This comic reminds me a lot of Out-Of-Placers in that it’s a refreshingly unique take on a really generic concept. Even with the 2010's going zombie-crazy, a zombie apocalypse story set in Scandinavia is something I'm not sure's been done elsewhere. At the very least it's something I haven't seen before. More than that, though, both comics have a ton of supplementary material like in-universe posters and instructional pamphlets to flesh out the worldbuilding, and all of it is awesome. It's an absolute feast for lore junkies, and I highly recommend not skipping through it or at least going back to read it all afterwards.

Also like Out-of-Placers, the pacing is super super slow. However, where with OoP I didn't mind it too much, here I think it works much more to SSSS’s detriment. The speed is absolutely glacial and it takes forever for the plot to get going, especially at the start. You could pretty much skip the entire beginning section showing the events leading up to the apocalypse and the story wouldn’t miss a beat. The characters linger for ages at every single location and it drives me crazy.

I think the reason this bothers me here where it didn't with OoP is that I liked OoP's characters a lot more. I can clearly remember even minor characters from OoP, but I can't do the same with even a single one of SSSS's cast. A big part of the reason why, for me, is the art style. Now, don't get me wrong, the comic looks phenomenal - as long as you focus on anywhere that's not the character's faces.

They all look the same to me. I know there's gonna be people who'll scoff at that statement, but just look at the main cast.

Can you tell all of them apart at a glance? 'Cause I sure can't. They look the same, just this generic red or white hair with a vaguely anime-shaped head. (I have this problem with a lot of moeblob anime too, incidentally) They all wear uniforms so I can't tell by looking at their clothes, and, crucially, none of them really stood out to me personality-wise. The characters are written with believability first and foremost, and are designed to be as down-to earth and realistic as possible. That's fine - great even - but the thing is, real people are weird. Really weird. They're offensive. They're insane. The average human is wilder and far more memorable than even the most beloved of fictional characters. I think SSSS's mistake, (which it's far from alone in making) is that it confuses "believable" with "having the character's decisions make sense based on their personality and upbringing".

Normal humans don't make sensible decisions. They don't think things through. Upbringing and personality only go so far. If you want examples of this in action, I recommend checking out the JCS Criminal Psychology youtube channel. There are people who come from compassionate and loving families who make crazy decisions that harm both them and the people they care about, while other times complete psychopaths make sensible decisions and demonstrate that they're capable of understanding the consequences of their actions, and even a twisted form of empathy. In fact the ones who consider themselves reasonable and intelligent are often driven even more by primal emotions than those who mindlessly give in to them.

That's why nobody from this comic really sticks in my mind. They're all too safe. No one does anything stupid, no one screws up, no one ever offends anyone else. Compare this to something like Final Fantasy XV's cast. They're all on a road trip together, and they quirrel and fight and get frustrated with each other, and snap at each other for no reason only to be completely fine 30 seconds later. They get bored. They get hungry. They get tired. That's what this story needed a lot more of. Instead that time is given to panels where the characters coo over a globe and wonder about how different languages from other continents would sound. There's no discussion or argument or anything that comes of this, it just sorta happens and then it passes. Like so many other moments from this comic.

SSSS is half the reason I added the ᚻ rating. I'm glad I found it, 'cause it's awesome, but I never want to read it ever again.