This week’s pick comes to us from the cold (or at least, moderately cool) lands of Canada, where web comic author and artist Jenny Romanchuk has crafted an interesting and original addition to zombie comics.
I want you to understand that zombies and I don’t really get along. I acknowledge their existence in the horror realm, but I don’t exactly celebrate it. Why? They scare the crap outta me, more than any monster with scales, or fur, or teeth the size of golf clubs ever could. Zombies go against the grain two ways. First, they are, or were, human and are now hunting other humans. They could be your neighbors, your friends, or your family. They are monsters who are using our own skin…our own dead skin. And that would be against-the-grain number two: these are way, way, way outside of natural. The dead rising from their graves to eat the living is just…urk, you know?
So I want you to realize that my picking up a zombie comic and not just reading it, but becoming pretty addicted to it, is no small feat. I don’t know if that says more about the comic or about me (probably the former), but I think it’s a big lurching step taken by one of us (probably Jenny).
So about this comic, we learn during the first panel that humanity has been infected with this Zombie virus that has turned much of the population into undead hordes. A small community of survivors has set up shop on an island and is trying to get on with life. As a means of protection, they have formed a small military group called the Red Halos and they, in turn, organized the Zombie Hunters (civilians who are recruited to help the Red Halos recover salvage, lift public morale, and assist in any organized assault or defense). It is with a group of these Zombie Hunters with which the comic is concerned.
More after the jump…
As the comic starts, we are introduced to Jenny, Katie, Sammie, Dan, and Charlie. They are a team of Zombie Hunters, but they are not in a good way. Assigned to a green zone, a supposedly safer, easier area, they have strayed out of bounds and are lost in a city teeming with the undead. Their mission was only supposed to take a few hours, they have been gone for three days. Jenny, Katie, and Sammie presumably have a few missions under their belt by this time. Dan, is "the new guy" and as such is the subject of many a wager as to whether or not he will survive these outings, though he seems pretty up to the task. Charlie is a "half-life."
It doesn't take long for the zombies to find them and lurch into attack. This might not sound too dangerous, but in a city full of the undead, the group is quickly surrounded and outnumbered. Gradually, the group dynamic reveals itself: Jenny and Charlie have a tolerate-hate relationship that seems to stem from his "half-life" status, Jenny is impulsive and her judgment sometimes lands her and/or the group in trouble, Sammie is a bit of a wisecracker, Dan is fairly level headed under pressure, and Charlie can exist tenuously amongst both the living and undead. Also of note, Charlie can understand the other zombies, something unique to him and that he does not want the government to discover until he has an explanation already in hand (and who can blame him). The only character we don't find too much out about in this opening sequence is Katie, who finds herself in real trouble throughout the opening chapter.
The group struggles to stay alive, are eventually split into two groups, and have to hope that their rescue party will find them. And this is only the opening chapter! The comic is updated on Mondays, but if you're starting new to this comic, as I was, then you've got plenty to keep you busy - like all weekend, perhaps. I am currently 96 pages in (so, I'm up to Chapter 4) out of 156 pages currently available. So, this one has some legs, and thank goodness for that because there are a lot of reasons to love The Zombie Hunters.
"Such as?" You say. Fair enough.
Perhaps one of the best innovations in this comic are the different types of undead. There are Crawlers, or traditional plodding zombies, Spitters, who work up and then spit a noxious fluid that will eat through almost anything, and Half-Lifes, who are infected individuals who only half-turn, leaving them with their human senses intact, but not their blood flow (as evidenced by Charlie's paler-than-thou) coloring. This variety is both refreshing and true to the nature of viral diseases (heck, to biology even) - you're going to get variation, and zombies are no different. That and it's just cool to have different types of baddies running around trying to eat your hero, keeps things fresh.
The Zombie Hunters also manages a lot of humor throughout the proceedings without killing the tension. The protagonists might crack jokes while they're surrounded by the undead, and you may laugh, but that feeling that they might not all make it out alive persists. Contributing to this dynamic is Ms. Romanchuk's art style, wherein the characters transition quickly between realistic figures to more cartoon styled figures and back again depending on the mood the author is attempting to strike (see example panel to the right).
This takes a little getting used to at first, and to be honest, it drew me away from the story the first time I noticed it happening, but it never tripped the story up. I give Jenny R. a lot of credit for experimenting with her character design in this way. She is restrained enough in its application that this styling doesn't get in the way and ends up being an effective barometer of comic's mood.
I'm not sure how the artwork is being produced, but the coloring and illustrations are excellent. There is a very professional and polished feel to every panel. The story has clearly been thought out, storyboarded (if at least in Jenny's mind), and finally laid out. It is clear from the get-go that this comic is meant to be a cinematic experience (even including a few credits interspersed throughout the introduction - again, this ends up being so much cooler than you would expect) and employing such a professional attitude in the art, narrative, and execution completes the effect, giving you and I an almost effortless comic experience.
Seriously, you'll find yourself sucked in and approaching page 100 before you realize where the time has gone.
All things considered, The Zombie Hunters is an example of a webcomic that is good enough to be in print. Heck, it's better than other comics that are in a regular print run. Don't miss out on this one. If you enjoy the darker comics, are a fan of horror with a humorous edge, or of the undead, you're going to love this comic.
You can read the Zombie Hunters here.
Be sure to check out the Zombie Hunters website for other awesomeness, like an encyclopedia of the many different types of zombies that exist in Jenny's world (there are seven varieties, seven!), Zombie Hunter Merch, and even an opportunity to have Jenny create a commissioned piece of art (so cool!).
Oooh. Thanks for sharing! I've been expanding my webcomic repertoire recently and this is a great addition! I don't know what it is about this year, but it seems to be big on the living dead. Or maybe it just took me a while to catch on.
I really like the mix of cartoon comedy and zombie gore. And you're right about getting lost in the comic. It didn't take very long at all for me to become engrossed in the story, and Jenny gets major props for getting me to laugh out loud (Brick flail!).