There are comics that allow you to escape the world we live in and those that bring the fictional worlds eerie close to home, The War by Garth Ennis and artist Becky Cloonan falls squarely in the latter. The War is a poignant, raw, bleak, and sadly realistic end of the world comic that strikes a chord.
When the unthinkable becomes reality, a group of friends in New York City must confront their worst fears—the outbreak of nuclear war. As society collapses around them, each must choose a different plan for survival at the end of the world. But with the fallout of nuclear destruction unfolding in real time, survival may be the most terrifying fate of all.
Ennis is known for similar work, but The War is timely and eerie close to what could happen in the near future. A story which began in the pages of Hello Darkness, the horror anthology from BOOM! Studios, expand to craft a story that is horrifying in both the fictional story and the close-to-home feel of the comic. We have leaders in this world that would likely do the unthinkable just to prove their strength, even if that means ending the world as we know it and it’s scary as hell.
While The War is scary in the sense of its realism, it does have more heart to it than I expected. You feel for the characters and their decisions made in order to live in the world that has been force upon them. The dialogue is honest and genuine, with characters arguing and deciding between those who want the quick out, or lose trying to make it post-nuclear explosion.
Cloonan’s artwork brings more of the emotion to the page that Ennis has scripted. You can feel the fear with the characters facial expressions and can almost hear the world crumbling around them. The muted red-orange color pallet throughout most of the book gives off this eerie post-apocalyptic vibe that adds to the story at hand. This partnership for The War is extremely fitting and meshes so well together.
The War is not for the faint of heart, or those looking for a superhero romp. Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan craft an all-too-realistic end of the world comic that has real-life horrors mixed with heart leading to an incredible ending. Expanding The War outside the pages of Hello Darkness is just what this story needed, as well as the story I hate to read (as it could be real…sadly). A must-read comic.
The collected edition of The War hits local comic shops and bookstores everywhere on February 24, 2026 from BOOM! Studios.
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