Everything Dead and Dying #1: Zombies, but Fresh

Everything Dead and Dying #1 slow-plays its story, holding back the full zombie reveal until halfway through the issue. There are hints before that reveal–panels here and there with body horror imagery that are colored in shades of red. But for the most part the issue focuses on Jack, his past as told to his daughter in the form of a bedtime story, and a morning ritual with his daughter and husband. This sequence of events repeats more than once, and while the zombie infestation has yet to be revealed, it’s clear early on that something is dreadfully wrong.

The zombie story itself is an interesting twist on the genre. Most zombie stories are some variation of “hide/run from the zombies trying to kill me” or “try to create a cure for zombie plague.” Everything Dead and Dying #1 turns that completely on its head by locking the zombies into a loop of reliving their last day as a healthy human.

This twist creates Everything Dead and Dying #1’s result in the issue’s real strength, which is the rich character story that lives at the heart of the issue. Everything Dead and Dying #1 isn’t about zombies. It’s about Jack and Jack’s relationships. Part of him still sees his husband and daughter as they were, and he’s motivated to keep the status quo.

Repeating the same morning scene more than once has an added benefit beyond simply pushing the reader into confusion and suspicion over what is coming next. Seeing Jack’s daughter and husband more than once gets the reader familiar with their appearance and helps the reader connect with them. When they finally appear as zombies with bloodied, partially distorted faces, there is an immediate sense of loss and tragedy. Phillips’ art is generally high in detail when it comes to characters, especially with facial expressions. It works both for ordinary people and diseased looking zombies.

“Bloody, partially distorted faces” doesn’t quite do justice to the body horror quality that is present in Everything Dead and Dying #1, whether it be the vague panels early in the issue or the explicit appearance of zombies. Highlights include deteriorating cheeks, flesh missing from half a character’s face, and an exposed jaw. A key component of that body horror is the constant blood dripping from these wounds. It makes these zombies feel more freshly dead and thus helps justify Jack’s actions.

Martin uses what amounts to three different color palettes here. The scenes out of Jack’s memory are overall warm with soft yellows, peaches, oranges, and pinks. When compared to the present day scenes in town and Jack’s home, all of which are depicted in faded grays and similarly dark colors, the memory sequences seem almost heavenly. They don’t really feel alive, though. The most alive scenes in Everything Dead and Dying #1 are those that take place on a farm. Everything is more vivid, and green and blue abound. Martin’s coloring establishes what amounts to three different worlds that Jack occupies at different times for different reasons, and it contributes significantly to the character oriented story at the heart of the issue.

Bidikar makes a nice choice with the caption boxes used for Jack’s inner monologue. Though the color fill is a warm pink that is at home in the sequences in Jack’s memory, they are uneven and rough edged, as though torn or falling apart.