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A line drawing of a tiny figure standing in a vast, white landscape. They are dwarfed by towering, grid-like architectural structures that appear cracked and crumbling at the base.

Illustration: Incredible dystopian comics from rising talent Liam Cobb

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Date
8 May 2014

Sometimes we genuinely find some of the best creative work for the site while hanging out in the pub – in this case by mooching about in my local last Saturday night. I ran into an old friend from university who still lives with Liam Cobb (another old friend from college) a comic book artist who’s spent the last few years working absurdly hard on his storytelling and image-making, recently producing the beginnings of a futuristic dystopian opus, drawn with the flair of Moebius and balanced with witty, understated dialogue that makes the apocalypse seem really quite drab.

In addition to this masterwork he’s also been releasing a series of graphic short stories set in the same barren wasteland. This one in particular stood out for its excellent pop-culture reference to one of the strangest ads ever made; “It’s too orangey for crows!”

A black and white comic strip in three panels. A lone figure with a walking stick travels across a desolate, hilly landscape towards a cluster of rectangular stone blocks.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

A black and white comic strip in three panels. A figure with a long, pointed beak and a wide-brimmed hat walks across a desolate landscape toward a massive, monolithic building.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

A black and white comic strip in three panels. A lone figure with a walking stick traverses a vast, desolate landscape of concrete slabs and rolling hills.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

A black and white manga page with three panels. The top panel shows a close-up of a figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a mask with a long, bird-like beak. Below, the figure stands alone in a vast, empty landscape. The final panel shows a wide shot of the desolate terrain, featuring large, angular concrete slabs.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

A black and white comic strip in three panels. A lone figure walks across a desolate, rocky landscape past skeletal architectural remains and a fallen body.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

A black and white illustration of a tiny figure standing in a vast, desolate landscape. They are dwarfed by towering, crumbling skyscrapers that frame a distant, floating rectangular monolith.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

A manga illustration split into panels. A figure wearing a plague doctor mask is shown in a close-up, followed by a wide shot of a person standing beside a tall, stone pillar as crows fly around them.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

A black and white illustration of a giant plastic bottle constructed from cracked stone, standing on a rocky hill. The words “Kia Ora” are written across the bottle in large, blocky letters. A small figure stands at the base, looking up as black birds fly overhead.
Above

Liam Cobb: Death of a Crow

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About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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