A.D.: After Death by Scott Snyder , Jeff Lemire

​I’m a fan of both Snyder and Lemire, so naturally I was very interested in seeing what the two of them might come up with together. Turns out it’s this…which I would best describe as a modern reimagining of one of my all-time favorites, a story that gave us Shangri-La, an ageless paradise high up in the mountains.
In this book such a place exists too. After Death. After science figured out functional immortality.
And we, the readers, are following a protagonist who questions it, in a similar manner as Conway does in the original.
Is it a compelling journey? You bet.
Snyder does fiction writing in addition to comic book writing, though I was only familiar with the latter. Well, until this book. This book combines both, prose and comic. Plus, Lemire’s expressive ink and watercolor art. (Which actually looks so very much (too much?) like his Roughneck book). But back to Snyder…he’s obviously talented in either form. And this book alternates seamlessly between an illustrated novel and a graphic novel, all in service of a story.
And it’s a really good story too, interesting, emotionally potent, and with a great plot twist in the end to boot.
Thought provoking too. Since people fancy themselves to be the only animals aware of their mortality, this certainly is a worthy meditation on the subject.
All in all, a very, very good read. I enjoyed it very much. Recommended.