SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Today is Monday, September 29th, 2008.

Today’s Issue:
Dead Ahead #1 - published September 2008 by Image Comics - written by Clark K. Castillo & Mel Smith (Gumby) with art by Alex Nino (Creepy, Heavy Metal).

Premise:
Zombies! Oh - do you need to know more? An ecclectic group out on a fishing trip learn that everyone on the mainland has been turned into a zombie. Now they must scavenge for supplies or face certain death at sea. The book is narrated via a captain’s log.

The Awesome Parts:
Zombies! Oh - do you want to know more? I think this new twist on a zombie story is great. Dead Ahead isn’t about fighting zombies - it’s about trying to avoid them. The suspense is less from the worry of being eatten by zombies and more about starving to death for inability to find food or fuel. The art also does a great blending of panels (similar to a Will Eisner style) that greatly enhances the fearful and confused tone of the book.

The Un-Awesome Parts:
I’m about to do my first job as a letterer on the upcoming Behind The Hero #1 - and reading Dead Ahead #1 has taught me a lesson about what not to do. The font choice was great - it looked like a ship captain’s handwritting - but it was often drawn directly on top of dark backgrounds, making it quite difficult to read. I also wish that the story had slowed down a bit. This issue was designed to tell us about the zombie infestation and introduce us to these characters for their REAL adventure which will start next issue. But there were things that happened in a single page that the captain told us about which could have been SHOWN to us in an entire issue. I’ve said this before - one of the first things you learn as a writer is that it’s better to SHOW and not TELL. I’m also not entirely sure exactly how many people are on this boat - just that it’s a small crew. Hopefully future issues will slow the pace down and give us more indepth knowledge of each of the characters involved in this struggle.

My Recommendation:
Zombies! Oh wait… I imagine that if you enjoy zombies that you’ll enjoy this book. If zombies have never been your thing… well… I want to say give this book a chance because it’s not a standard zombie tale - it’s about trying to survive in spite of zombies - not how to stop them. However - even as I write that - I realize that such a story PROBABLY won’t appeal to someone who doesn’t like zombie stories in the first place.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - and a special thanks to Clark Castillo and Mel Smith who took the time out of their busy schedules to talk to me about their book yesterday at Sac Con. And thanks for giving me the free copy to review - I hope it gets you some much deserved press attention! (Not that I imagine a whole ton of people read this blog…)
Speaking of which - make sure you leave me some feedback! I love hearing what you think about my reviews. I can be reached at SuperSearnold@yahoo.com - or just leave a comment! Remember, if there’s a comic book you’re interested in - but aren’t sure if you want to shell out the cash - let me know and I’ll review it for you!
See you next time.
-Searnold

Trackback URI | Comments RSS