Publisher: Back Row Comics
Writer: Brady Sullivan
Pencils/Inks: JC Grande
Colors: Jessie Alley
Letters: Fred Stresing
It’s Halloween time, so why not bring in a zombie story. How about one from a time long since past, even? The folks at Back Row Comics (they also made Revolution Aisle 9, so they know how to make a horror comic) are back with a zombie tale in the old west. This ongoing webcomic has been collected into a first issue book, and I gotta say, by the time I was done reading it, I headed to the site to continue where I left off.
The story brings you in with a very dangerous scene, and then backtracks to how we get to that moment. The story is well done by having characters introduced and getting back story on them fluidly through dialog. We learn a lot about our main cast just by listening in on a conversation at the local saloon; it’s well done.
A small town out in the desert gets a bank robbery gone bad with a shoot out between the law and the outlaws, then a trip to a legendary tree of life (that’s been perverted by settler’s) brings about a zombie outbreak. Simple, but the story is just getting started and I’d love to see where this all goes, since right now everything is looking bad all around. Half the town is dead, and some of the nastier bad guys are still alive to throw the survivors to the dead.
The art here works; the line work makes it definitely feel like a western comic. The hatching on everything gives it that unpolished edge that evokes America’s old west, everything is slightly dirtier and rougher. The colors keep things fresh and alive (or undead), feelings like an old horror or western comic from back before the comic book code. That’s a good thing, as those comics were awesome to look at, and this comic and company tend to remind me of those old comics I would find in antique stores.
If you like horror, zombies in particular, or westerns, this is definitely a book to pick up. I’ve been getting fatigued by zombie stories, but this one was interesting enough to keep me wanting to come back for more. So thanks Back Row Comics for this book, it makes me want to read more, about zombies again, no less.
Alexander Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
