Review
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Title: Future Day Saints
Author: Matt Page
Publisher: Matt Page
Genre: Comic/Graphic Novel
Year Published: 2020-2024
Binding: Hard
Reviewed by Conor Hilton for the Association of Mormon Letters
“Welcome to New Zion”
I LOVE THIS BOOK. The illustrations are delightful, filled with great details and love and attention, drawing on 80s cartoons and action figures and Mormon history and iconography, building a fascinating, compassionate vision of what Mormonism can be. Love the work that Matt does here in using the speculative impulses of science fiction to create a more loving, wonderful world, still filled with tension and drama of great stories. I really appreciated the snap shot nature of the book, having loads of different vignettes that are all set in the world of New Zion, sometimes intersecting with characters and narratives, but each providing a little taste of the world and possibilities that Matt creates. Can’t wait to see what he does next and to start working on my own speculative Mormon projects!
“The Gnolaumite Crystal”
Matt Page does it again! The second volume in Matt’s FUTURE DAY SAINTS trilogy extends and deepens the lore of New Zion, weaving in complicated themes and ideas from Mormon theology and folklore into a moving and at times jaw-dropping and gut-wrenching zany adventure. One of the reveals here in particular literally left me with my mouth gaping open in shock, awe, and excitement at what possibilities it opens up.
The artwork is excellent and a fitting pairing for Matt’s speculative, utopian spirit. The single story told in this volume really allows Matt’s sensibilities to shine through, building on the groundwork laid in WELCOME TO NEW ZION. Even the ads placed throughout are elevated and intriguing in the light blurring of fiction and reality–makes me wonder about (and hope for) the physical realization of some of the other ads here: the Pride Cycle! What an ingenious name.
This was a delightful, wonderful Sabbath read. I’ll be imagining many possibilities and pondering the implications of what Matt does here for a long time to come. Strongly recommend. Cannot wait to see what Matt has in store for volume three! But for now, I’ll happily spend some more time revisiting the wonderful, whimsical world on display here.
“The New Arrivals”
THE NEW ARRIVALS continues Matt Page’s delightful imaginings of a weirder, wilder, better Mormon world. The conclusion of the trilogy continues the top-notch art that Matt’s offered in the previous two volumes, offering even more surprising and wonderful ads and inserts imagined from this alternate universe.
Here Matt explores the possibilities of redemption and true peace (drawing on stories from the Book of Mormon and other Mormon ideas, mixed with a variety of other influences, per usual). THE NEW ARRIVALS is touching and moving, offering a quasi-utopian vision of Mormonism, a vision that inspires me. Importantly, Matt’s work is a pleasure to read and explore, offering a delight for the eyes, the mind, and the soul. May Matt continue to gift us with wonderful, peculiar visions of Mormonism and may the rest of us be inspired by his unique vision to create our own peculiar worlds.