First off, let me say that whoever came up with the idea of charging a dollar for the first issue of all these new Vertigo series deserves a raise. Most Vertigo titles are niche books that need to be found by the proper audience in order to be successful. At the low introductory price of a dollar many more people are willing to give these books a try which in turn increases the chances that these titles will be found by people who will enjoy them. Take a series like Sweet Tooth, for example, it is easily selling two or three times more copies each month then it would have had it’s first issue not been priced at a dollar. The low introductory price point also encourages retailers to order more copies of a new series. Since, the cost per copy is so much lower the retailer can afford to order more without taking an undo risk. This is very important since obviously a new series can’t take off if no retailer is stocking it on his or her racks. I’m sure someone is already saying that comics have come out in the past with low promotional prices. That statement is true but in the past such comics where few and far between. Now, Vertigo is giving us a steady stream of new material to try at the low low price of a dollar.
After writing all this I bet you expect me to say how much I loved I, Zombie well you would be wrong. This issue was a solid beginning for the series and several intriguing plot points where brought up that did catch my attention. SPOILER WARNING I mean, right away, I wanted to know why Eugene, Oregon has so many supernatural beings running around? Who are those two monster hunters and what is this corporation they work for? Most of all, I liked the twist that Gwen, the zombie girl, gets the memories of whoever’s brains she eats. In this issue, after eating the brain of a recently deceased young man she learns that he was murdered. Now, with his voice ringing in her head she is driven to go out and seek justice for him. END SPOILER WARNING Usually, all that would be enough to get me to come back for more but not this time. That is not due to any failure on the part of this issue. In fact, this issue gives the reader a somewhat different and original take on zombies and that maybe enough for some people. For me this issue just proves that it is possible to be burned out on a whole genre no matter what new twists or fresh look it is given.
Keith Forney