Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Interview With Alan Moore, Part 1

      Dylan B. Tano
      December 30, 2004
      Meth Addict
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Jumping On: DC Universe Rebirth #1

      Dylan B. Tano
      May 31, 2016
      Big Two, DC Comics, Jumping On
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Countdown to the King: Godzilla - The Half Century War

      Dylan B. Tano
      May 14, 2019
      Columns, IDW
    Recent
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.0

      Review: 'Black Paths' has amazing art but the story meanders and wanders

      Dylan B. Tano
      September 5, 2013
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • 2.3

      Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

      Daniel Gehen
      February 16, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Going Digital with the Pander Bros.

      Dylan B. Tano
      May 14, 2012
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Sweet Christmas! The Creation of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire

      Dylan B. Tano
      August 22, 2014
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Exclusive Marvel Preview: Age of Apocalypse #5

      Dylan B. Tano
      October 15, 2015
      Big Two, Marvel Comics, Previews
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'Out of Nothing' is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Dylan B. Tano
      July 23, 2018
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY
  • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN'S UNIVERSE
  • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Reviews

Story Arc Review: Zombies Hi #1-7

Dylan B. Tano
January 11, 2013
Reviews

 

One of my favorite things about reading small press and independent comics is watching them grow as they go along. Zombies Hi is no different in this aspect. Set in the town of Derry (which is in Ireland for those colonials like myself) the zombie apocalypse has struck the city, still buried under feelings from the Northern Ireland resistance movement (which most colonials don't know much about, sorry lads). Zombies Hi is full of good old gory goodness, summoning back echos of feelings of the pre-Comics Code horror comics. The first issue features a decapitated zombie head pinballing off of a cop car and popping into prominent view on the panel in rottingly gooey detail. 

 

 

The art in the first couple of issues is really busy and a tad inconsistent. There is a lot of promise, but combining the crowded art with a lack of colors to help define everything makes it really easy for things to get lost in the background and gets overall confusing if you aren't careful. However, when they aren't trying to do too much with the art, it shines. The zombies are varied in appearance, avoiding an overly generic look helps separate this from the throng of zombie books out there as zombie fever continues to invade geekdom. The fact that the clothing and everything fits with the style of the region is refreshing. You'll see football (see: soccer) jerseys and also some soccer humor (a guy chests a zombie head; something i wouldn't recommend, and then rifles the head away from him with a volley kick). It doesn't feel like an American comic prancing about Ireland because it is scripted and drawn by fellows across the pond, which shows in the art and definitely in the writing. 

 

 

Irish slang is weird. Words like "craic" (crack), "da" (dad) and names like Paddy are filled throughout the comic. It is wonderfully immersive. The story at first glance seems like your run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse story. Starts off with a mysterious virus and quickly escalates into a full blown Zpocalypse. Then we join a group of survivors that have walled off the capital with the politicians calling the shots from within. The defenses are flimsy and they're desperate for food and medical supplies. You'd be forgiven for dismissing this as a cut-and-dry zombie survival story… but you'd be wrong. McLaughlin's script has a lot going on in the background and in a way is using the zombie story to strike up a narrative about the Northern Ireland resistance and life thereafter. McLaughlin highlights the deep mistrust amongst the people of Northern Ireland and those in charge. The dialogue flows well enough, the text bubbles can sometimes dominate the panels, but as the series progresses the dialogue gets a lot stronger. You don't have to be an expert in Northern Ireland to understand what is going on. They do a great job in explaining the hostilities. You've got two factions that have been at war with each other for a long time suddenly trying to work together. Friction is high, resulting in sabotage and subterfuge. Paddy, the cop son of a revolutionary takes center stage. You see him start off as a pretty atypical guy who has issues with his father, but very quickly he changes course and starts to take care of those who need guidance. The characters are pretty fun in variation. A doctor who can't bring himself to kill the undead, a priest who can't decide on his faith and a rocker obsessed with getting his band back together. It is a fun cast of characters for a writer to work with. The story comes along, but I'd like to see the creative team slow down the pacing just a bit and flesh out the rest of the cast. I'm sure they are working toward just that and the few pre Z-Day moments have really shined. 

 

 

The art from Coleman and Logue benefits greatly from the coloring job of Roo Thompson and Dannii Coyle. The art can stand by on its own, but once color splashes onto the page it changes the whole dynamic of the series. Characters suddenly come to life and the background seems to pop to life. The difference really is night and day.

Each comic comes with a few short comics and stories by various writers and artists. They're delightfully brief and some are quite a bit clever. These are tacked on at the end of each issue and I'd like to see some collaboration going forward with some of these lads. 

 

 

We live in a wonderful age where a couple of guys up to no good can create and publish their own comics. The internet has really brought in a new age of independent comics. Harkening back to the early days of guys hunched over a table publishing early horror mags in their garage to pioneering the industry, teams like the people at Uproar Comics are keeping that pioneering spirit alive thanks to modern technology and sheer will. It isn't always pretty, but it should always be commended. Zombies Hi isn't always perfect and they have a lot of work left to do, but it is off to a strong start and you can really see them grow into their roles as each issue goes a long. By issue seven it felt like a bonafide comic with strong art, color and plot. 

 

You can buy Zombies Hi from Uproar Comics.


 

 

Dylan B. Tano is a relatively new reviewer powered by a love of bacon and constantly distracted by a kitten who would rather use his laptop as a bed. He grew up idolizing Spider-Man and can’t believe he gets to review comics all day.

You can read some of his short stories at tanoworks.tumblr.com

Dannii CoyleDanny McLaughlinDylan B. TanoRoo ThompsonUproar

Share On:
Tweet
Top 10 Favorite Films of 2012
Review: 47 Ronin #2

About The Author

Dylan B. Tano

Related Posts

  • 3.5

    Singles Going Steady: Floppies Roundup for 1/22/2013

    Danny Djeljosevic
    January 22, 2013
  • 4.0

    Real Talk: Superior Spider-Man #1

    Dylan B. Tano
    January 14, 2013

Latest Reviews

  • 3.0

    Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

    Daniel Gehen
    February 22, 2021
  • 4.5

    Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

    Daniel Gehen
    February 19, 2021
  • 2.3

    Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

    Daniel Gehen
    February 16, 2021
  • 4.3

    Review: RADIANT BLACK #1 Shines Brightly

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2021
  • 2.7

    Review: DEEP BEYOND #1 Can’t Commit to a Premise

    Daniel Gehen
    February 4, 2021
  • 2.0

    VINDICATION Falls Short of its Lofty Goals (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    February 1, 2021
  • 4.5

    DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    January 22, 2021
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

    Daniel Gehen
    December 14, 2020
  • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

    Daniel Gehen
    December 3, 2020
  • 4.5

    TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    October 29, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders