laughinglibra84's review
4.0
A zombie, a ghost, and a were-terrier walk into a bar. Gwendolyn and her friends just want to hang out and have some coffee and pie. A mad scientist and a centuries old mummy make their separate plans to take over the world. Monster Hunters and the V.E.I.L (also known as the Dead Presidents) keep the villains back as Eugene, Oregon has a population growth. Not everyone is alive..or even from this world. How will this situation end..or will it end at all. You will have to read from the front to back to find out. I thoroughly enjoyed 3\4 of this omnibus. The last 1/4 got too strange for me. Although I do think the ending justifies it.
locpressedbooks_'s review
3.0
You know what I really liked this comic. It was way different than the show, and I knew that going in, but it didn't wow me like I thought that it would, like I hoped that it would really.
What I did enjoy was the coloring, i'm not sure what it was, but the art style was really beautiful to me and I was in awe of every page just cause of the coloring alone. Now when it comes to the story line... eh. There were some moments where it got a little hairy, but it wasn't anything to really write home about.
Gwen is a gravedigger who lives in the cemetery that she works at, and after a hard day of burying bodies, at night she digs up the fresh ones to feast upon their brains. And just like the television show, on which this comic was based, she for fills the deceased persons last dying wish, now that can be making sure that a long lost daughter is taking care of herself and staying away from the "wrong" men, or taking a person spot on a skeeball team at the local arcade. Either way, that's her way of repaying the folks for eating their brains.
She also has two besties that is a ghost, named Ellie, and a were-terrier named Scott, that's right, a Were-TERRIER, like the dog. lol It's really just about them and their life in Portland trying not to found out, and trying to lead a somewhat "normal" life.
There's a Mummy, that has stood the test of time, that is trying to be the Yoda to Gwen's Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Zombie, making sure that she finds a way to not "lose herself". There is a coven of Vampire chicks who run the local paint ball spot where they feed of the unsuspecting groups of dudes. There is a group of government federal agents who are supernatural in nature (a bad ass zombie chick with metal arms named Kennedy, a ghost and a were-cat of sorts who is also pretty bad-ass) all under the watchful eye of a Zombie Abe Lincoln, which I found hilarious. And they call themselves.... The Dead Presidents lol. And of course there is an opposing group that was sent to Portland in the first place to stomp out this rise in supernatural beings, the White coats, who call themselves the Fossor Corporation, which has existed just as long as there have been supernatural beings. So yes, there is definitely a great cast of characters and side characters that are present in this comic.
I think that one thing that I keep coming back to in my mind is how the Mummy, named Amon, explained how you either become a Zombie, a Ghost or a person possessed by the spirit of an animal (shapeshifter like creature) To me, that was kind of the coolest part, it helps explain so much.
All in all, I did like it, there was even a forbidden romance and I want to say that there was someone finding themselves out of the closest. But the story as a whole wasn't enough for me. It almost became a chore to even finish this and I didn't like that at all. The dialogue was good, the action was good, the coloring was great, and I liked the characters. 3 stars.
What I did enjoy was the coloring, i'm not sure what it was, but the art style was really beautiful to me and I was in awe of every page just cause of the coloring alone. Now when it comes to the story line... eh. There were some moments where it got a little hairy, but it wasn't anything to really write home about.
Gwen is a gravedigger who lives in the cemetery that she works at, and after a hard day of burying bodies, at night she digs up the fresh ones to feast upon their brains. And just like the television show, on which this comic was based, she for fills the deceased persons last dying wish, now that can be making sure that a long lost daughter is taking care of herself and staying away from the "wrong" men, or taking a person spot on a skeeball team at the local arcade. Either way, that's her way of repaying the folks for eating their brains.
She also has two besties that is a ghost, named Ellie, and a were-terrier named Scott, that's right, a Were-TERRIER, like the dog. lol It's really just about them and their life in Portland trying not to found out, and trying to lead a somewhat "normal" life.
There's a Mummy, that has stood the test of time, that is trying to be the Yoda to Gwen's Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Zombie, making sure that she finds a way to not "lose herself". There is a coven of Vampire chicks who run the local paint ball spot where they feed of the unsuspecting groups of dudes. There is a group of government federal agents who are supernatural in nature (a bad ass zombie chick with metal arms named Kennedy, a ghost and a were-cat of sorts who is also pretty bad-ass) all under the watchful eye of a Zombie Abe Lincoln, which I found hilarious. And they call themselves.... The Dead Presidents lol. And of course there is an opposing group that was sent to Portland in the first place to stomp out this rise in supernatural beings, the White coats, who call themselves the Fossor Corporation, which has existed just as long as there have been supernatural beings. So yes, there is definitely a great cast of characters and side characters that are present in this comic.
I think that one thing that I keep coming back to in my mind is how the Mummy, named Amon, explained how you either become a Zombie, a Ghost or a person possessed by the spirit of an animal (shapeshifter like creature) To me, that was kind of the coolest part, it helps explain so much.
All in all, I did like it, there was even a forbidden romance and I want to say that there was someone finding themselves out of the closest. But the story as a whole wasn't enough for me. It almost became a chore to even finish this and I didn't like that at all. The dialogue was good, the action was good, the coloring was great, and I liked the characters. 3 stars.
allyshay's review
4.0
This is -nothing- like the iZombie show on the CW, and I'm oddly ok with it. While there are some similarities between Gwen and Liv, the comics are more fantastical. Besides zombies, the series introduces mummies, ghosts, wereterriers, Frankenstein-type monsters (and a zombie hybrid), dead Presidents, vampires, monster hunters, and an all-powerful space god being. They all create this world of mystical beings that coexist (not always happily) in "our" world.
The wit and tone of the TV series is here, but the comics are so much better (if you appreciate that comics are meant to exist on a plane of nonsensical reality) for the creative fantasy world Gwen and her friends live in. I was expecting the comics to follow the tv show, just as Seasons 8 and counting of Buffy picked up after the show went off the air. But I really enjoyed the world that Allred(s) and Roberson created. I wish they were able to continue beyond #28, but I'm happy some iteration was able to continue into a tv show that has adapted it to fit into more tv friendly material. Not to mention that some of the content does have parallels to the TV world of BTVS and Angel - which existed on the CW and ended because of ratings issues (Angel, at least.) So the change in format to not follow comic canon is understandable.
I digress. Thoroughly enjoyable read. There are continuity issues between books and some character development/secondary storylines that never get fully fleshed out. However, in the afterward, Roberson explains that he had expected to be able to do so had the story not ended and because of editorial constraints. The continuity didn't distract from the overall experience for me, however, I have read other reviews where it has bothered other readers. Great "escape" done in a creative way. Also, Mike Allred's art is absolutely phenomenal and imaginative. I'd read anything he has a part in.
The wit and tone of the TV series is here, but the comics are so much better (if you appreciate that comics are meant to exist on a plane of nonsensical reality) for the creative fantasy world Gwen and her friends live in. I was expecting the comics to follow the tv show, just as Seasons 8 and counting of Buffy picked up after the show went off the air. But I really enjoyed the world that Allred(s) and Roberson created. I wish they were able to continue beyond #28, but I'm happy some iteration was able to continue into a tv show that has adapted it to fit into more tv friendly material. Not to mention that some of the content does have parallels to the TV world of BTVS and Angel - which existed on the CW and ended because of ratings issues (Angel, at least.) So the change in format to not follow comic canon is understandable.
I digress. Thoroughly enjoyable read. There are continuity issues between books and some character development/secondary storylines that never get fully fleshed out. However, in the afterward, Roberson explains that he had expected to be able to do so had the story not ended and because of editorial constraints. The continuity didn't distract from the overall experience for me, however, I have read other reviews where it has bothered other readers. Great "escape" done in a creative way. Also, Mike Allred's art is absolutely phenomenal and imaginative. I'd read anything he has a part in.
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