Deadlands: Death Was Silent – One-Shot – Advanced Review

Death Was Silent By: Ron Marz (writer and editor), Bart Sears (artist), Michael Atiyeh (colors)

Backup Dime Novel “Prey” By: C. Edward Sellner (writer and colorist), Alejandro Aragon (artist)

The Story: Lead (Death Was Silent): A bounty hunter with an odd way of talking drifts into town on a rainy night and he isn’t here for the company.

Backup (Prey): Billy the Kid’s latest installment in the weird western world of the Deadlands.

What’s Good: Ron Marz delivers a high concept weird western. Why high concept? Four words: weird western black ops. Marz makes good use of the conventions of the weird western genre, which are themselves built of the classic tropes of the western and dark fantasy genres. The western excels at the outsider bringing law to a town on the frontier, where he is friendless, outgunned, disrespected and despised. The tone was set perfectly in the opening sequence as our hero rides into town under sheets of rain, when a kid comes up to him and says, “Hey mister, you kill that guy?” This nods to the western genre and misdirects at the same time. Beautiful. And the dialogue throughout is terse and tight with tension.

Bart Sears and Michael Atiyeh on art were excellent. I’d last seen Sears’ work on Justice League International and some Crossgen titles. Here, it is totally different, more subdued and gritty, less self-aware. It reminds me a bit of the European styles used in their western comics. It does not try to be beautiful, because its subjects certainly are not. This fits the gross, dirty and corrupt town of this story. Sears’ action sequences are cool and I was sold on the art right in the opening sequence and the ride into town under the rain.

28 Days Later #24 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: 28 Days Later comes to an end.  Selena and Clint were in a pretty dangerous position when we last saw them.  Will they survive?

What’s Good: First, let’s give the tip of the cap for an outstanding series from Boom! and writer Michael Alan Nelson.  I generally loathe licensed property comics and they’re usually not very good because they don’t have to be: People buy them just because of the brand on the cover page.  But, the 28 Days series told a wonderfully rich, post-apocalyptic tale set in the timeframe between the 28 Days and 28 Weeks movies.  As it became clear that the last 4-5 issues were actually set in London during the beginning of 28 Weeks (when the Rage virus has a nice rally & everyone dies again) we really start to be concerned for our protagonists: Selena and Clint.  Will they survive?  The beauty of this series is that it could have ended just fine with any sort of resolution, but since we care about these characters sooooo much after 24 issues, we really do want a happy ending.

It is really hard to discuss this comic without getting into SPOILERS.  So, go read the comic first and then come back and leave your comments below.
Nelson really packs a lot into this final issue.  First he drags our heroes through one more dreadful circumstance in infected London.  For me, one of the high points of apocalypse-fiction is the writers coming up with new things the characters have to do to survive and as readers, we have to debate in our minds, “Sheesh, would I be willing to do that or would I just lay down and die?  I think I’d just die because that is disgusting.”  But, since the easily grossed-out people didn’t survive the infected, Selena and Clint are able to do that and Nelson also gets the characters out of London pretty fast.  Yippie, they’re on a boat and sailing free straight to France.  Anyone who saw the 28 Weeks movie knows that the final scene of that film showed how the infected had gotten loose in France (and would therefore overrun Eurasia).  Oh no!  Selena and Clint may not be safe after all!  I won’t spoil the final ending, but Nelson continues to tease us right up until the final page.  Very well done!

28 Days Later #23 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters), Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: We enter the final issues that bridge the gap between the films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.

What’s Good: What a masterful job Michael Alan Nelson has done to position this story where it is.  All along during the comic series, I had wondered if this series had any relation to the 28 Weeks Later film.  During the last couple of issues, we saw that the events were taking place during the opening phases of 28 Weeks and that was really cool.  I’m generally not a huge fan of licensed property fiction, but I do love the novels or comics that explore a film from another point of view without changing anything.

And, that’s what we get in this issue.  While Selina is off settling her peace at her old house where she was force to kill her husband during the initial outbreak, Clint finds himself locked in a parking garage along with most of the other human residents of London.  If you saw 28 Weeks, you would immediately say, “OH NO!”  When we saw this scene in the film, we saw it from the perspective of the people who were immediately overtaken by the infected that broke into the parking garage.  The comic shows the scene from Clint’s perspective on the other side of the crowd: There’s a noise, the lights go out, there are sounds of struggling, people start pushing as panic sets in and Clint knows he needs to get out of there.

For this point, the issue follows Clint trying to survive as the military attempts to sterilize the city by killing everyone.  Of course, Selina comes back for him just at the right moment, but the cliffhanger leaves it very ambiguous whether they will live or not.  Clearly the final two (?) issues of this series will cover Clint and Selina’s attempt to escape and the fun thing is that we could have a good ending whether they survive or not.  While I’m sad that this series is ending, it is really nice to see a comic series that had an ending in mind.  I almost hope they do another series after the 28 Weeks film.  🙂

Aragon does a nice job with the art.  In some places he gets a little murkier and the lines get smudgier than I’d prefer (and that’s mostly from comparing to Declan Shalvey who was the original series artist), but you never have any doubt about the story and the characters all look alive.

28 Days Later #22 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: Selina sets off on a personal mission and leaves the US military safe zone as this series begins to wrap up.

What’s Good: One of the very good things about this issue for long-time readers is that it framed where this story fits in the whole saga of the films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.  After last issue, we had seen our heroes, Selina and Clint, reach a US military safe-zone in London.  I had questions about whether this was the safe-zone from the 28 Weeks film and how much the comic was going to acknowledge that second movie and how the comic would continue if it was acknowledging that second film.

Well, things are a lot clearer a month later.  For one thing, the final issue of this series has now been solicited, meaning that this series is wrapping up rapidly.  For another, this military safe-zone that Clint and Selina have found is the one from the 28 Weeks movie.  This is pretty neat: Michael Alan Nelson is telling a story that happens in the dead space between the two films and it will have a definite ending.  Neither Clint or Selina were in the second film, so they could die in the next couple issues… or they could be fine.  We really don’t know!  But, by tying this story to events we’re familiar with from the 28 Weeks film, we can build a sense of foreboding because we (the reader) know that the shit is about to hit the fan again…and our heroes are completely unprepared for it.  They think they’re safe.  It is a rare circumstance in fiction where the reader positively knows what will happen next and has to watch beloved characters wander into danger.

From an actual story standpoint, this issue is mostly quiet.  Clint is mostly poking around in the safe zone and asking questions that confirm this story’s existence in the 28 Weeks movie world whereas Selina goes off on a touching journey to find her old house and dead husband’s body (pre-infection).  One of the awful things about zombie-fiction is that since zombies strike you in your house (your place of safety), all of the survivors have seen horrid things happen to loved ones, yet rarely have time for a real goodbye.  Seeing Selina’s past really makes this hit home.

28 Days Later #20 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: Selina is in big trouble, as she is captured by a British Army Officer that has bone to pick with her.

What’s Good: So far in this series, Selina has kinda been the baddest person in the story.  It’s really remarkable how well Nelson has pulled that off.  When I watch a TV show like Nikita, I just fundamentally have a hard time believing that a 120 pound woman regardless of her level of training is able to continually smash five 250 pound men who are also well trained.  It just doesn’t work that way in real life.  But, Nelson has never made me question for a second that Selina is the baddest MF in the story.

So, it’s kinda interesting to see her suddenly in a situation where she is no physical match AT ALL for the British Army officer who has taken her captive.  Sure, she gives it the old college try a few times, but Captain Stiles is soooo on another level physically that he is almost disdainful of her efforts.  Thus, it is fun to watch Selina have to come up with another plan to extricate herself.  I particularly loved the exchange about why Stiles has allowed her to keep “her” machete.

I honestly thought the art was a mixed bag in this issue.  I wouldn’t ever call it “bad art”, but it was not as crisp as this series has been and there were a few scenes where Selina looked really funny.

28 Days Later #19 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: A pretty good jumping on point as the danger shifts from the Infected to a British Army Colonel with an axe to grind.

What’s Good: One of the nicest things that I can say about this comic series is that it has almost made me forget the film on which it is based.  All along, that outstanding film has been useful as background information, but it is hardly required because the comic exists completely on its own.  This issue dives right back into events that happened close to the end of that film and in so doing, creates a nice little “jumping on point” (although I hate that term) for newer readers.  That’s something that a title like this needs (even though I think anyone could pick this up anywhere and just enjoy it) because seeing issue #19 on the cover makes an issue uninviting to newcomers in today’s comic market.  Sigh….

And what a neat little jumping on point it is!  If you’re like me, you’re going to be on Wikipedia to recall some events from the end of the film to put the action here into context.  But, what is best about this story arc is that it shows how a series such as this is about much more than the Infected (this series’ answer to zombies).  All stories set in these post-apocalypse worlds are interesting because they have their monsters, but what is more scary is what the humans do to one another after the breakdown of society.  What if one of those survivors was a badass Army Special Forces officer who had an axe to grind against YOU? And, what if that officer was completely unbound by rules or regulations? That is the scenario that Nelson paints here and it’ll be enjoyable to watch where this takes us.

It also seems like Nelson has stories for this series that’ll go for as long as people keep buying it, and that is a very good thing because this is one of the best and most consistent series being sold right now.  It hasn’t had a bad or confusing issue yet.

Aragon’s art is again very strong.  He’s accomplished something that I didn’t know would be possible and made me not miss Declan Shalvey (who started on this series and is now doing issues of Thunderbolts for Marvel).  He effectively captures the mood of the characters and sells the drama very well.

28 Days Later #18 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: As Selina and Clint get closer to London, the infected become less of a problem than the other humans.

What’s Good: 28 Days just delivers the good every single month and it has become one of my “most anticipated” books every time because I can’t wait to see what happens next.  This issue is a great example.  We’ve seen our protagonists chased by the infected, we’ve seen they deal with the US military and we’ve seen them deal with a few nasty bands of survivors.  What’s left?  Well, if you remember the story arc featuring the US military science lab around issue #12, you might remember an off-hand remark from the head scientist that a certain military officer was looking for Selina and had special plans for her.  That chicken comes home to roost in a big way in this issue as Selina and Clint face what could be their toughest obstacle yet.  This direction is also appealing because it seems that this dude has it in for Selina based on something she did in the past.  We really know very little about Selina even if you include the information from the movie.  I love stories that dole out the bits of back-matter in dribs and drabs and am looking forward to leaning more about Selina.

I’m also really enjoying the dynamic that Clint and Selina has developed over these past 3-4 issues since they because the only two remaining central characters.  It’s fun to watch them grow closer, get friendly and even start to get some romantic feelings for one another (although I hope we don’t go there for a long time).  I’m sure at some point, they’ll pick up another character or two, but I hope it isn’t too soon because I’m not sick of this two-person dynamic yet.

Aragon’s art is again quite good for this type of book.  There’s nothing too flashy in this art.  It’s just nice and effective sequential art that tells the story.

28 Days Later #16 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Juan Manuel Tumburus (colors) & Johnny Lowe (letters)

The Story: Selina and the journalist she is guiding into infected territory get sucked into sectional fighting in infected London.

What’s Good: This is a pretty hard look at what can happen, as they say on certain internet sites, when the SHTF (Shit Hits The Fan).  How would survivors band together?  Would they be one, big, happy family?  Would they practice communal farming?  Who gets excluded from the group and why?  What do they fight over?  For the first time in this series, we are taking a break from being chased by the infected and instead seeing how human civilization reestablishes itself in London.  And it ain’t pretty and we’ll surely see more of this sectional fighting in future issues of 28 Days Later.

One other welcome bit in this comic is that we get a little of back information on Selina (our heroine).  The movie on which this comic was based didn’t give us much back info on her character except to make it clear that she is a “survivor”.  And, so far in this comic series she has been quite mercenary and willing to hack folks to bits if they are infected, so it was interesting to see something(s) that she actually does care about in this issue.

28 Days Later #15 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), William Farmer (colors) & Ed Dukeshire (letters)

The Story: Clint and Selina come face to face with what passes for civilization in post-infection London.

What’s Good: This series just keeps humming right along and any fan of zombies, survival horror, post-apocalypse or The Walking Dead should be reading this title.

In post-apocalyptic fiction, the civilization of survivors being led by some psycho-fascist-strongman is pretty much a cliché, but that’s okay because that is probably what would happen.  The closest we have to post-apocalypse in the real world are lawless places like Somalia and regions along the Afghan/Pakistan border and they sure haven’t turned into a worker’s utopia because the happy dudes who want to work together and smoke weed are quickly overrun by madmen with guns who want to take their food and gasoline.

So, it is appropriate that this excellent series would bring Clint and Selina into contact with a group like this.  What is key is how Nelson creates the character of the leader and he does a good job of not making him a complete idiot-psycho.  This has to be a person who hopeless survivors would follow for some reason and Nelson realizes the importance of making the leader someone who provides security and food.  It might be taking things too far, but some will see a slight amount of allegory in what frightened humans will accept from leaders who promise security.

The “star” of this issue, however, is the initiation rite that the leader inflicts on one of our heroes.  It is both creative and absolutely horrifying!

Once again, Aragon’s art is very effective.  His art is mostly working with Nelson’s script to tell a story, so the art is fairly contained.  However, he does play around with perspective to make panels interesting to look at without sacrificing the story.