An excellent opener, Revival #1 is one of the most interesting opening issues i’ve read in a while. Its got equal parts suspense, drama, religious undertones and possible alien involvement. It may sound like a conspiracist’s dream come true, but underneath it all, Revival #1 is a well written and executed piece of work.

The official description from Image:

For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it’s up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them. In a town where the living have to learn to deal with those who are supposed to be dead, Officer Cypress must solve a brutal murder, and everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect. A beautiful “farm noir” that puts a new twist on the zombie genre, created by NYT Bestselling author TIM SEELEY and acclaimed artist MIKE NORTON.

The first thing noticeable about the plot of Revival is that its focused on a ‘small American town’ with the suggested boring life that these places often depict. It even suggests this right on the front cover, reffering to itself as a “Rural Noir”.  Of course, what else would a quite American town have but plenty of isolated woods, farms and barns for various horror scenes and sequences? Without spoiling the plot, Revival makes good use of its isolated setting. Its reminiscent of The Shining, only with a few more twists. As with any good ‘quiet town turned on its head’ scenario, the narrative follows Dana, a typical cop, which I suppose counts for the ‘noir’ aspect that’s really yet to be seen.

By twists, I refer to the various genre influences that are laced throughout the title. There is an alien, or at least what could be an alien. like all good supernatural thrillers, Revival doesn’t comment on what it shows, it leaves the reader to ponder and question.

The religious undertones, however, can not be so easily hidden. The plot revolves around a small town being closed off thanks to “revivers”; people who come back from the dead. As such the nature of an afterlife, and thus religion, is heavily involved. This certainly makes for deeper meaning, and Revival is careful not to overstep on any boundaries. The ending is a nice touch; most readers will appreciate the symbolic use of the scythe. As both a farming tool and as a metaphor in a comic that focuses heavily on life and death, its a subtle touch that shows the dedication and thought processes into making this narrative work.

4/5