iZombie books 2 and 3: stylish comedy-horror comic goes from strength to strength

Last March, I reviewed the first iZombie collection, a new series of stylish, fun horror/comedy comics from Chris Roberson and Michael Allred. The series' premise is that Gwen Dylan is a recently risen zombie who isn't a mindless revenant, but rather is in full possession of her faculties, and will remain so, for so long as she keeps eating fresh brains. Not wanting to kill people, she gets a job as a gravedigger and snacks on the clients. While hanging around the graveyard, she befriends the ghost of a mixed-up hippie chick in go-go boots, and they add a were-terrier with a serious crush on her to their retinue, and now they're ready to start solving mysteries.

I just caught up with the next two volumes in the series: iZombie, uVampire and Six Feet Under and Rising and I'm pleased to report that iZombie moves from strength to strength, taking a kitchen-sink approach to eschatology that incorporates vampires, mummies, proper BRRRRAAAAAINNNSS zombies, poltergeists, and a sewn-together golem who has been scheming for centuries to bring about the end of the world by means cthulhoid.

The stories are both fun and suspenseful, and the creators are clearly going to great lengths to top each other with new kinds of clever weirdness. Each volume ends with a bunch of little metacomics that tell the back-story while borrowing the visual and storytelling styles of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Scooby Doo, and other comedy-horror forebears of the genre.

Having finished book three, I've pre-ordered book four at my local funnybooks emporium. If you enjoyed iZombie but lost track of the series like me, you've got a treat in store (and if you never started, that's an even bigger treat that awaits).

Book 1: iZombie: Dead to the World

Book 2: iZombie, uVampire

Book 3: Six Feet Under and Rising

• [zeroica]

  Over the last couple of years I have reDiscovered comics in general and this is one of my favorite series since I found my way back to the fold :) New yet familiar characters, wonderfully twisted storyline, snappy dialogue, and an art style that suits this world perfectly – quite an adept and pleasant ride. Even though I’ve been buying the individual issues, I will more than likely purchase the Trades as well – easier to pull off the shelves to reVisit from time to time.

• [GeekMan]

  I picked this up on Cory’s recommendation (at Forbidden Planet in London, no less) last year. The wait between trades has been KILLING me, though I must admit that my own prejudice against buying individual comic issues is partly to blame.