In this review of Vanishing Point #2, writer Mark Russell tries to soften the blow by depicting a tragic dystopian tale in the guise of a family-oriented classic animated series that probably won’t get him sued. At least everyone in this future has their own jetpack.
Vanishing Point #2
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Ryan Alexander-Tanner
Main Cover: Robert Hack
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: June 18, 2025
This review contain spoilers
Vanishing Point #2 opens in the awe-inspiring retro-style animated future of the year 2100, where young Bobby Tomorrow introduces his loving family to his sad new friend, Cosmo Warner. Poor Cosmo has a patch over one eye and a dead sister.
Bobby and Cosmo travel to elementary school together by jetpack (told ya) and Cosmo marvels at the abundance of food in the cafeteria, as Bobby grumbles impatiently about having to wait for the future to arrive, (but isn’t that how it usually works?)
Meanwhile, Bobby’s mom Linda greets a client at her travel agency “Tomorrow Travel”, (which surprisingly isn’t a time-travel service), while Bobby’s dad Jim gets a promotion at his company, Air Apparent (A2). After school, Cosmo joins the Tomorrow family for dinner, and later Linda heals his eye with a special machine. Then, Cosmo discusses the possibility of an afterlife with Bobby’s sister Janey to round out the night.
Sometime later, Cosmo joins Bobby out on the deck, and begs his friend to let him stay. Bobby freaks out, and the story jarringly shifts to the real world of 2100, as first responders break open the door to Cosmo Warner’s shack and find an adult Cosmo succumbing to oxygen depravation. The responders find the complete boxed set of “The Tomorrow Family” animated series among Cosmo’s meager belongings.
Vanishing Point #2 ends as the first responders leave with more of Cosmo’s belongings (which is how they get paid), as A2 robots torch Cosmo’s shack, (just one of many on this lot), while the Air Apparent buildings loom in the distance.
Analysis
Vanishing Point #2 takes a familiar dystopian tale about economic disparity and dwindling resources, and cleverly repackages it into a story within a story, which ends up just being poor Cosmo Warner’s hallucination. As his brain goes into hypoxia, Cosmo is transported to the world of the animated Tomorrow Family where he experiences the comforts and companionship he lacked in the real world.
Writer Mark Russell taps into his knack for broaching difficult subjects with dark humor and keen insight into humanity (or perhaps lack thereof), extrapolating a future dystopia where breathable air is the most vital resource in the galaxy (but they can also apparently send people on a trip to Saturn for the right price). Russell’s script is full of taut one-liners, as well as a few clever sight gags.
Russell is able to flip the script on reader expectations with Vanishing Point #2 by cloaking a dystopian cautionary tale of callousness and greed in the guise of a seemingly familiar Saturday morning cartoon (remember those?) This juxtaposition is meant to evoke nostalgia, prompting the reader to reconcile the bright and shiny trappings, with the sad fate awaiting Cosmo across the entire issue.
Artist/letter Ryan Alexander-Tanner successfully depicts a retro-future animated world in the style of The Jetsons, (with some necessary tweaks). Tanner’s cartoony style sits in stark contrast with the jarring shift into the gritty, real world of 2100, complete with adult Cosmo’s disheveled appearance (and oxygen mask) by the end of Vanishing Point #2.
Final Thoughts
Vanishing Point #2 is sad, funny and moving, a reminder that promises of a candy-coated future full of amazing technology and abundance for all is a perpetuated myth only possible in our imaginations.
