Everything Vol. 1 is out May 26, 2020. — **Everything Vol. 1** is out May 26, 2020.

By Gabe Gonzalez — “If you don’t find it in the index, look very carefully through the catalogue.” …this quote comes at the start of Everything #5, the first season finale of one of the most interesting and abstract titles put out by Dark Horse’s Berger Books imprint. That quote comes at the beginning and expertly speaks to what the entire story is about. If you need to ejaculate every time you lay down to sleep, if you need an infestation of ants, if you need an illness, or if you need a paint chip-driven hallucination — The Everything shopping center has it all!

Through this concept, the book deals with themes of late-model capitalism, fitting a fun, colorful story over the course of five interesting and eclectic issues. The writer, Christopher Cantwell, and artist I.N.J. Culbard, craft a story that truly feels like an abstract narrative unique to the minds of Cantwell and Culbard.

The use of a big box retailer shopping center as what is essentially a messiah-like entity with its own mythology is weirdly timely, speaking presciently to the re-open America quarantine protests of a few weeks ago (which seems like years now). The “Everything” store is a commentary on how people are conditioned to buy the happiness they’ve always desired, which definitely evokes thoughts of the quarantine protestors irate at staying at home and not have the commercial things they were used to available. There was more than a hint of cultishness to these protestors bringing firearms into a town hall or risking their lives to go out in the pandemic. The creators obviously wrote this some time back, focused on the idea of giant stores as capitalistic entities that almost brainwashes people with how items are sold or presented. But reading the entire series in full in these times, it was interesting to me that our unpredictable and surprising current events give this story an extra layer.

The art in this story is my personal favorite aspect. Culbard’s illustrations and panels really give the comic the weird vibe the themes and concept call for. He infuses the environments with retro poppy imagery, using bright blues, greens, and reds to really emphasize a bygone era while setting the comic in an oddball, Twin Peaks-esque world. Meanwhile, Culbard turns to shades of crimsons, purples, and magentas to spotlight the creepiest moments in these comics, including the father and his two children with slowly festering faces. And, speaking of the characters, everyone from the creepy saleswoman Shirley to the unnerving but cuddly Mister Bear and the aforementioned poor father Eb are all incredibly well-done, possessing their own distinct experiences and personalities.

The only negative for this book is that I don’t think I could have read it monthly (which may not be a negative for you, depending on how you prefer to consume comics). The first issue could turn off readers, with the way a lot happens but also nothing happens at the same time. There’s ample visual flair and intriguing unnatural phenomenon to start, but it doesn't lead to much clear plotting. While this might be an issue for readers who enjoy more linear escapist comics, it wasn’t a big deal for me, and Everything was ultimately a fun story to read and enjoy.

I also enjoyed the way the first five issues here laid track for a bigger narrative. An interesting mystery lays behind the walls of the Everything store, and I’m excited to see what exactly happens within this capitalistic nightmare scenario.

Overall: This is a story only Cantwell and I.N.J Culbard could tell, with a unique retro feel and intriguing commentary on our values. The story hits its stride after its first issues, raising interesting questions about where it (and all of us) go from here. 9/10

Everything Vol. 1
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: I.N.J Culbard
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Dark Horse
Price: $11.99
EVERYTHING is a gleaming new mega-department store which arrives to extraordinary thrill—and rapidly escalates to inexplicable mania in the small town of Holland, Michigan. Who—or what—exactly is in charge here . . . and what insidious plans are in store? Collects issues #1–#5.
Release Date: May 26th, 2020
Buy It Online: Click here!

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Gabe Gonzalez