Comic Buzz – iZombie

Creative Team: Chris Roberson (W) Michael Allred (A)
Vertigo (DC), ongoing, first issue available now

Vertigo is on fire right now (and not the bad kind that involves hospital visits). All of the titles I’m pulling from Vertigo at the moment are very satisfying, with "The Unwritten" at the top of my read pile every month. This new title looks like it won’t be far behind.

I like zombie stories. Zombies are probably my favorite of the mystical monsters (vampires, werewolves and the like). There is just something cool and scary and awesome about the idea of zombies. I love the “Walking Dead” (and before anyone cries foul as to why it isn’t on my pull list, it’s one of the few exceptions that I pick up in trade. I started reading it in trade form and now I’m kinda stuck with the six month wait). So even just the title was enough to grab me and make me want to read more.

It sounds like a book that will be fun to read with a quirky fresh take on the zombie idea. Instead of a post apocalyptic dark tale, this book offers a modern world with monsters infused within it. Our main character Gwen is just your average zombie gravedigger detective. As a zombie she must eat a brain once a month to keep her own memories and personality and not become a mindless shambly thing. But as she digests a brain she shares the memories of the deceased person for a week and is compelled to help resolve any unfinished business they may have had.

The title features an amusing cast of characters including a hippie ghost and a were-terrier. We’ve also been promised future characters in the form of monster hunters, vampires, a sexy mummy, a mad scientist, a Teen Frankenstein, a ghostly pulp avenger, a fish-man, a cultist, secret agents, Soviet Zombie Super Soldiers, and a talking chimpanzee. Roberson seems to have a lot planned for the world of "iZombie", and I look forward to being along for the ride.

But don’t take my word for it. Links are your friends. You can find the solicitations for the first three issues on Vertigo’s website. There are not one, but two interviews with the creators of the project, the second of which contains a preview of some pages from issue one. And there is another bonus preview, seven pages that were published in the “House of Mystery Annual” back in February. I have no idea if this is a separate thing or a preview of some pages from a later issue, but it lets you see the art and some of the characters. I can’t imagine that it’s really a standalone though since it doesn’t really resolve anything, but what do I know. However it’s worth a read if nothing else than to see Gwen dressed up in a “Shaun of the Dead” inspired Halloween costume.

I’m really excited about this one, and in wonderful Vertigo fashion the first issue is only be $1. You have very little to lose by trying this one out. It was released May 5th, so you still have time to get to your comic shop and find it. I won’t get this issue until early June, so you can enjoy it before me!