The Mocking Dead #5: Review


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The clock is ticking and the survival of the human race depends on Aaron Bunch, a geek with an encyclopedic knowledge of old zombie movies. And with issue #5 of The Mocking Dead we finally learn if Aaron gets to save the day.

Here’s the official word from Dynamite:

At long last DIA agents Bunch and Malik uncover the connection between the long-lost film Mocking Dead and the real-life undead plague keeping the globe — and you have to see it believe it! But with the zombie apocalypse quickly reaching the point of no return, can they stay alive long enough to get it to the military in time?

You gotta love this slapstick premise: a few years ago the US Government decided it would be a good idea to Screen shot 2014-01-20 at 8.53.42 AMcreate secret program where uber-geeks applied their knowledge of films and comics to develop real-life responses to unlikely cataclysmic events … like zombie invasions. Now that a real zombie invasion has swept the world special agent Aaron Bunch is the brains behind how best to respond. Too bad his best plan thus far has simply amounted to plagiarism: copying methods used from movies (and one movie in particular — The Mocking Dead). The only drawback is that the movie is missing, and so Aaron and his crew of zombie hunters have spent the last four issues searching for the film, and now, with issue #5, finally implementing its methods as they search for a blood sample that just might save the world. Writer Fred Van Lente certainly knows his subject matter well and issue #5, like every issue before, has been as much an homage to the genre as its been an original contribution. This is to say the jokes are generally clever, self-aware, and sometimes even funny. And while the ending of this run wasn’t as satisfying as the ride, the ride was worth it.

It might be safe to say the best part of The Mocking Dead was the art. Max Dunbar offers crisp clean lines, plenty of detail, and just enough gore to make this title’s attempts at humor work (too much gore and the visuals might have created a disconnect with the script). Of special note is Dunbar’s ability to create large panel scenes; he can draw a mountain range or collapsing city with equal doses of skill and talent.

The Mocking Dead adds a new wrinkle this the zombie genre by mixing death with slapstick. The result is a mostly enjoyable read, with some definite misses, but its own share of some slam dunks, too.

4/5

fourstar

 

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