THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

The dead have risen and are driven to feast upon the flesh of the living. However, hope remains as a young female scientist, working for the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), may have found a cure. Biker gangs and other rednecks believe this cure should be the property of all living people and not just high-flying corporations. To ensure this, they must kill the scientist and take the cure from her dead hands so it's extremely fortunate that she's caught out in the field. It is up to a bunch of losers in muscle cars and a hijacked tank to make sure the good doctor gets to the CDC lab safely.

MY VERDICT:

This is kind of a bitter-sweet comic; being a prequel of George Romero's last movie, Road of the Dead is a massive accolade but, at the time of writing, nothing has been heard about the production of that movie for months. Still, reviewing the comic as a standalone product, it is definitely above-average. The story is well-written and captures the Romero style of tongue-in-cheek humour plus socio-political commentary excellently. You see, the 'bad' people in this narrative immediately believe everything the TV news has told them - no question or hesitancy - the truth no longer matters and, unfortunately, that mirrors the world of today. The art as well is above average; crisp and clear. There are some slip-ups, where people seem to be contorted in unnatural ways but such errors are minor and forgivable. My only two main gripes about this comic are its brevity - the volume reviewed encapsulates all three issues but still, it is over far too quickly (this would not be a problem if the movie follow-up actually existed) - and the addition of, seemingly, running Zombies. Romero was strongly opposed to the fast-moving Zombies of modern times, being outspoken on the inclusion of sprinting undead in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, so I'm just not sure he would have approved this comic as an official document in the genre he, effectively, created.