4 out of 5

Matt Emmons’ oblique post-apocalypse sci-fi series – which I initially didn’t realize was a series – completes its first volume, leaving our talking opossum and its human astronaut buddy in a weird position that’s not quite open-ended, but also lays out some markers for what’s going on / how things could develop. This is probably / possibly due to Matt deciding to move into an arc-like structure instead of publishing individual zines, but it’s given the series a somewhat wayward flow that’s never quite narrative-driven while still building towards… something. Because of Emmons’ general tendency towards more suggestive storytelling – Mignola-style visual cutaways, but wended to Matt’s surreal focuses – “Those That Inherit”‘s waywardness is not necessarily outside his norms, but it can be a somewhat uneven balance, with issues feeling like snapshots of moments, except there’s a linear story inserted into its bits and pieces.

Those pieces are wonderfully quirky, though, with the aforementioned opossum and astronaut lady interacting with various mutated creatures and disembodied guides and invasive plants or magical swords, and so any top-down storytelling moment that fumbles a bit is subsumed in the overal dreamlike vibe.

That said, Matt has also mentioned that the color limitations of the zine are another motivation to go to a different printing style, and I think both mentioned considerations – a longer story format; broader visuals – can only help this tale get to another level, shaping up its bits and bobs into another mini-epic that explores some line between destructive technologies and nature and humanity.