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Stillwater
Stillwater, Vol. 1: Rage, Rage
Nobody dies.
In the town of Stillwater, that's not just a promise.
It's a threat.
Join superstar writer CHIP ZDARSKY (DAREDEVIL, THE WHITE TREES) and Eisner Award-winning artist RAMON PEREZ (TALES OF SAND, JANE) as they dive into a world of horror and intrigue in this new Skybound original series.
Collects STILLWATER #1-6.
In the town of Stillwater, that's not just a promise.
It's a threat.
Join superstar writer CHIP ZDARSKY (DAREDEVIL, THE WHITE TREES) and Eisner Award-winning artist RAMON PEREZ (TALES OF SAND, JANE) as they dive into a world of horror and intrigue in this new Skybound original series.
Collects STILLWATER #1-6.
136 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 2021
18 people are currently reading
697 people want to read
About the author
Chip Zdarsky
874 books862 followersChip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.
Source: Wikipedia.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
February 19, 2021
Down-on-his-luck Daniel receives a letter informing him of a great-grand-aunt passing and leaving him something in her will. So he heads out to the small town where she lived: Stillwater. Except it’s a small town with a secret: something happened there many years ago and the town’s inhabitants stopped physically aging and can’t die, so long as they stay within the town limits. Any injuries they have get healed super-quick, Wolverine-style. And now that Daniel knows the town’s secret, he can never leave…
Chip Zdarsky and Ramon K. Perez’s new series Stillwater starts promisingly enough with an intriguing Twilight Zone-esque premise that quickly devolves into a rather tedious small scale power struggle amongst dull characters.
Zdarsky initially sets up the story well but, beyond that first issue, pretty much treads water while he repeats the concept over and over while introducing the cast. And I wouldn’t have minded ignoring any kind of story if the characters were memorable or fun but unfortunately they’re not. There’s the perpetually puzzled protagonist, the caring single mom, the meathead cop, the cartoonishly evil judge, and the rest are blandly inoffensive whatevers; I don’t care about any of them.
I suppose there is a story of sorts - deciding whether to reveal themselves to the world after so long/how Daniel will escape the town - but I didn’t find it very engaging. And I’m not bothered too much about the mystery of how something like this could happen - the answer will likely be aliens or magic or some such bullshit.
Some of the details are thoughtful like how to punish those who can’t be killed or injured, and the intricacies of how the town could continue to be undiscovered by outside authorities for so long. And Perez’s art is decent though not his best - I think that’s because he’s not really given the chance to draw anything too remarkable or eye-catching; it’s just ordinary people talking in ordinary settings.
Stillwater, Volume 1: Rage Rage starts fairly well and has its occasional moments but mostly it’s too much table-setting, even for a first volume. I get that Zdarsky wants to set up a long-running creator-owned title here but you’ve got to give the reader a reason to want to read a long-running series by giving them a stronger story than the one offered up here.
Chip Zdarsky and Ramon K. Perez’s new series Stillwater starts promisingly enough with an intriguing Twilight Zone-esque premise that quickly devolves into a rather tedious small scale power struggle amongst dull characters.
Zdarsky initially sets up the story well but, beyond that first issue, pretty much treads water while he repeats the concept over and over while introducing the cast. And I wouldn’t have minded ignoring any kind of story if the characters were memorable or fun but unfortunately they’re not. There’s the perpetually puzzled protagonist, the caring single mom, the meathead cop, the cartoonishly evil judge, and the rest are blandly inoffensive whatevers; I don’t care about any of them.
I suppose there is a story of sorts - deciding whether to reveal themselves to the world after so long/how Daniel will escape the town - but I didn’t find it very engaging. And I’m not bothered too much about the mystery of how something like this could happen - the answer will likely be aliens or magic or some such bullshit.
Some of the details are thoughtful like how to punish those who can’t be killed or injured, and the intricacies of how the town could continue to be undiscovered by outside authorities for so long. And Perez’s art is decent though not his best - I think that’s because he’s not really given the chance to draw anything too remarkable or eye-catching; it’s just ordinary people talking in ordinary settings.
Stillwater, Volume 1: Rage Rage starts fairly well and has its occasional moments but mostly it’s too much table-setting, even for a first volume. I get that Zdarsky wants to set up a long-running creator-owned title here but you’ve got to give the reader a reason to want to read a long-running series by giving them a stronger story than the one offered up here.
January 17, 2022
I'm (again) almost a year late in checking this out. I began it months ago, lost interest, and am still not all that interested, but hey, I finally finished it. In the town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, people don't age, they don't die, and Daniel comes to the town. Given all the attention now to anti-aging drugs and some folks trying to live forever, this Stillwater condition might seem like a blessing to anyone, including Daniel, but of course it's not all that it's cracked up to be; it may in fact turn out to be a curse. I didn't find any of the reflections on immortality, any of the characters, or any particular storyline all that engaging.
April 3, 2021
I'm just on the verge of liking this, but it is a little too generic in its exploration of immortality and small town paranoia. On a page by page basis, it is engaging enough, but while it toys around with some of the interesting aspects of immortality, it seems content to let the story be driven by some real unoriginal and heavy-handed villains, while the heroes don't really have much going for them.
I'll give the second volume a chance to win me over when it comes out.
I'll give the second volume a chance to win me over when it comes out.
January 30, 2022
Not a lot to say about this one.. it's solidly middle-of-the-road. I'm not jumping to know what happens next (in fact, I'm dreading whatever reason Zdarsky has dreamt up for people not aging.. chances are it's going to disappoint..!), but we'll see.
March 24, 2021
What happens when you go to a town and can't...well...die?
This town is at a standstill. In stillwater you go, and you can get shot, punched, kicked, head chopped off, and so on and still survive. Little did Daniel know that when he entered this town it wouldn't be the FIRST time he's been there. What seems like a town filled with secrets is...well a town filled with secrets.
Chip is a pretty great writer. Almost all his Marvel work has been top notch. So I was pretty excited to try this one on. And the first two issues worked really well for me. Then the consistant switch from years started to get annoying and I didn't need every single plot point filled to get the idea of what is happening in this town. I did enjoy the dialogue, as it is solid, but the characters didn't really get me interested. I especially didn't like Daniel much.
Saying that, I will probably check out volume 2. The art and story are good enough to keep me intrigued but it was a bit of a letdown. A 3 out of 5.
This town is at a standstill. In stillwater you go, and you can get shot, punched, kicked, head chopped off, and so on and still survive. Little did Daniel know that when he entered this town it wouldn't be the FIRST time he's been there. What seems like a town filled with secrets is...well a town filled with secrets.
Chip is a pretty great writer. Almost all his Marvel work has been top notch. So I was pretty excited to try this one on. And the first two issues worked really well for me. Then the consistant switch from years started to get annoying and I didn't need every single plot point filled to get the idea of what is happening in this town. I did enjoy the dialogue, as it is solid, but the characters didn't really get me interested. I especially didn't like Daniel much.
Saying that, I will probably check out volume 2. The art and story are good enough to keep me intrigued but it was a bit of a letdown. A 3 out of 5.
March 11, 2021
O Zdarskym som nepochybovala ani na minútu a fakt nebolo prečo. Toto bolo fakt super. Hneď prvý zošit vás hodí do skvelého príbehu, kde týpek Daniel s kamarátom cestujú do mesta Stillwater, pretože Daniel dostane list, že niekde niečo zdedil. A dostane sa do mesta..
...ktoré je záhadným a divným spôsobom iné. Fakt výborne napísané, zaujímavé postavy a veľmi krásna kresba. Teším sa na ďalší book, lebo prvých 6 čísel malo skvelé tempo a zaujíma ma, čo bude ďalej, nakoľko som skončilo v bode, kedy proste človek chce a potrebuje dostať viac informácií o tom, čo bude ďalej. 5/5
...ktoré je záhadným a divným spôsobom iné. Fakt výborne napísané, zaujímavé postavy a veľmi krásna kresba. Teším sa na ďalší book, lebo prvých 6 čísel malo skvelé tempo a zaujíma ma, čo bude ďalej, nakoľko som skončilo v bode, kedy proste človek chce a potrebuje dostať viac informácií o tom, čo bude ďalej. 5/5
February 24, 2022
This is a unique story. The premise has been done more than a few times, but not the execution (little joke there) to my knowledge. I really enjoyed it and need to get more of them ASAP. Of course, you never know with comics how much story there will be. I hope we get the whole thing.
The art was awesome. It fit so well with the tone of the story. It was very realistic. The colourer also did a great job, bringing out the emotions.
Definitely recommended. Keeping in mind this is for adults. Comics are not just for kids anymore. Most of the ones I read arefor adults.
I can't seem to find Volume #2 on Goodreads and I just received it in the mail. I'll probably add it myself then.
The art was awesome. It fit so well with the tone of the story. It was very realistic. The colourer also did a great job, bringing out the emotions.
Definitely recommended. Keeping in mind this is for adults. Comics are not just for kids anymore. Most of the ones I read arefor adults.
I can't seem to find Volume #2 on Goodreads and I just received it in the mail. I'll probably add it myself then.
March 14, 2021
2,5* rounded up.
Mixed feelings with this one. The plot and the underlying questions are interesting but the treatment feels like half a let-down.
The supposedly main character is so far an uninteresting angry nobody... just like about everybody in the goddamn town for that matter. Stereotypes at best- conservative judge vs progressive doctor, psycho law enforcement- or mere silhouettes, the cast don’t exist enough to care for them.
Yet I’m intrigued. Not really why It happened, I don’t think it matters one bit, but how the situation has been dealt with these past years and what consequences on the people.
And if I’m honest the story is rather well told. Well placed flash-backs, good cliffhangers... but the lack of meaningful character is really annoying.
On the drawing board Ramon Perez does a good job but I expected better from him. As for the colors it’s a matter of taste, really, but I simply don’t like the pastel theme chosen for the overall aspect of the book.
Oh well,I’ll be back for book two anyway.
Mixed feelings with this one. The plot and the underlying questions are interesting but the treatment feels like half a let-down.
The supposedly main character is so far an uninteresting angry nobody... just like about everybody in the goddamn town for that matter. Stereotypes at best- conservative judge vs progressive doctor, psycho law enforcement- or mere silhouettes, the cast don’t exist enough to care for them.
Yet I’m intrigued. Not really why It happened, I don’t think it matters one bit, but how the situation has been dealt with these past years and what consequences on the people.
And if I’m honest the story is rather well told. Well placed flash-backs, good cliffhangers... but the lack of meaningful character is really annoying.
On the drawing board Ramon Perez does a good job but I expected better from him. As for the colors it’s a matter of taste, really, but I simply don’t like the pastel theme chosen for the overall aspect of the book.
Oh well,I’ll be back for book two anyway.
June 5, 2023
3.75 stars. Ok, I was right. I did like this better reading it all at once versus monthly. I read first six issues as they were coming out and was giving each issue 3 stars. It was just feeling like it wasn’t going anywhere and there were a couple of spots where I got lost as to what was happening. But now reading it straight thru, the whole scope of everything comes into focus more I found myself more invested in what was happening and figured out the two spots I got lost. For that, just missed one of the time stamps. So yeah, a small town where they have discovered while in the city limits, they can’t die and they instantly heal from injuries. The “judge” has taken control of the town and set all the rules in place. No leaving the town, no having people visit the town. Pretty much everyone is now cut off from anything and any family outside of town. Says he wants to protect them from the government coming in running tests on everyone, poking and prodding them. It was inevitable that the towns people would eventually rise up although it has taken some years: But right as they do, a new, more terrible wrinkle has just presented itself. Looking forward to the next volume.
January 19, 2022
Kind of a thriller, I guess? I am very intrigued. This has the potential to be very good.
May 22, 2023
Reminds me in spirit if not storyline of Revival..an Image series of a while back.
July 5, 2024
Kimsenin ölmediği, insanların yaşlanmadığı, bebeklerin büyümediği, insanların Sgk primi ödemekten kurtulamadıkları bir kasaba Stillwater.
3 ciltlik bir seri imiş ve ilk cildin finali ile anlıyoruz ki çok katmanlı bir hikaye olmayacak. NBC ya da türevi Amerikan TV kanallarında yayınlanan dizilere çokça benziyor. Under the dome ya da The Hundred tarzı. Gizem desen değil bilim kurgu desen değil dizilerin, çizgi roman versiyonu. Serim kısmı, karakterler, olayların açılışı hep "çok bilindik." Sürükleyici ama benzeri milyon tane örneğini gördüğümüz için merak uyandırıcı değil.
Panel ve çizgi tadı olarak tam bir American Comics. 280 liralık (Temmuz 2024) raf fiyatı ile güncel çizgi olanlar arasında maalesef -artık- ekonomik sayılabilecek fiyatlarda bir iş.
Büyük beklentilere girmeden vakit geçirmek için okunabilir. Umarım devam ciltleri geldiğinde "zamanında gev gev konuştum da boş konuşmuşum." diyeceğim bir kurguya dönüşür.
3 ciltlik bir seri imiş ve ilk cildin finali ile anlıyoruz ki çok katmanlı bir hikaye olmayacak. NBC ya da türevi Amerikan TV kanallarında yayınlanan dizilere çokça benziyor. Under the dome ya da The Hundred tarzı. Gizem desen değil bilim kurgu desen değil dizilerin, çizgi roman versiyonu. Serim kısmı, karakterler, olayların açılışı hep "çok bilindik." Sürükleyici ama benzeri milyon tane örneğini gördüğümüz için merak uyandırıcı değil.
Panel ve çizgi tadı olarak tam bir American Comics. 280 liralık (Temmuz 2024) raf fiyatı ile güncel çizgi olanlar arasında maalesef -artık- ekonomik sayılabilecek fiyatlarda bir iş.
Büyük beklentilere girmeden vakit geçirmek için okunabilir. Umarım devam ciltleri geldiğinde "zamanında gev gev konuştum da boş konuşmuşum." diyeceğim bir kurguya dönüşür.
September 16, 2023
In the town of Stillwater, nobody dies. That’s not just a promise…it’s a threat.
Ne’er-do-well, Daniel, who has recently been fired and beat up by a bouncer when he was a jerk at a bar, receives a letter telling him that a great aunt has died. Hoping for an inheritance, he heads to the small town of Stillwater with his best friend Tony to investigate. The town is off the beaten track and a police officer stops them on the outskirts, warning the two men to behave. While there they witness a boy being pushed off a building and no townspeople reacting to his fall. They are flabbergasted when the boy recovers quickly and runs away, revealing the secret of the town to the two men. Tony is killed by the formally affable police officer, but it is revealed that Daniel was a former resident of the town who was smuggled out as a toddler, so his life is spared.
Daniel, who was known as Tommy as a child, meets his mother Laura who had made the sacrifice of secretly sending him away so he could grow up and not be eternally caught in the body of a small child. No explanation is given as to why suddenly the town inhabitants stopped aging and miraculously heal from accidents. They are naturally afraid of outsiders finding out and the government swooping in to do experiments on them, so they remove themselves from society, and iron-clad rules are established to keep them safe. But this isn’t natural, and people are struggling as the decades go by. There are now some splinter groups who want to rebel and leave town, and of course, Daniel is chaffing at being a prisoner in a toxic community he doesn’t remember. Warped by power, leaders will do anything it takes to stay in control, and some plot threads are left open to build on.
The art establishes a realistic small-town atmosphere. All the characters are unique in looks and personalities, with a good artistic representation of the different walks of life within the town’s inhabitants. I enjoyed the panel configurations, there was a nice variety of small and large panels that pushed the action forward. The coloring is subdued and fits the narrative of immortality dragging on, with no new experiences or people livening their lives up.
The book reminded me of the sci-fi book Pines by Blake Crouch, in that people are trapped in a seemingly idealistic town, but a secret is rotting the town from within and the graphic novel series Revival by Tim Seely and Mike Norton in which a strange phenomenon changes a town forever. I enjoyed this first volume in this new series, and want to tune in to see how Daniel, Laura, and all the other townspeople cope with the so-called gift of eternal life. (Actual review 3.5/5)
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2021/11/0...
Ne’er-do-well, Daniel, who has recently been fired and beat up by a bouncer when he was a jerk at a bar, receives a letter telling him that a great aunt has died. Hoping for an inheritance, he heads to the small town of Stillwater with his best friend Tony to investigate. The town is off the beaten track and a police officer stops them on the outskirts, warning the two men to behave. While there they witness a boy being pushed off a building and no townspeople reacting to his fall. They are flabbergasted when the boy recovers quickly and runs away, revealing the secret of the town to the two men. Tony is killed by the formally affable police officer, but it is revealed that Daniel was a former resident of the town who was smuggled out as a toddler, so his life is spared.
Daniel, who was known as Tommy as a child, meets his mother Laura who had made the sacrifice of secretly sending him away so he could grow up and not be eternally caught in the body of a small child. No explanation is given as to why suddenly the town inhabitants stopped aging and miraculously heal from accidents. They are naturally afraid of outsiders finding out and the government swooping in to do experiments on them, so they remove themselves from society, and iron-clad rules are established to keep them safe. But this isn’t natural, and people are struggling as the decades go by. There are now some splinter groups who want to rebel and leave town, and of course, Daniel is chaffing at being a prisoner in a toxic community he doesn’t remember. Warped by power, leaders will do anything it takes to stay in control, and some plot threads are left open to build on.
The art establishes a realistic small-town atmosphere. All the characters are unique in looks and personalities, with a good artistic representation of the different walks of life within the town’s inhabitants. I enjoyed the panel configurations, there was a nice variety of small and large panels that pushed the action forward. The coloring is subdued and fits the narrative of immortality dragging on, with no new experiences or people livening their lives up.
The book reminded me of the sci-fi book Pines by Blake Crouch, in that people are trapped in a seemingly idealistic town, but a secret is rotting the town from within and the graphic novel series Revival by Tim Seely and Mike Norton in which a strange phenomenon changes a town forever. I enjoyed this first volume in this new series, and want to tune in to see how Daniel, Laura, and all the other townspeople cope with the so-called gift of eternal life. (Actual review 3.5/5)
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2021/11/0...
August 22, 2021
I've read so many of these modern day horror/supernatural/mystery comics at this point. They mostly have a great conceit, a strong first volume, and rapidly spiral out of control to the point where it's hard to care by the end, and that's just the stories that end rather than just stopping. So, I approached this new Zdarsky story with grave reservations.
I like it. It's a cool core mystery and a cool core obstacle that goes hand-in-hand with it. I like the characters, and I want to know more. But I also see the spiral starting at the end of the volume, because you always seem to have to add more problems to keep the story going. So, I'll reserve judgement, and hope that I'm still enthusiastic enough when Volume 2 comes out to pick it up.
I like it. It's a cool core mystery and a cool core obstacle that goes hand-in-hand with it. I like the characters, and I want to know more. But I also see the spiral starting at the end of the volume, because you always seem to have to add more problems to keep the story going. So, I'll reserve judgement, and hope that I'm still enthusiastic enough when Volume 2 comes out to pick it up.
March 17, 2021
Due to his social difficulties, Daniel West has been let go from his job. After receiving a letter stating that he will receive an undisclosed sum from the estate of his great-great aunt, Daniel makes a trip to the town of Stillwater, accompanied by his more successful friend, Tony. Upon arrival, the two men stumble into the town’s secret: its citizens are seemingly frozen in time and unable to age. Instead of being a miracle, it ends up having huge repercussions for him and Tony, and the realization that immortality is actually a curse.
Please click here for my full review.
Please click here for my full review.
January 16, 2022
After a good start, the first volume of Stillwater kind of just lost me. The premise being there’s a town called Stillwater where people can’t die, no one is let in and no one can come out. And really the first six issues establish very little outside of that. I haven’t really enjoyed any of the characters, and a few are pretty cliché bad guy cardbord cut outs. I think Zdarsky was counting on the strength of the setting to hold my interest but Stillwater is just not doing it for me. I feel like I’ve seen this story before and it was done better. The art is decent, and the writing is fine but I just don’t see a reason to keep reading it. Stillwater isn’t offensively bad, but I am already bored. 2.5 stars
May 4, 2022
Отже. Ми маємо комікс про містечко, якого майже немає на карті і у якійсь глухомані. Щось знайоме. Усі люди мають свої секрети. І більш того, люди у межах не вмирають і не старіють. Несподівано, Даніелю приходить лист з якого він дізнається, що в нього є багата бабця в Нігерії. Насправді ні, родичка померла у містечку Стіллвотер. Після цього Деніель з другом вирушають у подорож.
Загалом комікс трохи посередній. Можливо б він був непоганий як якийсь містичний серіал на нетфліксі чи деінде. А так, малюнок особливого задоволення не приніс. Сюжет за 6 номерів теж поки не дуже закручений чи важкий. Просто є містечко, є чужий, є одна таємна організація, інша їй якби намагається протистояти. Мер міста (по факту суддя) який тероризує місто. ну і в межах міста померти неможливо.
Загалом комікс трохи посередній. Можливо б він був непоганий як якийсь містичний серіал на нетфліксі чи деінде. А так, малюнок особливого задоволення не приніс. Сюжет за 6 номерів теж поки не дуже закручений чи важкий. Просто є містечко, є чужий, є одна таємна організація, інша їй якби намагається протистояти. Мер міста (по факту суддя) який тероризує місто. ну і в межах міста померти неможливо.
July 22, 2021
Wau wau wau
Od Stillwater jsem absolutně nic nečekal a dostal jsem dost možná nejlepšího kandidáta na letošní Eisner Awards. Chip Zdarsky umí psát tak aby mě to zaujalo, Stillwater působí dost nenápadně ale ukrývá v sobě krásný dramátko i úvahu co je pro obytele města Stillwater nejlepší. Ono je to i trochu generické, nová osoba přijde do tajemného městečka kde řeší problémy ovšem tohle je úplný jiný level než jsem předpokládal. První volume má excelentní tempo a dává tak nehorázný cliffhanger, že člověk sakra chce vědět co bude dál.
Snad už jen dodám, že Pérezova zjednodušená kresba je strašně příjemná a Spicerovi barvy jsou top.
Od Stillwater jsem absolutně nic nečekal a dostal jsem dost možná nejlepšího kandidáta na letošní Eisner Awards. Chip Zdarsky umí psát tak aby mě to zaujalo, Stillwater působí dost nenápadně ale ukrývá v sobě krásný dramátko i úvahu co je pro obytele města Stillwater nejlepší. Ono je to i trochu generické, nová osoba přijde do tajemného městečka kde řeší problémy ovšem tohle je úplný jiný level než jsem předpokládal. První volume má excelentní tempo a dává tak nehorázný cliffhanger, že člověk sakra chce vědět co bude dál.
Snad už jen dodám, že Pérezova zjednodušená kresba je strašně příjemná a Spicerovi barvy jsou top.
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May 23, 2021The creepy small town where outsiders aren't welcome lest they stumble on its dark secret – pretty much a subgenre in its own right. But goodness, this one fits the times to a tee. As with so many new series over the past few months, I don't know whether the concept preceded the Event, but it's hard to read the restive citizens of Stillwater bridling at being cut off from any family and friends beyond walking distance, or the line in defence of outmoded habits from a long-gone life, "Sometimes..you just want to feel like nothing changed, especially when nothing changes", and not take it as the 2020s recast. Of course, because even horror stories tend to be preferable to the real world nowadays, unlike us they do at least get a countervailing benefit: in Stillwater, nobody ages, or dies, and any injury from the smallest to the most horrific will heal in next to no time. The story is pretty good at working through the ramifications of this; so the townsfolk can't even get drunk to kill time, and they have an awful lot of time to kill; equally, brutal violence becomes a perfectly normal way to deal with a minor annoyance, because it doesn't have any lasting consequences. And yet where that could easily have turned the situation cartoonish (compare and contrast The Old Guard, or at least the comics version), Perez' art does keep it grounded and disturbing. Speaking of 'grounded', the town's alternative to prison...yeah, it makes sense, and it's really not nice.
Fundamentally, though, it does feel very much as if it's operating within an established field, as against the eye-catching pitch on a previous Zdarsky Image book such as Kaptara ('snarky gay guy finds himself in an off-brand Masters Of The Universe'). It's early days yet, but thus far few of the characters have come alive as the individuals they need to be for a constricted story like this to really sing - and it doesn't help that events at the end of this volume suggest Stillwater will be moving at a breakneck pace, robbing the reader of the slow build and gradual familiarisation which bolster a comparable series such as Revival. It's also early days for the town's anomaly; lines like "I've been doing this a long time" lose a lot of their force when the town has only been outside entropy since 1986, so still well within the time that a mortal person might have been engaged in any of these jobs, especially in a backwater. There's also, though this is hardly the first Image book thus afflicted, some really iffy editing; a single speech bubble manages to use both 'principle' and 'principal' when it only wants one, as if deciding to split the difference and make sure at least one is correct, and an already deliberately contorted sentence becomes a horribly fluffed reveal when it's rendered as "welcome to the the welcome party".
Fundamentally, though, it does feel very much as if it's operating within an established field, as against the eye-catching pitch on a previous Zdarsky Image book such as Kaptara ('snarky gay guy finds himself in an off-brand Masters Of The Universe'). It's early days yet, but thus far few of the characters have come alive as the individuals they need to be for a constricted story like this to really sing - and it doesn't help that events at the end of this volume suggest Stillwater will be moving at a breakneck pace, robbing the reader of the slow build and gradual familiarisation which bolster a comparable series such as Revival. It's also early days for the town's anomaly; lines like "I've been doing this a long time" lose a lot of their force when the town has only been outside entropy since 1986, so still well within the time that a mortal person might have been engaged in any of these jobs, especially in a backwater. There's also, though this is hardly the first Image book thus afflicted, some really iffy editing; a single speech bubble manages to use both 'principle' and 'principal' when it only wants one, as if deciding to split the difference and make sure at least one is correct, and an already deliberately contorted sentence becomes a horribly fluffed reveal when it's rendered as "welcome to the the welcome party".
July 23, 2021
Great dialogue, character work, and art save Stillwater from its cheesy premise: everyone in the town of Stillwater is blessed/cursed with immortality. Daniel's invited to Stillwater on sketchy terms and quickly gets absorbed into its population, despite his welcome not exactly being welcoming (the first issue is a doozy of an introduction).
From there, things get political, as a group of insurgents in Stillwater attempt to make contact with the outside world. The villainous Judge and his ruthless sheriffs want to keep the town hidden from the world indefinitely. Daniel's history is gently explored as the world of Stillwater similarly grows. The concluding issue offers an explosive ending to this volume's arc, along with a rather silly twist ()
Stillwater is a fast-paced, engaging read that looks great. It could have been a lot dumber! I'm on board for more.
From there, things get political, as a group of insurgents in Stillwater attempt to make contact with the outside world. The villainous Judge and his ruthless sheriffs want to keep the town hidden from the world indefinitely. Daniel's history is gently explored as the world of Stillwater similarly grows. The concluding issue offers an explosive ending to this volume's arc, along with a rather silly twist ()
Stillwater is a fast-paced, engaging read that looks great. It could have been a lot dumber! I'm on board for more.
April 7, 2021
This is basically just the opening, a slow burn set-up, and it’s intriguing enough that I’ll pick up the next one.
I do wonder if Zdarsky did a self-high-five when he came up with the name Stillwater for a town where nothing ever changes, because it’s almost too perfect.
I do wonder if Zdarsky did a self-high-five when he came up with the name Stillwater for a town where nothing ever changes, because it’s almost too perfect.
February 1, 2022
3.7
Muy a lo Under the Dome (mas bien serie que libro) donde una sociedad "atrapada" se divide entre la gente "buena" o decente, y los que aprovechan de esa situación para sentirse poderosos... el tema es que al no morir... bueno, es todo mas complicado.
Me reee gusto y tengo muchas ganas de seguirlo
Muy a lo Under the Dome (mas bien serie que libro) donde una sociedad "atrapada" se divide entre la gente "buena" o decente, y los que aprovechan de esa situación para sentirse poderosos... el tema es que al no morir... bueno, es todo mas complicado.
Me reee gusto y tengo muchas ganas de seguirlo
March 13, 2022
A very, very "meh" book. The idea (a town cursed by immortality) has some merit, but, so far, Zdarsky's really done nothing with it. The art is interesting. I guess I'd read another volume, but would hope that more happens than in this first arc.
October 9, 2022
Meh. I wish this got darker. I admit, it was a cover buy, but it was a very basic story really and not much happened. I’m not sure if I’ll continue, but I’ll think on it. If the story got more horrific, I’d be interested. This was just boring for me. An interesting concept, but nothing really to talk about.
March 21, 2023
predictable and surface level. i was hoping for like… eldritch gods keeping the town alive but feeding on their memories, something cool and creepy like that. just humans being dicks.
August 3, 2022
Stillwater is a town with a secret, something that they are willing to kill for. Heard this one before? probably.. but it was a decent start to this Zdarsky series. Nothing really jumps out as a highlight the story is fine, the art is fine, just sort of middle of the road.
October 2, 2023
It's an interesting thought experiment. One day everyone in your little backwater town stops aging and starts healing like Wolverine. The effect ends at the town border--cross that line and you can bleed, you can grow old, you can die.
How do you protect your town from invasive forces? What actions are ethical--or at least tolerable--in that defense? How do you humanely punish lawbreakers when time and injury no longer matter? What would be the practical consequences of frozen-in-time immortality? Is this new state of being a blessing or a curse?
Zdarsky uses a Stillwater expatriate to explore these questions. I'm keen--yes, keen--to see where this goes.
How do you protect your town from invasive forces? What actions are ethical--or at least tolerable--in that defense? How do you humanely punish lawbreakers when time and injury no longer matter? What would be the practical consequences of frozen-in-time immortality? Is this new state of being a blessing or a curse?
Zdarsky uses a Stillwater expatriate to explore these questions. I'm keen--yes, keen--to see where this goes.
February 19, 2021
What a killer introduction into what is (hopefully) going to be a killer series. Zdarsky's setup in these six issues is just about flawless, as he expertly blends exposition with characterization. Each new issue deepens and expands the lore, making for a rewarding and exciting reading experience. I wanted to wait to read the whole arc at once, but the first issues, and each one after it, were so compelling that whenever a new issue showed up at my local comic book shop, I had to read it that same day. This is easily one of the strongest debut series to come from last year.
Zdarsky is working with a big cast here––I will confess to forgetting who certain people were, from time to time––but each one feels unique, and I admire how committed he is to giving everyone a history, even if we don't get to see it ourselves.
The art from Ramón K. Pérez and Mike Spicer is crucial to the comic's success. The artwork is what brings the town of Stillwater to life, making it feel both foreboding and familiar, like a small town from a dream you can't quite remember. This isn't a comic about ghosts and hauntings, but Stillwater is a setting that feels like it's full of ghosts.
I wish the end of the arc felt more like an ending, but that's a problem I have with basically every comic, so I can hardly hold it against the series for wanting to set the stage for what comes next. Especially when Zdarsky's setup for volume 2 seems like it's going to lead to a wild (and somehow far darker) story that I can't wait to dive into. This gets an easy 4.5 stars from me.
Zdarsky is working with a big cast here––I will confess to forgetting who certain people were, from time to time––but each one feels unique, and I admire how committed he is to giving everyone a history, even if we don't get to see it ourselves.
The art from Ramón K. Pérez and Mike Spicer is crucial to the comic's success. The artwork is what brings the town of Stillwater to life, making it feel both foreboding and familiar, like a small town from a dream you can't quite remember. This isn't a comic about ghosts and hauntings, but Stillwater is a setting that feels like it's full of ghosts.
I wish the end of the arc felt more like an ending, but that's a problem I have with basically every comic, so I can hardly hold it against the series for wanting to set the stage for what comes next. Especially when Zdarsky's setup for volume 2 seems like it's going to lead to a wild (and somehow far darker) story that I can't wait to dive into. This gets an easy 4.5 stars from me.
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