Revival by Image Comics, written my Tim Seeley and drawn by Mike Norton reminds me of so many things at once but at the same time it’s original. I will say for the record do not make your decision to read or not read this book by the blurbs they put in the previews or on some online sites re-canned version of it. There is no way they will be able to get all the angles in unless its a full blown review.
That being said this is a full blown review and I’m not going to spoil or give away that much of the story either. So lets take this sack full of other things it reminds me of and shake it up shall we. Fargo, Signs, The walking Dead and A history of Violence. There are others but these four kept popping into my head as I read it. Quite a wide diversity to draw off of isn’t it.
At the heart of this story is the fact people who have died are coming back to life. I can safely say this because I know that’s being plastered any place they talk about it. But wait don’t think this is a Zombie book because it ain’t. And for the record I am not a fan of zombies at all. I will have to say with the exception of the Walking Dead most to me are boring. At least in the Walking Dead it’s about the characters.
But wait what the heck is that thing little Cooper see’s in the woods? How come the dead folk don’t want brains? Why do cops love donuts so much? Wait a minute that last part is not necessary but it’s in there.
Revival to this point is a good mystery. That’s right a mystery. That and the fact it takes place in the cold rural north of the US makes me think of Fargo. Well that and the female lead. Who’s a cop. So despite all of this why did I like it so much? Well Tim did a great job of writing it. This is a smart book. It’s full of characters and not cut outs and it’s not dumb downed just because its a comic. It’s comic writing as it should be done for this kind of story.
Mark does a great job with the art. It looks like it’s supposed to look. It’s not like when Jim Lee draws a guy in a suit. When Jim does it your waiting for that cab driver to pull off his mild manner street clothes and show off those rippling muscles. Mr. Norton’s chubby police officer looks just like he should, a chubby police officer.
If you are a fan of any of the movies I mentioned or a good mystery, pick up the first issue of Revival. I’m really looking forward to the next issue because my interest is peaked. Where is this story going? Why would some dead person just pick up right where their life ended? And why would others not? And again. What the heck is that in the woods?
