Revenge is the only thing that will drive some, even after death.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ryan Parrott
Art: Evgeniy Bornyakov
Colors: Juancho
Letterer: Charles Pritchett
What They Say:
As the dead begin to rise, Melissa follows a mysterious rider on a journey back into a life that could have been and Brandon witnesses how both the faithful and faithless deal with the undead walking the earth.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening installment of this series, out a few months ago, was one that clicked pretty well for me. Ryan Parrott put together the first layers of a world where the dead come back one day a year and there’s a lot involved in making sure it goes off right without it turning into carnage. Parrot’s script introduced a number of things that are built upon here and it allowed for Evgeniy Bornyakov to get more into the way the world operates, seemingly so much like ours but with just enough little oddities so that it sets itself apart. It’s a very real-world book for the most part and having Bornyakov on the design definitely helps as it feels really well-detailed and laid out, especially with Juancho’s color design, but still with an otherworldly element around the edges.
The bulk of the book feels like it focuses on what Mel and Jeremy are up to. There’s a romanticism to her being on his bike after he comes back from the dead on this fifth Dead Day but it’s one tempered by a man who has come for revenge. We get a decent flashback that fills in some of the gaps so we know how he was set to steal a few hundred grand from someone and that it obviously went bad. His intent is to find out where Billy’s location is from Billy’s mother Hilly who runs a bar. It’s a good sequence as we see how Mel is trying to reach him but he’s seen too much in the afterlife and is just focused on revenge and not wanting to hear how she moved on. This kind of material is what I wish there was more of, but we do get a decent sequence as the pair deal with Hilly when she arrives and really do basically luck out in getting the information they need.
The flashback side takes up a decent little chunk of pages but it helps to see Jeremy at this stage and what he was like and the youthful cockiness of it all. But the rest of the book focuses more on Brandon and Zack as they head out to meet the lovely young lady that has invited them to the ritual they’re performing. The trip is what makes up most of it as they see a checkpoint for dealing with the dead that aren’t playing by the rules and have a harder view of what must be done with them. This plays well against the opening where we see the government set up a table at the local cemetery in order to help process those that have come back so they can find who they’re looking for in the limited time that they have. It’s certainly better than just letting them go walkabout!
In Summary:
Though the gap between the first and second issues didn’t do the series any favors, there’s a lot to like here and the opening was distinctive enough that once you start reading this it all comes back pretty quickly. Parrott’s script covers a lot of ground while dealing with just a few characters – keep it small is key here – and leaning into some familiar territory with the obvious twist. Bornyakov has been one of my favorite artists that has done a lot at AfterShock in the last couple of years and his style is perfect for this book. I love the layouts and the flow of the story with how it all comes together and I really dig the character designs that have a strong lived-in look to them that really delights. I’m excited to see where this property goes.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: AfterShock Comics (Kindle Version)
Release Date: August 19th, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
