World War Z – Movie Review

Starring: Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos

Review (with SPOILERS): This was a pretty solid action movie that had it’s strong and weak points.  It isn’t a perfect film, but it could have been a lot worse.  You’ll enjoy it as long as you don’t think too hard about a few things.  As with a lot of stories with their good and bad points, I found that this review simply refused to coalesce into a coherent piece, so I have to resort to the old crutch of using bullet points.

• Very little to do with the novel: Let’s get this out of the way first: The film shares little more than a title with the World War Z novel by Max Brooks.  The novel is great and I recommend it to everyone who is a fan of zombie fiction.  If you saw the movie first, don’t hesitate to pick up the book because the two couldn’t be more different.  The film is a break-neck action movie with fast zombies and an actual main character.  The novel is a collection of interviews that take place AFTER the slow zombies have been put down; those interviews were compiled by a nameless UN employee who is creating a historical account of the zombie war and the interviews give a solid world-view of a zombie crisis from its inception until its solution.

I, Zombie #6 – Review

By: Chris Roberson (writer), Michael Allred (art), Laura Allred (colors) & Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Now that we know where zombies, vampires & ghosts come from, what about were-terriers?

What’s Good: Roberson has a pretty complex story to tell and has to deal with the challenge of establishing all of the expansive groundwork for this series without allowing the reader to get bored, because issue #6 is still explaining to the reader “what is going on”.  He does a very good job of continuing exposition in this issue while also telling a touching tale of how Scott (the zombie’s boyfriend) became a were-terrier.  Let’s just say that you’ll never look at roadkill quite the same way again!

But, there is more to his story than that.  It also tells a touching story of how Scott was orphaned at a very young age and was taken in by his grandfather who just happened to be a golden age cartoon voice actor.  Of course, Scott loves this (becoming a comic geek) and has a hard time rationalizing that to his grandfather, this is just a “job” and that he sees as representative of his failure to be a “real actor”.  Clearly Roberson was making parallels to many golden age comic artists who didn’t have any sort of passion for comic books…they just needed a job and they could draw, so they did the work.  As he grows, Scott (predictably) grows away from his grandfather but everything comes full circle in a way that is appropriate for this funny series while also slightly touching.

iZombie #2 – Review

by Chris Roberson (writer), Mike Allred (art), Laura Allred (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Gwen closes in on the murderer while one of the vampire paintballers gets a little too murderous.

What’s Good: This is a big improvement from last month’s issue that assuages most of my concerns regarding this series.  One of the key reasons for this shift is that unlike last month, which was all set-up, there actually is a definable plot.  The murder mystery provides for some intrigue, particularly in its introduction of a shadowy character who seems to be the killer (and possibly a mummy).  Things are already looking to be more complicated than they seem.

Gwen’s poking about into the victim’s life also gives Roberson a chance to better show how her “powers” work, or rather, how annoying they can be.  He does a great job of integrating the victim’s mind into Gwen’s thought processes.  While clearly not a sentient being, the victim’s “voice” often informs, or interrupts, Gwen’s own internal narration.  At times, it even attempts to finish her sentences and Gwen has to seemingly restrain herself from speaking the words out loud.  It’s a creative way of showing the victim’s intrusion into Gwen’s mind and it’s good fun.

Speaking of Gwen, she’s more likable than she was last month.  Her narration seems less forced, with Roberson clearly less concerned with making her seem as cool as possible.  What results is a more natural feel to the character that better suits a strong protagonist.  She also has a conversation with the victim’s child that hits the right notes, juxtaposing the child’s innocence with Gwen’s awkwardness.  Supporting characters Ellie and Scott also have strong, and surprisingly serious, outings as Roberson touches upon the heavy burdens that both bear due to their “conditions.”  Roberson also continues to impress me with the comedy he injects into the most minor characters; Scott’s work friends are just as fun as Gwen’s.

Urban Monsters #1 – Review

By: Andrew Stroscher (creator), Will Wilson & Joanne Moore (writer), Tone Rodriguez & Rick Ross (illustrator) & Nei Ruffino (colors)

A century ago, monsters and mutants started to come out of their closets, becoming part of human traditions and way of life. Some became movie stars, while others had to work hard the old fashioned way to earn their money. In a place where David Hasselhoff is highly regarded as an actor, I guess I’m lucky to be living in real world.

In Urban Monsters, a group of monster companions decide to make it big at Hollywood; it’s a road trip story that follows them as they attempt to make a casting call. We get to see a lot of how this world works. The zombie character of the group gets in a little trouble with the police and accidentally infects one of them – a rare case. Some people outside the big cities are prejudiced against monsters, not allowing them to enter to stores. And when the group gets invited to a county fair, it’s later discovered that it’s plagued with werewolves.

This comic looks like it’s a love project that got approved for publishing. I’m trying to read new independent works whenever I have the chance – sometimes I discover great things, sometimes not so much. Urban Monsters falls in the middle. I don’t know if I should take the comic as a serious piece with social commentary or just as a humor story (or both). I’ll stick around for another issue, but hope to see some changes. (Grade: C-)

-Daniel Yanez