First Look at AfterShock’s Neo-Western ‘Undone By Blood or The Other Side of Eden’ [PREVIEW]

Posted on December 15, 2020 in Previews

Main cover by Sami Kivela and Jason Wordie

Ahead of its release in March 2021, AfterShock Comics have dropped an early look at the first issue of the second arc of their hit series, UNDONE BY BLOOD or THE OTHER SIDE OF EDEN.

The entire creative team from the first arc returns for the second, with writers Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson, artist Sami Kivelä, colourist Jason Wordie and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou combining to take us into the height of the Great Depression.

The series was first announced back in August, and both Lonnie and Zac have dropped a little more info about the inspirations behind the series and how it fits into the first arc.

“It really started with a deep dive into post great depression America and looking at the effects of Herbert Hoover’s presidency”, said Thompson. “The early 1930’s were a lot like today in many ways. So we wanted to ensure there was a general sense that you were walking through a recovering world. A country in transition. Where everyone was essentially out for themselves. Then, I revisited one of my favorite noir novel’s Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest – which was published in 1929 and features a really gritty take on what it was like to live during that era. Hammett himself was a private eye during that time and he had a really incredible understanding of Great Depression America that can be felt on every page of this new arc.”

Nadler continued, adding “Research is a vital part of the process, especially so when we are dealing with such a notable period in American history like the Great Depression, and furthermore, tackling this through the lens of a character who hails from a different cultural background than our own. Undone by Blood has always been about the way fiction and myth influences the real world, and a big part of our job is ensuring that the non-fictional elements are as authentic and accurate as possible.”

“So, for this arc, we researched everything from architectural developments in the West, to Mexican/American conflicts, to the entire history of the United States Postal Service. While we try not to be didactic, all of this research gets tossed in our narrative blender and can be found in the story and either directly influences the plot or becomes part of the background tapestry in the hopes of creating a rich, darkly comic, and fully realized world. By bringing readers back to the past, we believe it helps to process the uncannily similar issues that plague our present.”

Variant cover by Charlie Adlard

The first issue hits shelves on the 3rd of March 2021, will feature an incentive cover from none other than Charlie Adlard, and you can feast your eyes on the solicitation info and some preview artwork below:

UNDONE BY BLOOD or THE OTHER SIDE OF EDEN #1 / $4.99 / 32 Pages / Color / 3/03/2021

Writers: Lonnie Nadler & Zac Thompson
Artist: Sami Kivelä
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover: Sami Kivelä w/ Jason Wordie
Incentive Cover: Charlie Adlard

The early 1930’s: The height of the Great Depression and beginning of the Dust Bowl. Silvano Luna Del Rio works as a postman in Buttar, Texas. Reeling from a tragic past, with only a gun and a Western novel to his name, Silvano sets out to take back from the country that took so much from him by robbing the first skyscraper West of the Mississippi. But acts of retribution are never as simple as they seem, as his target is home to an eccentric fraternal brotherhood hiding their own dark secrets.

By Silvano’s side is an old west novel featuring famed gunslinger Solomon Eaton. As both stories unfold simultaneously, in true UNDONE BY BLOOD fashion, the mythic Western informs choices in reality, for better or worse.

From the minds of Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson (The Dregs, X-Men, HER INFERNAL DESCENT) and artist Sami Kivelä (Abbot, Tommy Gun Wizards) comes the next story in the critically acclaimed neo-western series that depicts the hard truths of seeking vengeance in the real world.

Each issue of UNDONE BY BLOOD OR THE OTHER SIDE OF EDEN has 24 pages of story and art and cardboard stock covers!