Webcomic Review: Stand Still. Stay Silent · 3:45am Oct 9th, 2014

There was a time, far before this current age of ponies, in the long long ago, that I wanted to be a web cartoonist.

I made many stabs at this over the years (ask me about the nWcO someday), but probably the most serious attempt I made was during my time in college. The name of the comic was Systems, and the idea revolved around humanized versions of various Table Top RPG systems, through witch I'd engage in satire of events in the industry and the like. Alas, I was never able to find an artist for the project. While my dreams of creating a webcomic didn't really pan out, I remain an avid reader of the medium.

Which brings us to what I discovered today. The post-apocalyptic work Stand Still. Stay Silent.

Set ninety years after a mysterious virus has ravaged the world's population, it is centered around the Scandinavian countries, who have fared better than most due to shutting down their borders early (especially Iceland, due to their island nature). It is an odd world. One where the technology of the past has become blended with a Nordic mythology revival and magic. One where the world beyond the pockets of safe zones (referred to by the survivors as "The Silent World") crawls with beasts, trolls and giants, all supposedly the humans and mammal life once infected by the contagion.

Said beasts are where the webcomic's name comes from, incidentally. The young Scandinavian children are taught that if they're outside the safe zones, and you come across a beast or a troll, not to run, or call for help. But to stand still, and stay silent. They might go away.

Into this world, enters our characters, a group of misfits from across the five nations of the known world, tasked with going into the "Silent World" to conduct research on the world that was, and perhaps salvage some of what was there. Tuuri the mechanic and story teller, Lalli a night scout and mage, Emil one of the so called "Cleansers" (who burn out and destroy beast nests), Sigrun a hunter, Mikkel a farmer and healer, and finally a mysterious red headed girl who is only labeled as "unknown" on the character page.

The artwork by Minna Sundberg is nothing short of fantastic, just as apt at creating a world as displaying character emotions. There is a lot of world building in the little details of some of the settlements and other scenes, and you can really get a feel for the schizo levels of technology that come from a blend of salvaged technology, and some city centers surviving the fall. My particular favorite of post-apocalyptic tech is the trains mounted with giant buzz saws to slash at any trolls or giants that try to attack them.

If there's one complaint I'd level at the webcomic, it would be that it's kind of a slow boil of a story. There is a decent prologue that shows the early days of the apocalypse, and our main characters have just gotten their own transport to head into the unknown. Other than that though, I think that it's an amazing piece of work. I highly recommend checking it out, if for no other reason than to see a rather unique take on the end of the world.