Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Milx and Chee
Publisher: IDW
I have mixed feelings about this one. I was looking forward to more Milx artwork, since I loved his Silver Surfer issue, but it really doesn’t hold up very consistently across the whole of the book. In fact, for the first couple of pages I wasn’t sure just how old the main characters were, as they look to be small children, but then we notice the goatee and they start talking about medical school. As the pages progress, they settle into more adult looks, although there’s still something funny about the proportions throughout the title. Chee’s work (patching up the scenes Milx didn’t get finished before going AWOL) is distractingly different in style. It’s not worse, or better really, but it’s very different. I will say, though, that whoever is responsible for the two-page splash of the accident on pages 14 and 15, should take a bow. Excellent shot. It’s very very Geof Darrow in spirit, if not in detail.
The story is moving a little slow at the start. I’d forgotten that this was more of a Frankenstein story, instead of a zombie story, so I was a little disappointed. You see, I love a good zombie story. I guess I’ll have to wait for Image’s The Walking Dead next month to get my fix (although Thor: Vikings has been pretty sweet on the zombie front). My main problem, aside from the initial pacing, is the characterizations. Niles seems to be relying on stereotypes rather than creating new characters for this story. Victor and Iggy (the Dr. Frankenstein and Igor of this story – although, to be honest, I think Victor might owe more to Herbert West, Re-Animator), are pretty straightforward in their representations; as are the jocks who should know better than to drink and drive. Vic’s girlfriend Liz isn’t really given much to do but call Victor from the scene of the crash and establish that she has pretty bad taste in men. The most interesting character, William, shows a lot of promise, especially with the cliffhanger ending to this first issue. As I said, the pacing is a little slow through the first half of the issue, but begins picking up nicely as the story goes on.
All in all, this is an okay start to a new horror miniseries from IDW. Niles’ work is pretty consistent from title to title from what I’ve read and hopefully the artwork will tighten up next month. If you like horror and Dark Horse isn’t putting out enough for you, try this.
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