Tag: zombie graphic novels

Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog by Kyle Starks, Gabo #BookReview

Posted on by Lilyn G

Title: Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog | Series: Dead of Winter Vol 1 | Author: Kyle Starks | Illustrator: Gabo  | Publisher: Oni Press | ISBN13: 9781620104835 | Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Horror | Language: English | Triggers: Animal cruelty | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Source: Received a copy from Netgalley for review consideration

Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog

From the tabletop smash hit comes this new comic series starring your favorite characters from Plaid Hat Games’ DEAD OF WINTER, written by Kyle Starks (the Eisner Award-nominated Sexcastle), and illustrated by Gabo (The Life After).

In the pantheon of superheroes, none are more loveable and loyal than everyone’s favorite good ol’ dog, Sparky. Surviving in the wintery apocalypse of the undead, this former TV show stunt dog turned zombie killing machine just wants to make friends and be a good boy. As his fellow survivors scavenge for supplies in the frigid wasteland, will Sparky be able to protect his companions from threats both undead and otherwise? Collects issues #1-4 from the “Good Good Dog” storyline from DEAD OF WINTER! – Goodreads

Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog Review

Dead of Winter is not a kid-friendly comic. Just need to get that out of the way. I made the mistake of thinking “Hey, it’s got a doggo on the cover! That’s gotta be kid friendly, right?” And, well, if you minus the multiple curse words on basically every page, I guess it might be. Luckily, I have a chill child who knows she’s not allowed to curse, so she appointed herself Official Bleeper, and we kept reading. (She got to BLEEP a lot.) And, bleeping aside (or maybe that added to it), it was a hoot!

So, we’ve never played (or even heard of) Dead of Winter. So, this is simply a review of the graphic novel at face value, nothing more or less. We liked the few characters we got introduced to. I laughed at the Fireman in the Post-Apocalyptic setting. (Joe Hill nod?) Ruckus had us both snorting. The female characters were surprisingly non-annoying, but didn’t stand out in any particular way. Crazy Cop and Bad Santa were… well, they were there. Sparky the dog quickly won us both over. The golden with psychological issues and a cape is a national treasure, I think.

Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog contained four issues, and came in at 114 pages including cover variants. It was action-packed on both human and dog parts. Sparky can wield a weapon like you wouldn’t believe!  It was very on-the-surface, basically just an introduction and a bit of butt-kickery, really. (I do wonder about Crazy Cop, though…)   Overall, it was a fun read, even if it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I chose it. (I had Pestilence Vol 1 lined up to read before my kid was wanting to read with me. At least Dead of Winter nixed excessive nudity. Well, nudity at all, really.) If you’re wanting just a mindless, fun, zombie-themed read with an unexpectedly furry main character, Dead of Winter is perfect.

Miss L’s review: Funny! It was really good, but there was a lot of BLEEP words. But I got the job for that, so it was fun. Sparky was a cute doggy. Most of the characters were cursy but funny. We read them in accents.  I would give it 5 out of 5 stars. I would read more of it. But maybe with not so much cursing next time.

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The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks #BookReview

Posted on by Lilyn G

Title: The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks | Series: The Zombie Survival Guide | Author: Max Brooks | Illustrator: Ibraim Roberson |  Pub. Date: 2010-10-5 | Pages: 144 | ASIN: B0045EO72E | Genre: Horror Graphic Novel | Rating: 2 out of 5 | Source: Library

The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks

Those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
From the Stone Age to the information age, the undead have threatened to engulf the human race. They’re coming. They’re hungry.
Don’t wait for them to come to you!
This is the graphic novel the fans demanded: major zombie attacks from the dawn of humanity. On the African savannas, against the legions of ancient Rome, on the high seas with Francis Drake . . . every civilization has faced them. Here are the grisly and heroic stories-complete with eye-popping artwork that pulsates with the hideous faces of the undead.
Organize before they rise!
Scripted by the world’s leading zombie authority, Max Brooks, “Recorded Attacks” reveals how other eras and cultures have dealt with-and survived-the ancient viral plague. By immersing ourselves in past horror we may yet prevail over the coming outbreak in our time.

Book cover for Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks

The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks Review

The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks covers 12 different attacks, starting with the earliest (60,000 B.C.) and working forward to closer to present day. While the first attack spanned several pages, the second one wasn’t really even an ‘attack’ at all. It was more the discovery of the virus and speculation. The rest seem to vary in length, and went from moderately interesting to skim-worthy and back again several times.

I don’t know what I think of this. On one hand, I loved the art. Ibraim Roberson does an amazing job, making monochrome images that feel like they could leap off the page at times. There’s one particular panel of a zombie, frozen solid in the snow, hand outstretched, which is disturbing and fantastic all at the same time. On the other hand, it takes a bit of the fun away from zombie attacks if you don’t at least get a splash of red every now and then! Basically, I loved the art, but just didn’t feel like it suited the subject.

The synopsis says “Scripted by the world’s leading zombie authority, Max Brooks, “Recorded Attacks” reveals how other eras and cultures have dealt with-and survived-the ancient viral plague.” They mean that. Literally. It seems like its just scenes of battle, interspersed with the occasional “So maybe they did x because…” I knew I was going to get to see zombie attacks – and I was cool with that – but I thought I’d get a little bit more. I was wrong.

The “Recorded Attacks” only seem to take up about 2/3rds of the book. (It’s sometimes hard to tell when reading in a browser versus reading on the Kindle.) The rest of it is advertisements for things related to the Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. Readers are invited to download the Zombie Survival Guide Scanner app, given the chance to click on links that will let them read excerpts from the books, and finally treated to a several page excerpt from Zombie Survival Guide. And then another several page excerpt from World War Z.

My final judgement? The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks was a cash grab, nothing more, nothing less. The illustrations are amazing, but everything else was lackluster.  Wouldn’t recommend you buy it unless it was on sale for maybe $.99 and you were a hardcore zombie hoarder.