Zombies are such slow moving (and incredibly stupid) creatures that it’s a real surprise more people haven’t kept diaries of their experiences during zombie infestations. Having said that though, such journals could have the potential to be very boring indeed. For example...
June 3rd: A zombie has started to walk towards me.
June 4th: The zombie is still walking towards me. It’s very slow. Read newspaper in the meantime.
June 5th: The zombie almost reached me but I got up and walked down to the end of the street. Sat down again and read the paper.
Luckily for us (but not necessarily for him...), Dr. Robert Twombly’s experiences during a zombie outbreak make for a lot more entertaining reading...
Dr. Robert Twombly is a blood specialist caught in Seattle as the city collapses under the weight of the undead hordes. With his food supplies running out, Twombly must leave the safety of his building and make for... where? Is there such a place as safe shelter? And if there is, how long will it be safe for? Twombly’s journal gives us all the answers...
Don Roff and Chris Lane combine their talents to give the reader a window into a zombie apocalypse that is gorgeous both on a visual and narrative level. Check this out from artist Lane....
Isn’t it great? Rough and raw, just the sort of sketches you might expect from a man with nothing else to do but sit and watch zombies (chowing down on humans) all day. I like the way that certain sketches are annotated as well, emphasising the scientific side to Twombly’s character as well as his desire to collect information that may prove useful in the coming days.
Don Roff takes us on the zombie trip itself as well as a trip through Twombly’s state of mind at the same time. Both trips are more than worth the time although the short and punchy tone of the journal entries can leave you feeling that there is more going on in the background that would be cool to find out about. You can’t blame Twombly for keeping things short and sweet, he probably didn’t have that much time to write stuff, but the wider world hinted at could only really be covered in either a full scale novel or a film; you’re not going to get it here.
The journal itself details Twombly’s journey through an apocalyptic landscape teeming with zombies and if you’re a fan of zombie fiction then you will have seen similar characters making similar choices. Should Twombly stay where he is or seek shelter elsewhere? Should he hook up with people or travel alone? You know the drill...
Don’t worry though; you’re not going to be reading ‘The Walking Dead’ all over again. ‘Zombies’ sees Twombly’s scientific turn of mind send him on a trip to determine the cause behind the outbreak. I’d normally rather see the root cause remain a mystery (and just concentrate on the zombies!) but it is very refreshing to see someone try to tackle the underlying issue for a change. As it turns out, we’re given a possible reason for the zombie outbreak and then left to decide for ourselves whether this is the truth or not...
Twombly is an interesting character to follow through his journal. As well as his aforementioned scientific nature lending a more analytical air to the piece, it’s fascinating to see how he copes mentally with the phenomenon. He’s as scared as the next man but it feels like he then discovers strength that he never knew he had. This isn’t just a journey through a zombie infested landscape; it’s a journey through his mind as well. Twombly completes both journeys, to a point... In the best tradition of zombie fiction, the ending is abrupt and is open ended enough to have you pondering for a good while afterwards.
I didn’t expect to get into ‘Zombies’ as much as I did. An initial browse turned into a full on read that didn’t stop until I was finished. This book’s a keeper as far as I’m concerned, if you’re a zombie fan then you should definitely give this one a go!
Eight and Three Quarters out of Ten
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