Genre Horror Number of issues 3 Artist(s) Erik Donovan Publisher Image Comics | Publication date October 2014 Writer(s) James Tynion IV Colorist(s) Adam Guzowski | |
Similar Suicide Risk, Lumberjanes, Rat Queens, Irredeemable, Giant Days | ||
Memetic is an apocalyptic horror comic book series that was created by James Tynion IV, with art by Eryk Donovan and coloring by Adam Guzowski. The series was published monthly by BOOM! Studios as three oversized issues, beginning in October 2014. In October 2015, BOOM! Studios released all three issues, along with extra features from the writer and artist, in trade paperback form.
Contents
Background
Tynion IV came up with the idea for Memetic in 2012, when he was getting started in the comic book industry and wanted to create something along the lines of the horror genre. He describes Memetic as coming to him “fully formed,” and he further says that the pitch document from two years prior to the comic’s publication looks very much the same as the final product.
Aaron and Marcus, the main protagonists, were created from the beginning of Memetic’s conception. Tynion wanted his protagonists to be “counter-points” to the world around them. He describes Aaron as like himself in college, and expresses that he thought it was important for Aaron to be a queer character.
Plot
Issue one
At 7:04 am on “Day One,” an image of a sloth with against a colorful spiral background appears on the Internet and instantly becomes a viral sensation (a meme). Viewers of the image, later called the “Good Times Sloth,” claim that seeing it makes them feel amazing and tingle with happiness, and they have difficulty looking away.
Aaron Sumner, a queer college-age student who is colorblind and requires hearing aids, is trying to get a hold of his boyfriend Ryan after the two had an argument. His best friend Sarah attempts to share her excitement over the meme, but Aaron cannot feel the effects of the image due to his colorblindness. He repeatedly texts Ryan, begging him not to look at the meme.
Meanwhile, Marcus Shaw, a blind war veteran, becomes troubled by the sloth image when his friend Richie becomes obsessed with it. He contacts the Barbara Xiang, an old friend and the author of an essay about “weaponized memetics,” who isn’t sure what to think of the situation, but notices that those who view the image feel compelled to spread it to others.
On the night of “Day One” it is discovered that twelve hours after exposure to the meme, one begins screaming and becomes violent. These so-called “screamers” bleed from their eyes and attempt to kill anyone around them who has not yet begun screaming. Aaron and Sarah’s friend Martin becomes a screamer and kills their other friend Bastian. The two escape and barricade themselves in Aaron’s room, but Sarah realizes she doesn’t have much time left and runs to see her family. Elsewhere, Richie becomes a screamer and attempts to kill Marcus, but he fights back and survives the attack.
The issue ends with Ryan appearing at Aaron’s door, revealing that he hasn’t looked at the image.
Issue Two
On the morning of “Day Two,” society begins to descend into chaos as armed police forces and screamers kill each other in the streets. Throughout the day, as more people begin screaming, the screams become louder and louder to everyone near them.
Marcus is escorted from his home by Barbara to Washington D.C. to lead a small task force to Oregon to confront the creator and original poster of the image, who they believe might have a cure. The task force is made up of Marcus, Dr. Peter Klein, Captain Meredith Schroeder, and Sergeant Casey Quinn. The team makes their way through an airplane hangar to find a plane to take to Oregon, but they are ambushed by screamers. Casey is killed in the fighting, but the remaining team member secure a plane.
Aaron and Ryan decide to go to the college’s medical center. Although Aaron is relieved to find a large stock of his medication, they find that the medical center was not as safe as they thought it would be. Aaron finds his parents, who have become screamers, locked behind a room with glass windows by his doctor, Dr. Crowne. Crowne is distressed by Aaron’s inability to feel the effects of the Good Times Sloth, and it becomes apparent that he is delusional from the effects of the meme. He attempts to capture Aaron so that he may be operated on to correct his colorblindness, but Aaron breaks the window, freeing his screaming parents who kill Dr. Crowne. In his dying words, Crowne claims that this is humankinds’ destiny. Aaron and Ryan to refuge in an expensive abandoned apartment. After they have sex, Ryan reveals that he accidentally saw the meme that morning. Aaron begs Ryan not to leave him alone, but Ryan is afraid of turning into a screamer like his brothers did, and commits suicide by jumping from the apartment balcony.
In the airplane, Marcus, Peter, and Meredith hear the screams of the screamers, and it triggers the effects of viewing the image. Peter says that the screaming caused by viewing the image was intended to happen, so that the combination of all the screams creates the next euphoric stage of the meme.
Issue Three
On “Day Three,” the screamers cease being violent. They accumulate all over the world in spaces with high volumes of other screams, strip off their clothes, and begin climbing each other to form incredibly tall human towers. After a little while, the people begin fusing together, with nothing left but their screaming heads.
Aaron considers killing himself, but he discovers a walkie-talkie with someone asking for help. A child on the other end asks him to come save her, as she has been locked in a closet by her father with no food. He ventures out to save to her. He discovers the towers on the way, and finds that he is immune to the effects of the screaming because of his hearing disability. While searching for the child, he also comes into contact with Barbara Xiang on the walkie-talkie, who has not seen the meme or heard the screams and is still trying to find a way to save humanity despite losing contact with Marcus and the others. Aaron finds the little girl, but discovers that she wants to join everyone else in the tower. Aaron lets her go, and finds that he is upset that he can’t feel what everyone else is feeling.
Marcus, Peter, and Meredith arrive in rural Oregon and find the creator of the meme. He is an artist who goes by the name of The Maker, and is clearly insane. He reveals to them that he was instructed by “the angels” to create the Good Times Sloth in order to trigger this apocalyptic event. The Maker kills himself, and has destroyed his computers, leaving no possibility for a cure. They expect that they will become screamers at any moment. Meredith commits suicide, while Peter is open to finding out what happens next. Marcus re-establishes connection with Barbara, and says his goodbye as he feels the transformation.
Barbara contacts Aaron, her last connection to the outside world and her last chance for hope of a cure. Aaron, however, decides that he wants to feel what everyone else is feeling. He expresses sadness that his entire life, his colorblindness and hearing disability have left him unable to experience certain things everyone else does, such as the color of the sky. He strips and climbs the tower, while Barbara begs him not to. He abandons the walkie-talkie, and begins to feel the euphoria upon fusing with the tower. Quickly, he becomes another screaming head on the tower.
In the final moments of the issue, Barbara sees on her computer screen that something has entered the atmosphere. The last page sees “Day Four” beginning with a gigantic alien being descending onto Earth from a hole in the sky.
Reception
Memetic received positive reviews. Benjamin Tilton from Slug Magazine, in his review for the trade paperback, says that days after reading the comic he is “still haunted by it.” He also complemented the artwork, calling it “fun and almost cartoon-like.” The Big Comics Page Team also applauded the originality of the concept and the artwork. Chase Magnett from ComicBook, in his review of the third issue, commended the twists in the final issue that “add[s] to both the joy and terror of the series.”
Memetic was nominated for the 2015 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Comic Book, but lost to Kurtis J. Wiebe’s Rat Queens.