From writer Tate Brombal and artist Jacob Phillips comes a story of keeping the world moving after its bloody demise in Everything Dead and Dying #1. Featuring colors from Pip Martin and lettering by Aditya Bidikar, this opening issue offers a sense of tragedy and relatability despite the protagonists’ unconventional actions. With a humanizing, deeply saddening script and phenomenal visual work, this is the most promising zombie comic in recent memory.
“Jack Chandler is the sole survivor of the zombie apocalypse in his rural farming community, but rather than eliminate them, he has chosen to continue living alongside the undead—including the husband and adopted daughter he fought so hard to have. But when his town is discovered by outsiders, Jack suddenly becomes the one thing standing in the way of those who hope to kill his family for good.”
Writing & Plot
Tate Brombal excels at crafting a zombie story with some unique elements in the pages of Everything Dead and Dying #1. Jack Chandler, a kind, hardworking farmer is such a stellar protagonist due to his drive to just keep living during this unimaginable apocalypse. What’s different here in this story and separates him from the like of a character like Rick Grimes is that he literally just keeps farming. Brombal sets up the story by splitting events into two separate timelines – before the fall and after – and switching between the two seemingly at random. We see Jack Chandler and his life with his husband and their adopted daughter on one page in a happy life before the virus, then on a whim we shift into what has happened since. Brombal’s strategy with structure here is what makes Chandler’s characterization so memorable – and what makes the story ultimately so tragic and oddly relatable. Watching a man build his perfect life and be accepted in his small town on a successful farm, then seeing him do everything he can in vain hope to keep that alive during a bloody apocalypse makes you root for him, despite it all. Not only is this the best zombie story in recent memory (aside from this year’s 28 Years Later and News From The Fallout), it cements Brombal as one of the best character writers in comics today.
Art Direction
It’s hard to imagine an artist with such high creative pedigree drawing a zombie comic, but Jacob Phillips joins Tate Brombal to make one of the best looking stories of its kind with Everything Dead and Dying #1. Phillips’s pencils and shading offer stellar character detail and atmosphere to each page of the comic. Yes, the book definitely resembles some of his dad’s work (he’s the son of Sean Phillips if you haven’t figured that out), which is also why the book looks so good. Phillips brings so much depth to each character on the page, running through the wide ranges of emotions this story involves with facial detail and body language. His sequential direction carries the book along at a delicate, careful pace while taking care to keep the two timelines straight. There are a couple “wait, what’s happening?” moments that the times shifts bring that are clearly intended, and that shock is carried by how Phillips changes the tone of the panels. He repeats frames a lot to create parallels between the happy before-times and the tragic apocalypse-time. Phillips’s pencils and direction are greatly aided by Pip Martin’s colors, which use lighting to contrast the two timelines. Most of the pre-virus sequences are bathed in idealistic sunlight that sells the happiness and optimism of the Chandler’s household. As a contrast, the scenes set after the virus comes are dark, giving an ominous sense of loss and, well, darkness. What’s so interesting about the latter sequences is how the sunlight returns as we watch Jack after he’s accepted his new lot in life, and understand why he’s choosing to carry on as he is – despite how deluded it may be. Finally, Aditya Bidikar’s lettering does a stellar job of establishing the tone of the reading experience. The way he layers in SFX lettering into the backroom with great choices builds tension in the darker sequences, setting up some of the most memorable moments in the issue. Overall, Everything Dead and Dying is off to a phenomenal visual start.
Verdict
Everything Dead and Dying #1 is a stellar and unique opening issue, and one of the most intriguing pieces of zombie fiction in recent memory. Tate Brombal’s script is tragic yet strangely hopeful, with excellent character writing and narration throughout. The visuals from Jacob Phillips and Pip Martin are full of outstanding character detail and careful direction, making for one of the best looking horror comics of the year. Be sure to grab this debut issue when it hits shelves on September 3rd!
