The post-apocalyptic genre is everywhere. You’ve certainly seen it played out on TV shows, films, novels, video games, and short stories. People really just can’t get enough of fictional tales about the world in the aftermath of a doomsday. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Even comic books have now fully embraced the genre with arms wide open. We’re not sure if you’ve heard the manhua (Chinese comic) titled I Am Carrying Gold from the Post Apocalyptic World, but apparently, it’s quite popular online. It’s one of those MTL (machine translation) comics and only published on the web.
We’ll begin the discussion directly, just like the manhua does, without wasting time. Wang Bin, the main character, is described as a handsome young teenager with a brain to match his looks. Girls flock around him, only to deal with his rejection each time because apparently the heartthrob already has a girlfriend. The lucky girl is Zhao Qin, who also is said to be the most beautiful one in school. Everybody thinks they’re made for each other and so does Wang Bin, but not the girlfriend.
Wang Bin is the winner at school, but when he’s not surrounded by girls and getting the highest grades, he works odd jobs just to keep hunger at bay and the girlfriend in his arms. It doesn’t really matter if he has to clean toilets or make a little money as a server, just as long as Zhao Qin is happy. He uses all the money for dating and buying things for Zhao Qin, even if he has to work his fingers to the bone.
One day, when Wang Bin is playing a video game, which is another thing he does exceedingly well, he receives a strange message on the screen. It also is the most difficult game he has ever played; he finished almost any other game within a matter of hours. This game has taken him a full month. The message says that Wang Bin is a dominant player and that he deserves a free trip as a reward for finishing the game with a high score. The problem is that it’s a trip to the post-apocalyptic world. Well, it’s not actually a trip but an ability to go to the future post-apocalyptic era and back to the present day.
He can either accept the gift or turn it down. If he does take it, however, terms and conditions apply:
- The journey to the post-apocalyptic world begins in four hours. If he needs to make some preparations, that’s all the time he has.
- A visit lasts 7 days, but there’s a difference in how long a day is. One day in the present time is 7 days in the post-apocalyptic era.
- There are no rules in the post-apocalyptic world. It’s the wild west at its worst.
- He may take non-living things and bring them back home to the present world.
Despite some hesitations, the last rule turns out to be appealing enough to convince him to accept the reward. Wang Bin has one thing in mind: take some valuables and bring them back, because what’s expensive here – like precious metals – might be worthless there. Sell them here and get rich. And then another problem comes to mind. A 7-day trip to a lawless land is no joke, so good preparation is important. He needs food, weapons, a flashlight, and a stun gun. There is also a shovel in case he needs to dig the ground to find treasures. But he has no money to buy those things at all.
Off he goes to his two good friends, Hong Fei and Li Ping, to borrow some money. And good friends they indeed are. It turns out that Hong Fei and Li Ping don’t find it strange that Wang Bin comes to them for help. Perhaps he’s done it many times before. They know him well and basically remind him that taking care of himself is more important than spending too much money on Zhao Qin. But they don’t actually pry, which makes Wang Bin appreciate their kindness even more. He doesn’t tell them about the trip to another world, and simply promises to return the favor in kind when he gets rich.
Once the preparation is done, he calls Zhao Qin to tell her he’s leaving and won’t come back until the day after tomorrow. Zhao Qin seems fine with that because she is already with another man, flirting inside a limo like it’s no one’s business. She hangs up the phone, and that’s about it. Hong Fei and Li Ping are right after all.
Suddenly, Wang Bin is teleported to a strange world full of zombies. After some sneaking around and avoiding the undead, he comes across a girl as pretty as a girl can be, and the chapter ends with the girl trying to rob him.
We think the first chapter of I Am Carrying Gold From the Post-Apocalyptic World does a pretty good job
at establishing the backstory of Wang Bin, without revealing too much about what seem to be also important
characters like the girlfriend, the two friends who lend him money, and the girl he meets in the other world.
But then again, it is a brief chapter and there’s barely any filler at all. Everything is straight to the point and
much of the storytelling (at least in the beginning) is delivered from a third-person point of view. It’s simple
and actually interesting enough to keep readers engaged and likely wanting for more. Even before the
chapter ends, we get to know Wang Bin a little better; he appears to be a good person, hardworking, and
clever. He’s impulsive, sure, as shown by his willingness to accept the reward from the game without
second-thought and perhaps driven by poverty, not greed. It remains to be seen whether he turns into a
greedy person once he discovers the valuable items he looks for in the post-apocalyptic world, if he lives
long enough to find it.
Have you read any post-apocalyptic comic books, other than The Walking Dead, of course? Do you think the story in comics can be as engaging as in other formats, like novels or short stories? We’d love to hear from you.
Other Things You Might Want to Know
Can money still function as currency in a post-apocalyptic world?
It depends on how scarce they are, both the money and the population. If there are just too few people in any society around the world, money won’t do you any good. There’s no market to establish the value. Once everything settles down and the population grows back to a reasonable number, your dollar bills might make a comeback. But precious metals actually make more sense as a medium of exchange because they’re rare, and the value is the same no matter where you are. They’re stable commodities and recognized everywhere, unlike specific currencies.
Are there similar manhua?
Some other manhua are very similar to where you might think they’re developed from the same idea in the first place, such as:
- I Have A Mansion In The Post-Apocalyptic World
- Doomsday Girlfriend: My Backyard Leads To Doomsday
- Become The Richest Man In The Last Days
- Starting From Today I’ll Work As City Lord
Are all comics, in all its forms, suitable for kids?
Of course not. Take I Am Carrying Gold From the Post-Apocalyptic World, for example. Even the first few pages of the first chapter already show that the comic is geared toward young adults, if not strictly adults. Based on the artwork alone, we wouldn’t be surprised to see explicit scenes and profanity in the coming chapters.
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