The Last of Us: American Dreams (The Last of Us)

by Faith Erin Hicks

Faith Erin Hicks (Illustrator)

The prequel comics story to the beloved game from Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, which inspired the hit HBO series! Creative director Neil Druckmann teams with breakout comics star Faith Erin Hicks to present the story of thirteen-year-old Ellie's life in a violent, postpandemic world.

Nineteen years ago, a parasitic fungal outbreak killed the majority of the world's population, forcing survivors into a handful of quarantine zones. Thirteen-year-old Ellie has grown up in this violent, postpandemic world, and her disrespect for the military authority running her boarding school earns her new enemies, a new friend in fellow rebel Riley, and her first trip into the outside world.

The official lead-in to the video game from Faith Erin Hicks (The Adventures of Superhero Girl, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Pumpkinheads, The Nameless City) and Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann!

Includes behind-the-scenes concept sketches and designs!

Collects The Last of Us: American Dreams #1—#4.

• ISBN10: 1616552123
• ISBN13: 9781616552121
• Publish Date: 29 October 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Dark Horse Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 96
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781616552121

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

This is based off and a prequel to the Naughty dog game The Last of Us, which deals with a post apocalyptic world where survival is the first and foremost thought on most people’s minds. There people with a fungal infection that turns them feral and rabid, until they progress into fungal monsters and can no long truly move. In this world bands of survivor war against one another and people fight fiercely for their lives.

First and foremost I haven’t played the game, since I don’t play stuff that generally gives me nightmares. It keeps me sane. However I have watched it being played so I am quiet familiar with the general storyline and the characters. I don’t think it’s necessary to have played the game and read this but I think it probably adds a layer of depth, that would otherwise be missing.

This focuses on Elle, one of the main characters of the game, and her back story. We get to see a slightly more vulnerable Elle, she holds a bit more innocence. I really liked that they take the time to show her curiosity about past childhoods and things that she never got to see, and that she in some sense holds on to that. Riley is one tough girl on the outside who has clearly dealt with a lot. She and Elle form a friendship built on the need to be free of the military restraints placed on them. We also get to see some of the interaction between the military and a group of rebels called the Fireflies, as well as Riley’s desire to be included among their ranks.

I’m not sure if this is going to continue on as a series of if this is the only prequel that Dark Horse will be publishing. However if you’ve played the game and fancy a bit more back story I’d