The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks

Max Brook's newest installment of his zombie journalism series is a book of short stories in comic book form. This report is very enlightening, detailing the presence and outbreaks of the zombie virus throughout time. The narratives are arranged in chronological order, from 60,000 BC to AD 1992. The places of each incident are as diverse as the time periods, starting from Central Africa and ending in California. The important part of this text is how other cultures in different time periods reacted to and survived the zombie outbreak so we can learn from others' experiences when zombies attack our own cities.

I read this book in about a half an hour. This graphic novel is very fast read, but it packs a punch. It is indeed very graphic and not for the faint of heart. I don't think I've ever seen zombies drawn with such care and attention. Every sinew, bite, and bone is very detailed. The art is simply amazing. In my opinion, it might have been more powerful if it had been in color, but it's still enjoyable in black and white.

There is very light dialog and narrative, but the art shows you a lot of the story. A lot of narration isn't really necessary. It's a great way to utilize the form of a graphic novel. Each story has the same basic plot in that zombies attack and they must learn how to defeat them swiftly or face the same fate as their attackers. However, each had different characters and ways of dealing with them. I was impressed that so much can be told in a very short story. Each of the scenes were unique and evoked a different emotion. A couple made me laugh, but a some gave me a sick, sinking feeling in my stomach. (I love when I get that feeling from something I'm reading.) Most of those moments were because of the derangement and cruelty of man in events in history more than the zombies. My favorite story is the one about Ancient Egypt and the possible reason behind their traditional treatment of the dead.

I would recommend reading The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z first, because this is a more of a supplementary text (and those two books are awesome), but I think it can still be enjoyed all by itself. I would recommend this to zombie fans with a high tolerance for gore.

5/5