Xombie #1 Advance Review

Chris Buchner: chrisb@215ink.com
Available in stores 4.11.07

Xombie took the internet by storm, starting out as an online comic strip/flash movie series with all major production handled by series creator James Farr. The series leads into the novel by Farr (now available), Xombie: Dead on Arrival, which leads to the new mini-series from Devil's Due Productions, Xombie: Reanimated.

Xombie is the story about a world in the near future where the living dead roam the earth after all of humanity was affected by a virus. The dead became zombies immediately, while humans will become zombies when they die. Humans are forced to barricade themselves in settlements to protect themselves from the flesh-eating monsters and prevent the process from happening any quicker.

While out on an expedition, a helicopter was attacked by a sea creature causing the young child aboard, Zoe, to fall into the sea. She wakes up on land and is rescued from zombies by Dirge, a variant zombie called a xombie that retained all their human mental attributes despite being the living dead. Dirge decides to help get Zoe back to the human settlement armed with only his shovel and chain, and with the help of his dog Cerberus and living mummy Nephthys.

Xombie: Reanimated takes place 10 years after the events of the book and picks up where the novel leaves off. At the Human Settlement, it’s pretty much business as usual when a teenaged Zoe is called out of class to meet with Lt. Sorren Barrack, chief engineer Camden Marrow, and her mother, Zora. They tell her that a possible xombie had taken down the team of soldiers and hijacked their train carrying the new generator core for the settlement, which must be replaced every 12 months. If the unknown assailant is a variant, they can’t count on any living soldiers defeating it. They need Dirge.

Barrack takes Zoe and his team back to Destiny City where they've tracked dirge to a hospital. Zoe runs ahead of them to see her friend after so long, and ends up meeting him by being rescued once again. After a reunion in the true Xombie fashion, Dirge is filled in on his mission. He agrees to do it under the conditions that Zoe be taken back and kept safe, and that Nephthys goes back with them to provide an extra line of defense. Zoe, of course, has other plans.

It would be helpful for anyone new to the Xombie lore to immerse themselves into the other tales to get a full understanding of what they'll get out of this comic, but fortunately it's not a complete necessity. The narration and dialogue provides enough of a synopsis of the previous chapters to allow anyone to get the general idea of the story. A major plus on Farr's part. The artwork also adequately captures the feeling of the flash series, while of course improving upon it where necessary for a static comic. The story itself is nicely paced and a good set-up for the rest of the series. And, as it's done by the creator of said series, there's no chance of it not maintaining the feel that made it such a hit on the internet.

If you're a fan of the series, or just curious, definitely add this to your pull list.
For more information visit www.devilsdue.net

5 out of 5 Inks
    

04.02.07