‘Z Nation’ Releases Prequel Comic – A Review Of Volume 1

 
Horror comics are the best aren’t they? We could definitely use more of them. If you feel the same way, we’ve got good news. Syfy’s hit zombie series Z Nation, from The Asylum, has a brand new six-part comic, titled Z Nation: Black Summer, that serves as a prequel for the show. I had the pleasure of checking out the first volume and I was not disappointed.
Z Nation co-creator Craig Engler and Fred Van Lente serve as writers for the comic with fantastic art by Edu Menna and colors by Sal Aiala. Simon Bowland did the letters, and Joseph Rybandt edited with the assistance of Kevin Kitner.
The volume opens with images from around the world of society as it falls to a mass epidemic that has turned much of the human race into flesh-eating zombies. Due to famine and livestock being infected by the virus, food is scarce. A group of soldiers are sent on an important mission: to retrieve a cache of food substitute called Soylent Z from Galveston, Texas that is desperately needed for the people sheltered at the base. Unfortunately, when mission leader Israel Johnson and his crew arrive they discover that they are not the only ones who are after the rations.
The characters that are introduced in the first volume are pretty badass and the storyline interesting. Between the dark humor and action that fills the comic’s pages, it doesn’t take long to recognize that the comic and the series have a similar feel and that’s a good thing. In fact, that’s what sets the series apart from the other zombie apocalypse shows.
 

 
I don’t want to give away too much. You are going to want to read the comic for yourself. You can pick up your copy of Z Nation: Black Summer Volume 1 from Dynamite Comics now (here).
Z Nation stars Keith Allan, Kellita Smith, DJ Qualls, Anastasia Baranova, Russell Hodgkinson, Emilio Rivera and Nat Zang. The hit series follows a group of survivors and one unique individual named Murphy (Keith Allan) who has been bitten but remains human thanks to scientists using him a guinea pig. Murphy also happens to have power over zombies, which they refer to as “puppies and kittens”.  In season four, premiering this fall, what remains of humanity is losing its immunity to the zombie virus. Check out the trailer.