War of the Dead is coming to a close next issue, which is quite sad. Never have I read a mini-series where it gets perfect scores every time. It’s the unique take on the usual zombie story that makes it interesting. It squeezes in gritty action, deep story telling, and undead action, on a weekly basis! Of course this isn’t just the humans vs. the zombies, King Zombie is the antagonist. This guy gives the undead plot a purpose as we learnt his plan in  the previous issue. The penultimate issue isn’t action-heavy, yet remains a great piece of storytelling with some interesting new developments.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

The leader of the town decides to accept the offer of the King Zombie. The humans will give themselves up and become the ‘cattle’ of the zombies. Some will have to be sacrificed but most will survive… for a while…

Donna has been one of the more interesting characters in this mini-series, decapitating hordes of the undead with a sword and all. The story with her being part human and part zombie gets some development. By the final page, you’re going to be pretty surprised. One of the best dialogue sequences is Mike saying how he wants to be buried and not burned, it even gets a little saddening when he gets to the flashback part. Surprisingly there wasn’t anything on Deake here. While there wasn’t any action, tension was high.  Sometimes it might take awhile for certain characters to grow on you, sometimes it takes issues and issues, but here you actually care and want the heroes to win. If a five issue mini-series can make characters likable and have deep backdrops, then there should be no excuse for any ongoing series.

I feel redundant since I’ve said this three times in the past already, but it’s time to say it again. The art is unique to the book, it defines War of the Dead. The grittiness of it gives the story a unique identity. I don’t think the same effect would happen if the book used ‘standard’ comic book art. Mike is by far the greatest character in this series, as you see him talk about how he doesn’t have much longer, you’re left with a gloomy feeling. Also, the narration boxes are fantastic, they carry the story well.

Overall, as expected, another fantastic issue of War of the Dead. It has some really interesting new developments that will make you anticipate the next issue even more. (And all you have to do is wait a week!) If you haven’t been reading War of the Dead, I recommend you backtrack and get the first three issues, you will not be disappointed.

5/5