uosdwisrdewoh's review against another edition
4.0
A fun, light supernatural story.
Gwen is a zombie, but not the shuffling, moaning kind. She holds a job as a gravedigger, which helps her sneak a brain every month or so, keeping her from turning into such a mindless freak. Her latest brain, though, has memories that she finds hard to ignore. And so she sets off on the path to solve a mystery, accompanied by her ghost friend who died in the sixties and is baffled by things like the "Inner Nets".
Unlike other writers, Chris Roberson doesn't go for cheap shocks but rather introduces an ensemble cast with economy. You're never overwhelmed by the number of characters, but at the same time you have a good idea about each one's personality. He's aided to a great degree by Mike Allred's art. While Allred's deceptively simple, cartoony art has left me cold in the past, here it, alongside Laura Allred's day-glo colors, brings a wonderfully playful tone to potentially dark subject matter. The fourth chapter alone is a tour de force, with Gwen being swept into another time and world to explore the rules of this supernatural world, with she and her guide gliding between and in and out of panels in a breathtaking series of spreads. This sequence alone takes the book from good to great, marking it as a breakthrough work for Roberson and Allred. Well worth a look.
Gwen is a zombie, but not the shuffling, moaning kind. She holds a job as a gravedigger, which helps her sneak a brain every month or so, keeping her from turning into such a mindless freak. Her latest brain, though, has memories that she finds hard to ignore. And so she sets off on the path to solve a mystery, accompanied by her ghost friend who died in the sixties and is baffled by things like the "Inner Nets".
Unlike other writers, Chris Roberson doesn't go for cheap shocks but rather introduces an ensemble cast with economy. You're never overwhelmed by the number of characters, but at the same time you have a good idea about each one's personality. He's aided to a great degree by Mike Allred's art. While Allred's deceptively simple, cartoony art has left me cold in the past, here it, alongside Laura Allred's day-glo colors, brings a wonderfully playful tone to potentially dark subject matter. The fourth chapter alone is a tour de force, with Gwen being swept into another time and world to explore the rules of this supernatural world, with she and her guide gliding between and in and out of panels in a breathtaking series of spreads. This sequence alone takes the book from good to great, marking it as a breakthrough work for Roberson and Allred. Well worth a look.
library_ann's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy the tv show that is based on this comic book series. I finally decided to seek out the source material, and find that the two are like distant cousins. The comic series is more Supernatural meets What We Do in the Shadows -- there are all kinds of monsters in the world, but the story basically happens from the point of view of the monsters.
At the early stages of the book, I had some trouble reconciling what I was reading with what I had seen on tv. Eventually they main character revealed herself and her name, Gwen (NOT Liv from the show), so it got easier to separate the two. The first volume of the comic compilation barely got the story started, so I will be seeking out the further adventures.
At the early stages of the book, I had some trouble reconciling what I was reading with what I had seen on tv. Eventually they main character revealed herself and her name, Gwen (NOT Liv from the show), so it got easier to separate the two. The first volume of the comic compilation barely got the story started, so I will be seeking out the further adventures.
in_libris_speramus's review against another edition
3.0
It would be really neat if people would stop calling Gwen the "hot zombie" or "sexy zombie". I get it, a girl zombie is like, a really big deal. And male comics readers outnumber female comics readers, so we're clearly going to get a bunch of the male gaze bullshit over a damned dead girl, but ew. Ew. EW.
Anyway, I've had this graphic novel for some time and finally got around to reading it. Haven't watched the TV show, not sure exactly when I got this graphic novel (possibly it was passed on to me by a friend?), but I'm trying to read through the mass quantities of miscellaneous graphic novels I have and this was short enough for my post-graveyard (hah) shift brain to stick with the whole thing in one shot.
All these words and no real review. Hmm. Well, I liked it. I'm not inspired to watch the TV show, but if I come across a copy of volume 2 in my travels, I might consider picking it up. It's refreshing to have a female protagonist in an otherwise dude-dominated comic genre. It's also nice to have a non-Walking Dead zombie comic. iZombie has sort of a Scooby-Doo meets Buffy and the Scooby Gang (hah, again) vibe to it. You've got a weredog, a ghost, a zombie, a mummy, a bunch of vampires, a few budding mysteries to solve, and some monster hunters that are probably going to crash all of the parties at some point. I kept expecting Ellie to say "jinkies", I'm pretty sure the Mystery Machine is lurking in the shadows, and at some point Gwen is totally going to hook up with the cute monster hunter and throw both of them into some crisis-lite version of Buffy and Angel. Oh, and the mummy has a snow leopard or panther or similar giant cat for a pet. Cats are always a great addition.
I have also just realized, about 15 years late, that Sarah Michelle Gellar's career is quite Scooby-tastic.
Anyway, I've had this graphic novel for some time and finally got around to reading it. Haven't watched the TV show, not sure exactly when I got this graphic novel (possibly it was passed on to me by a friend?), but I'm trying to read through the mass quantities of miscellaneous graphic novels I have and this was short enough for my post-graveyard (hah) shift brain to stick with the whole thing in one shot.
All these words and no real review. Hmm. Well, I liked it. I'm not inspired to watch the TV show, but if I come across a copy of volume 2 in my travels, I might consider picking it up. It's refreshing to have a female protagonist in an otherwise dude-dominated comic genre. It's also nice to have a non-Walking Dead zombie comic. iZombie has sort of a Scooby-Doo meets Buffy and the Scooby Gang (hah, again) vibe to it. You've got a weredog, a ghost, a zombie, a mummy, a bunch of vampires, a few budding mysteries to solve, and some monster hunters that are probably going to crash all of the parties at some point. I kept expecting Ellie to say "jinkies", I'm pretty sure the Mystery Machine is lurking in the shadows, and at some point Gwen is totally going to hook up with the cute monster hunter and throw both of them into some crisis-lite version of Buffy and Angel. Oh, and the mummy has a snow leopard or panther or similar giant cat for a pet. Cats are always a great addition.
I have also just realized, about 15 years late, that Sarah Michelle Gellar's career is quite Scooby-tastic.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting zombie book. The main character, Gwen, is a zombie who must eat a person's brain every week in order to maintain her human appearance and mind. Unfortunately for her she also gets the memories of the brain's owner. She hangs around with a ghost girl from the sixties and a guy who turns into a were-terrier every month. Pretty intriguing concept. Partway through the book a nice semi-egyptian explanation is given for the presence of different types of supernatural beings that are running around. Kind of refreshing to see the presence of these beings explained when most books just want you to take them for granted. So far this seems like an entertaining series, and I'll be picking up the second volume when I get the chance.
magnetgrrl's review against another edition
2.0
I watched the TV series hyped on Netflix before I realized it was based on a comic and then bought this first volume to check out the origins. It's not often I say an adaptation did it better, but it seems like they took the best gems out of this idea, and turned them into something more cohesive. This first book is OK, but really the only thing doing it for me is Mike Allred's artwork, which is smooth and cool as always.
The story in the comic jumps around too much, and it's hard to follow. There's a LOT MORE going on in the comic that makes way less sense, or is just unexplained, than in the TV series.
Overall the entire concept is pretty done in from the start: Girl with a great future as a doctor + great future husband + great, rich family and great friends, gets scratched by a zombie and has to give all that up to start working a crappier job so she has access to brains in order to stay sort of living. To start feeling useful in the world again, she solves the murders of the people whose brains she has eaten, and tries to help stop an impending zombie apocalypse. Seems like just another "Person with special and unusual quality X solves crimes!" serial drama, but capitalizing on the popularity of zombies and also touching on anything supernatural (werewolves, vampires, ghosts) that wanders nearby - like about 50% or more of pop culture at the moment. If it's not supernatural, it's GEEK! Sigh.
I might keep reading the comic to see where it goes but, I would recommend the TV show before the comic to anyone at this point.
The story in the comic jumps around too much, and it's hard to follow. There's a LOT MORE going on in the comic that makes way less sense, or is just unexplained, than in the TV series.
Overall the entire concept is pretty done in from the start: Girl with a great future as a doctor + great future husband + great, rich family and great friends, gets scratched by a zombie and has to give all that up to start working a crappier job so she has access to brains in order to stay sort of living. To start feeling useful in the world again, she solves the murders of the people whose brains she has eaten, and tries to help stop an impending zombie apocalypse. Seems like just another "Person with special and unusual quality X solves crimes!" serial drama, but capitalizing on the popularity of zombies and also touching on anything supernatural (werewolves, vampires, ghosts) that wanders nearby - like about 50% or more of pop culture at the moment. If it's not supernatural, it's GEEK! Sigh.
I might keep reading the comic to see where it goes but, I would recommend the TV show before the comic to anyone at this point.
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't think it was possible for a graphic novel centered on a zombie to be light and fluffy, but this one somehow manages to be just that while introducing an enjoyable core group of characters and setting up story to last for multiple volumes. Gwen's situation is certainly different from anything I've seen or read before and I can see why someone would snap this up to develop for TV.
canadianbookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
I very much enjoyed this graphic novel and I can't wait to get my hands on volume 2
sangd's review against another edition
4.0
For all fans of the TV series, I warn you it's very different. It was still very good, I like the drawings. I'm not very good in English, but it was still very easy to read. I can't wait to read the next book.
Pour tout les fans de la série télévisé, je vous avertis c'est très différent. C'était tout de même très bon, j'aime bien les dessins. Je ne suis pas très bonne en anglais, mais c'était quand même très facile à lire. J'ai hâte de lire le prochain tome.
Pour tout les fans de la série télévisé, je vous avertis c'est très différent. C'était tout de même très bon, j'aime bien les dessins. Je ne suis pas très bonne en anglais, mais c'était quand même très facile à lire. J'ai hâte de lire le prochain tome.
jexjthomas's review against another edition
3.0
This is okay. I like Allred's art and the story is interesting enough, just feels like it's missing personality.