Twilight Custard, written by Josh Wilson and drawn by William Muljo, is a story about Twilight, a man living alone in the Wild West of Texas. Six years ago his wife Elizabeth died during the ambush of Fort Duncan. In the present, he sees something streak across the sky which leads him to the Machine. To prevent a war, both characters go on a journey together to bring the Machine back to its ship. This story has an interesting premise: a time traveling robot and a grieving man go on an adventure. A lot happens, much of which involves the Machine telling Twilight about how time travel works and the potential for catastrophe involved in it. Despite this potential, Twilight demands that the Machine take him back in time to see Elizabeth as payment for helping it reunite with its ship.
Twilight Custard has an interesting art style, with sketchy lines and a muted sensation to the greys of the palette that seems to resemble watercolors. The only color other than grey and black is the blue color of the Machine’s eyes at times. This produces a striking effect that really highlights how alien the Machine is to Earth. The Machine’s goals also stand out in contrast to Twilight. The Machine came to Earth with the intent to study the planet as a result of something that happened millions of years ago. In contrast, Twilight’s motivations connect to his wife and the pain he suffered as a result of her death. This intriguing contrast stays relevant throughout the story.
The only issues this story has comes from the ending, which is a tad abrupt. There are many moving parts to the plot; there’s the conflict between the White Texans and the Mexicans, and the conflict between the White Texans and the Natives. The mixture of history with sci-fi presents an interesting challenge here. For the most part, emphasis appears to be on history, with majority of the sci-fi elements relegated to moments between Twilight and the Machine.
The odd friendship between the two of them is one of the most compelling parts of this story; it gets explored by the plot thoroughly. The Machine does not see the world the way that humans do. But it manages to have compassion for other creatures. Between the Machine and Twilight, the Machine is the more empathetic of the two individuals. It does not need to be from the same planet to care about living things. As for Twilight’s depression, the plot explores this too. In overcoming his own melancholy he learns to look toward the future, an important theme of Twilight Custard. The ending of this story is resoundingly human, which is good for it overall. Overall, it’s the realism that brings everything together.
Twilight Custard is available for purchase on its official website. For more information you can check out Josh Wilson’s Twitter. What would you do if a robot landed near you? Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter!
