MattGrant
Friday, July 18, 2008, 06:39 PM
<img src="http://heavyink.com/images/covers/JUN07/MJUN073242.JPG" align="left" hspace="10" height="200"><b>Title</b>: Awakening #1
<b>Publisher:</b> <a href="http://www.aspcomics.com" target="_blank">Archaia Studios Press</a><br />
<b>Writer:</b> Nick Tapalansky
<b>Artist:</b> Alex Eckman-Lawn
Full Color $3.50
<b>Safety Content Label:</b> PARENTAL ADVISORY - 15 years and older. Similar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery.
<b>Publishers Blurb:</b>
A series of missing-persons and gruesome murders has begun to unfold in the city of Park Falls.
Derrick Peters, a former member of the Park Falls Police Department, receives a visit from Cynthia Ford one January afternoon. Cynthia, well known as the town crazy, seems to have finally lost her mind. She claims to have information about the murders…but does she hold the key to unlocking the mystery or has she truly gone insane?
To Derrick’s disbelief she utters one word:
Zombies.
<b>Reviewer Comments:</b>
Zombies. Even a big, and longtime zombie fan like myself has to admit that, right now, we are over run with zombies. No, not actual zombies, but zombies in movies, zombies in comics, zombies in books, zombies on TV.... everywhere you look... ZOMBIES! So when I opened up my email and saw that I was going to be reviewing a zombie comic, I had to say to myself, "What is going to set THIS book apart from all the other zombie bombardment?"
The answer came quickly. In a genre where repetitive conventions are not only expected, but typically applauded, Nick Tapalansky's Awakening takes the zombie idea in a new direction. Instead of being sunk directly into a world over ridden by zombies (or even least a world very quickly over taken by zombies), we arrive in the city of Park Falls where cops are investigating a string of murders. While the zombie aspect is called out quickly, no one really believes it right away, and the whole approach of this thing is a mystery. Readers are in the know, but the characters have to figure it out. Brilliant, if you ask me!
This issue is a great introduction to the series, where we're set up with the situation and the cast. The characters are more than interesting, we've got an ex-cop PI called in to investigate by the police, teamed up with a scientist sent by the feds, and a no-nonsense police chief, among many others. There are zombies on the loose, that much we know for sure (so do some of the characters), but the question posed by this issue is when will the characters that can make a difference realize what they have on their hands?
Definitely a cool, slow-building, creepy vibe with this comic. The zombie genre typically bases itself on sudden scares and rampant gore, but Awakening is somehow much more ominous. As a compliment to such a compelling story, we have Alex Eckman-Lawn's fantastic artwork. With a mix of digital, photo graphic, traditional, and mixed media, you really don't know what you're going to get when you turn the page, which is perfect for this story. The vibe I get from the artwork, is something I could only describe as "hectic," and serves to keep you busy and anxious as heck as you creep through this tale.
Overall, an amazing job by and amazing creative team. I've got four more issues to read and review for this series, and let me tell you, I'm looking forward to every damn one of them!
<b>Publisher:</b> <a href="http://www.aspcomics.com" target="_blank">Archaia Studios Press</a><br />
<b>Writer:</b> Nick Tapalansky
<b>Artist:</b> Alex Eckman-Lawn
Full Color $3.50
<b>Safety Content Label:</b> PARENTAL ADVISORY - 15 years and older. Similar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery.
<b>Publishers Blurb:</b>
A series of missing-persons and gruesome murders has begun to unfold in the city of Park Falls.
Derrick Peters, a former member of the Park Falls Police Department, receives a visit from Cynthia Ford one January afternoon. Cynthia, well known as the town crazy, seems to have finally lost her mind. She claims to have information about the murders…but does she hold the key to unlocking the mystery or has she truly gone insane?
To Derrick’s disbelief she utters one word:
Zombies.
<b>Reviewer Comments:</b>
Zombies. Even a big, and longtime zombie fan like myself has to admit that, right now, we are over run with zombies. No, not actual zombies, but zombies in movies, zombies in comics, zombies in books, zombies on TV.... everywhere you look... ZOMBIES! So when I opened up my email and saw that I was going to be reviewing a zombie comic, I had to say to myself, "What is going to set THIS book apart from all the other zombie bombardment?"
The answer came quickly. In a genre where repetitive conventions are not only expected, but typically applauded, Nick Tapalansky's Awakening takes the zombie idea in a new direction. Instead of being sunk directly into a world over ridden by zombies (or even least a world very quickly over taken by zombies), we arrive in the city of Park Falls where cops are investigating a string of murders. While the zombie aspect is called out quickly, no one really believes it right away, and the whole approach of this thing is a mystery. Readers are in the know, but the characters have to figure it out. Brilliant, if you ask me!
This issue is a great introduction to the series, where we're set up with the situation and the cast. The characters are more than interesting, we've got an ex-cop PI called in to investigate by the police, teamed up with a scientist sent by the feds, and a no-nonsense police chief, among many others. There are zombies on the loose, that much we know for sure (so do some of the characters), but the question posed by this issue is when will the characters that can make a difference realize what they have on their hands?
Definitely a cool, slow-building, creepy vibe with this comic. The zombie genre typically bases itself on sudden scares and rampant gore, but Awakening is somehow much more ominous. As a compliment to such a compelling story, we have Alex Eckman-Lawn's fantastic artwork. With a mix of digital, photo graphic, traditional, and mixed media, you really don't know what you're going to get when you turn the page, which is perfect for this story. The vibe I get from the artwork, is something I could only describe as "hectic," and serves to keep you busy and anxious as heck as you creep through this tale.
Overall, an amazing job by and amazing creative team. I've got four more issues to read and review for this series, and let me tell you, I'm looking forward to every damn one of them!