Retro Thursday: Turmoil abounds in The Resistance

Since “The Resistance,” written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, was just released as a graphic novel by IDW, I thought I’d reprint my 2002 column talking about the series, first released by WildStorm.

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In New York in 2280, unlicensed births are illegal, the city is in turmoil, and a civil war is being covered up by the government. This is the world of “The Resistance,” a new WildStorm title written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.

The artist on the book is Juan Santacruz.

Most of New York is covered in water, and skyscrapers leap 500 stories into the air.

In “The Resistance,” a disaster in 2030 caused nearly three-fourths of the Earth’s plants to die, leading to an ecological imbalance.

Species of animals are extinct. Oxygen production declined and brought about the need for artificial respiration farms. These vast factories manufacture breathable air for a dying world.

One hundred years of food riots, famine, war and chaos followed.

As “The Resistance” begins, the year is 2280. Food is Earth’s most precious commodity, and the planet is under the watchful eye of the Global Control Commission.

Since humanity does not have enough food to support itself, only those capable of financially supporting children and contributing to the global economy are allowed to reproduce.

Unauthorized free-births began calling themselves Strayz as they had strayed from the commission’s view of what was good for humanity.