In 2024, in the years after a nuclear war-ravaged Earth, desperate outlaws battle for survival in a poisoned wasteland. One such outlaw is a man even the Nightcrawlers and Organ People fear, called simply Geiger. Writers Geoff Johns and Gary Frank return to the apocalyptic world of Geiger with an extraordinary two-issue origin epic, revealing what happened to Tariq Geiger in the days after the bombs dropped!
The Comic’s Cultural Relevance
Geiger Ground 0 is a post-apocalyptic comic that follows radioactive family man Tariq Geiger as he protects his family in a toxic wasteland. Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, the series launched Mad Ghost’s imprint to critical acclaim and introduced readers to the Unnamed Universe. Geiger Ground Zero is just one example of comics’ immense impact on our culture. The characters and stories created by these artists have been adapted into films, television shows, and even video games. This has helped to introduce new audiences to the comics and helped them become more popular. Despite their modest origins as reprints of newspaper strips, comics have developed into works of literature and art in their own right. The medium’s unique qualities—its multimodality, blending of sequential and simultaneous communication, and emphasis on the author’s voice—provide powerful tools for understanding complex aspects of space, culture, and society. These insights have led to a new field of inquiry called comic-based research. This method offers scholars a playful approach to discuss and share the results of qualitative research with diverse audiences.
The Comic’s Symbolism
From the first page, this is a very different post-apocalyptic story. The characters, created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank, look more like Western cowboys than superheroes in shiny tights. Their faces are small, with only their eyes and a mouth visible. This gives them a more alien, inhuman quality augmented by the use of oranges and reds that make the world appear more lonely than it should. Johns and Frank are trying to convey Geiger’s pain because he’s been separated from his family for 20 years. He waits for the day when the radiation in his environment will be low enough to allow him to see them again. That emotional turmoil manifests physically as a radioactive glow emanating from his body. In addition to that, he’s also being hunted by a mysterious Russian scientist known as Dr. Molotov. Johns and Frank wanted to add another dimension to this character by showing his mixed ethnic background. That’s something they do in many of their works. This is a very entertaining, well-written, and exciting comic. It’s easy to get caught up in the drama and action as Geiger tries to evade these two hunters, and you can’t help but be drawn into his search for his family.
The Comic’s Theme
Geoff Johns has written iconic runs on almost every central DC hero, but one area he had just ventured into was creator-owned. That changed with the release of his post-apocalyptic saga Geiger Ground 0 with Gary Frank.
While there is plenty of action and drama, the real focus here is what Geiger is willing to do to protect those he loves most. It is an exciting idea that parallels other superhero stories, particularly ones set in the post-apocalyptic future. However, this book takes it one step further by focusing on a family man who operates as a hero in this world. Unlike most superhero comics, which often focus on the dark and grim, this story can be seen as uplifting, thanks to its positive message. That makes it an excellent read for kids and adults alike.
The Comic’s Relevance
The post-apocalyptic world has been explored countless times in comics since the first nuclear bombs were dropped over half a century ago. Geiger Ground 0 is the latest take on this terrifying future from creator-owned team Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Twenty years after the bombs fell, Geiger is walking across America, watching over his family trapped in their bunker. He keeps the survivors safe by fending off various violent scavengers and a self-proclaimed king who wants to collect all of the nation’s nuclear weapons. He also fights the Organ People, a group of cannibals that hunt and harvest human organs to sell for money. Along the way, he meets two kids named Hailee and Henry and their two-headed wolf Barney. He’s a legend, and the people fear him. He’s called many things, including Joe Glow and Meltdown Man.
