George Romero's Empire of the Dead

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a Romero fan. I thought “Night of the Living Dead” was a game changer for horror. I think “Dawn of the Dead” was pretty great for its social message and its glimpse of the turn of life at the end of the world. ”Day of the Dead” hinted at the great post-zombie world, but it was a tiny glimpse. Fun thought.

I’m not a ‘Die Hard’ Romero fan though. The man has his faults. ”Land of the Dead” didn’t sit well with me. I felt George went a bit off the rails with his picture of the end of civilization. It was a bit too over the top, a bit too out there to feel at all ‘realistic’. Well, as realistic as a zombie plague can seem though.

I stumbled onto the news of Romero’s comic book run with Marvel a little late. His plans were three five part mini series to put together a three act hole. As you can image, I was a little leery with the bad taste ‘Land’ left in my mouth. Act one was about three issues in to it’s run when I got in on the act and I snagged the first three issues on a recent run to the comic shop. Those three issues? I wasn’t necessarily blown away…I was left curious and wanting to know where ole’ Uncle George was heading though.

"Empire of the Dead" jumps ahead in our life-after-living time line. Survivors have started to reclaim sections of major cities, with the Big Apple serving as our back drop for this latest outing. The government as a whole doesn’t seem to exist too fully, yet there are local mayors and rules. It all fits in well with the scope that Romero laid out in ‘Dawn’ and hinted at in ‘Days’. The zombies aren’t our central focus, becoming more of the scenery on the fringe. The good stuff lies in the lives of our characters who have evolved in this life that is a good 10 to 20 years into the world of the undead.

There’s some…quirkiness to Romero’s storytelling. We have some new elements that so far feel a bit shoe-horned in to his zombie-centric world. These fanged folks feel out a bit out of place, yet not out of taste if that makes sense. While I fail to get excited about this plot twist, it still leaves me wanting to read more just to see what he has planned.

Where I do get excited with this book is in the artwork by Alex Maleev. It hearkens back to art of the late 80’s and early 90’s, bring back some hints of old ‘Hellblazer’ and a wee bit of ‘Swamp Thing’. Where I’m truly impressed is his use of color, which really goes above and beyond to set the tone and atmosphere for each page. The colors really stand out for the scenes that are taking place and add a great note to the story telling to boot.

Act II of Empire of the Dead looks to be coming out in September of this year, and I’ve already got it added to my pull list. My only worry, is that it looks like they’re changing up the arts for Act 2. Alex Maleev gives way to Dalibor Talajic, whom I have no experience with. I loved Maleev’s art in this book so much that it makes me a wee bit sad to see him go.

Got some space in your summer reading list? Give ‘Empire of the Dead’ a go.