ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times
A woman and her cat search for an ancient relic in a post-apocalyptic world overgrown with nature, facing savage threats and uncovering humanity's last hope in this YALSA-nominated graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics.
đź“– Dark Horse Comics • Started 2015
The world ended. The cities crumbled. Nature reclaimed everything. Somewhere in the wreckage of a lost civilization, a young woman named Aria wanders through vine-choked ruins with only her cat Jelly Beans for company, humming a tune nobody else remembers.
That’s the haunting setup for ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times, the post-apocalyptic science fiction graphic novel by Andrew MacLean—the creative force behind the fantasy epic Head Lopper. Published by Dark Horse Comics, this is MacLean’s love letter to science fiction: quieter, stranger, and more emotionally daring than his sword-and-sorcery work, yet unmistakably his own.
Aria’s Mission
Aria searches for an ancient relic of immeasurable power—the last remnant of the technology that destroyed the old world. Her only guides are a series of cryptic tablets, her own resourcefulness, and the fierce loyalty of a cat who has no idea the world was ever different. Her journey carries her through landscapes rendered in lush, manga-influenced linework: skyscrapers draped in vines, highways cracked open by trees, the bones of civilization slowly being consumed by the earth.
The danger is immediate. MacLean’s post-apocalypse isn’t a sterile wasteland—it teems with savage survivors, mutated creatures, and the desperate violence that erupts when society’s rules have been dead for generations. Aria is a capable fighter, but she’s also young, lonely, and carrying a mission she doesn’t fully understand. When a menacing stranger sets her on a path that might finally complete her quest, she’ll have to face death itself to claim her prize.
A Second Life
Originally released in 2015 and reissued in 2020 as a deluxe second edition, the expanded 128-page volume includes two new short stories—one set before and one after the main narrative—along with a new cover and never-before-seen sketchbook material. Editor Jim Gibbons suggested the 6×9 format to give the book a manga-inspired feel. Big Comic Page awarded the second edition a perfect 5/5, praising how MacLean “manages to build a living, breathing world around Aria” and calling the book “a feast for the eyes.”
The expanded edition introduced MacLean’s sci-fi sensibility to the audience who discovered him through Head Lopper, and the book earned a YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Award nomination—a testament to its crossover appeal. It’s accessible enough for younger readers discovering graphic novels, yet rich enough in theme and craft to reward adult readers seeking smart science fiction.
In an interview with CBR, MacLean described the book as a reaction to the idea that “everything’s been done” in genre fiction. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, he set out to make something personal and true to his own love of science fiction—a story about hope, home, and the strange bonds that keep us going when everything else has fallen apart.
Perfect for fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Jeff Smith’s Bone, and the post-apocalyptic adventure of The Walking Dead—but with a heart and visual sensibility that’s entirely its own.
