nominated miniseries sets Homer’s Odyssey in a postapocalyptic near future with fantastic results. The unnamed narrator, called variously Captain and Nobody, fights a losing war; with orders to hold the last airport out of Syria, he and his men are abandoned by the rest of the army and must find a way home themselves. On the home front, wife Penelope faces enemies trying to steal her land, her water, and her son, and reacts with a spine of steel. The recasting of other characters from Homer’s epic works beautifully without ever betraying the new setting. Both art and text create an uneasy tone; the story is not a comfortable one, and Noto’s elegant but disturbing art reinforces how askew the world can feel, particularly in the colors chosen to represent various landscapes. The bleak tale ends, like the epic that inspired it, with both triumph and hope, making for a satisfying and thought-provoking story.