By: Dan Abnett (writer), I.N.J. Culbard (art), Patricia Mulvihill (colors), Travis Lanham (letters), Mark Doyle (associate editor) & Will Dennis (editor)
The Story: To investigate his murder, Chief Inspector Suttle must enter Zone B.
A few things (with SPOILERS): 1). Different part of London – What set apart the first couple issues of Deadwardians was how different it was compared to normal zombie fare. I just reviewed the most recent issue of The Walking Dead this week–excellent comic, by the way–but TWD is a dirty world: the men need a shave (we never see the women’s legs, but I presume they do as well), everyone looks like they have BO and bad breath, dinner is a bulging cans of pinto beans that expired two years ago–ugh. The New Deadwardians has shown us a different side to a zombie world. Granted, it is 50 years post-outbreak, but the side of 1910 London we saw in issues #1 and #2 was clean. It had proper gentlemen wearing ties, butlers, cooks preparing meals, etc.
Well, that was what “Zone A” is like. We’d heard references to “Zone B”, but hadn’t seen it until this issue. Very different place. This is where the common folk live and it is no where near as nice. This is the slum/ghetto of London complete with dirt, grime, hungry children and cathouses. Honestly, it changes my perception of the series a little to see this. As mentioned above, the cleanliness of this series is what set it apart and if it is just the ruling elite that have the nice stuff, I’m not sure how different it is anymore. I mean, if you gave the protagonists of The Walking Dead 50 years, you could imagine Rick having nicer living quarters than the peons.
2). Not what I thought Zone B would look like – Honestly, the way Zone B was discussed over the last few issues, I thought Zone B was where the zombies ran loose. As in, “We have a fence around Zone A and it is nice, but Zone B is a wasteland.” Actually, I thought “Zone B” might prove to be the etiological root of the word “zombie”. Guess I was mistaken…
3). Lost humanity – There is a lot of good stuff in this issue about lost humanity. Seeing Inspector Suttle visit the cathouse was interesting. It ties a little into lots of popular vampire fiction and the whole “lost humanity thing”, but it really completed Suttle’s character to see that even though he doesn’t really have urges to eat normal food or have sex with a pretty lady; he kinda knows that he’s supposed to have those urges. Moreover, he misses having those urges and knows that the lack of those urges sets him apart. It means he’s dead, so he’s willing to take steps to fit in and appear normal. But, you get the sense that the effort to “fit-in” gets less all the time. Then there is the new urge to drink blood. You have to wonder if, over time, these noble Englishmen who took “the cure” for the good of the country (to fight the zombies) will just become a new class of monster as they stop caring about fitting in and just want to drink blood?
As an aside, I do appreciate that Abnett has created vampires that aren’t sex-crazed. I’ve never gotten the concept that vampires are somehow sexy beasts that normal humans swoon over (Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, True Blood, Twilight, etc).
4). Class issues – Bundled throughout this issue are heaps of class issues. You’ve got the difference between Zone A and Zone B. One is clean and looks safe as hell. The other is dirty and looks to be doing without. So, there’s seething resentment coming from the residents of Zone B. However, contrast this with Suttle’s firm belief that he took the cure to save these commoners from being zombie food. Suttle was apart and above these folks in life and is apart and above again in his unlife. It just shows a different mindset; Suttle has plenty to eat and doesn’t worry about his housing, so he is able to ponder the big questions. The poor folks are so busy trying to find food, that they don’t/can’t really think beyond today. That’s just a truism and balancing those two worldviews has been a challenge for humanity since the dawn of civilization.
5). Lovely art – The art is great in this issue (and series). The best thing about the art is how understated it is. There is some variety, but the basic structure is a six-panel grid. Culbard often mixes it up by merging some of the six panels, but the basic structure is six-panel. I’m the first reviewer to go gaga over artists who are creative in their panel layouts; guys like Greg Capullo or Gabriel Hardman come to mind as artists who have mastered creative layouts. But lots of lesser artists would be well-served to stick to the basics. Just because Neymar can do cool things with a soccer ball, that doesn’t mean I can do it too even if I practice a lot. That isn’t to say that Culbard doesn’t have the skills to do Capullo/Hardman type fanciness (he might–I’ve never seen him try), but it’s more to say that simplicity can be just as awesome. Another place where Culbard isn’t screwing around too much is with the panels themselves. I think I’ve said before, but it’s like Culbard had a copy of Will Eisner’s “22 Panels that Always Work” next to him as he drew this. He’s mixing it up somewhat, but again, stick with what works! Of course, the thing that makes the art special is that Culbard also draws really well. For a series like this, you need to be able to draw clothes that look realistic and he aces that. But….in this issue Inspector Suttle visits a cathouse and Culbard shows that he can draw topless women very well too. What’s striking about his women is how real they look. These ladies don’t look like supermodels….and you wouldn’t expect that…..they’re 1910 London prostitutes, they should look fairly normal. It’s just a nice break from the huge-breasted, pornstar look that pervades superhero comics.
Great coloring too by Ms. Mulvihill. I don’t really have time/space to give it it’s full due, but she’s doing the same type of understated work that Culbard is doing. This book looks great and I hope both she and Culbard can stay in the rotation at Vertigo after this miniseries ends.
Conclusion: This is another wonderful issue of Deadwardians. Even though it lost some of it’s differentiating cleanliness, it is still a very good comic. Why is this just a miniseries? I’d love a 30-issue run of this stuff.
Grade: A-
– Dean Stell
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Conclusion