The Last of Us: American Dreams #1 Review: The Story Before the Game

Anyone that has gotten a chance to play “The Last of Us” demo on the Playstation 3 or read about the upcoming game knows it’s going to be special. A smart, engaging survival horror romp, it may be the last hurrah on Sony’s current generation console.

While co-writers Neil Druckmann and Faith Erin Hicks’ comic book prequel “The Last of Us: American Dreams” is far from a mediocre tale, it pales in comparison to the grit and overall grim and gritty nature of the game. More a coming of age gal pal tale, it’s readable, but doesn’t pack too much of a wallop.

If you dig some of Hicks’ pervious work, this will be a must-read. While the art style encapsulates the world well, using dark and dirt tones, the writing is more tame. If you came to the book expecting the same drama from the game, you’ll feel like you’ve been a victim of bait and switch advertising. Those who hunker for every bit of ” The Last of Us” paraphernalia will find the change of pace refreshing and different, even if it’s more unexpected than anything else.

It’s kind of like turning the TV on to watch UFC and getting “Modern Family” instead. While they’re both solid shows, they attract a different type of audience. Not everyone will be able to acknowledge the strengths of each. They just want what they want.

Like the video game, Ellie plays a central role. However, her story is the prime focus this time around, not her safety. She got this cute “Juno” kind of way about her; that’s what will keep many readers’ eyes on the pages. At the same time, issue one doesn’t expose or show much- it’s more a teller. You’ll see Ellie’s descent to the militarized zone and her effort to find her way there. That’s about it.

While it’s essentially void of action, the drama and character development is intriguing. Hicks is fantastic at writing strong female characters. Ellie is that and then some. You’ll root for her. She’s likable. On that notion alone, the book is a compelling and forgiving read.

The end of the first issue also brings some relief in the fact that it appears Ellie’s adventure looks ready to begin. Hopefully that could return the book to its roots and attractive more faithful readers. As it stands now, the first issue of “The Last of Us: American Dreams” is enjoyable, but not in the way you’d expect.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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