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Advance Review: 28 Days Later #12

By | June 23rd, 2010
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

This week is a huge week from Boom! Studios, giving us new issues of their hot new series 7 Psychopaths, Incorruptible, and this very successful adaptation of Alex Garland and Danny Boyle’s zombie film 28 Days Later. The story has been building tremendously, as one of the survivors from the film (Selena) continues to guide a team of journalists into the zombie infested Britain with many roadblocks along the way.

The series has been sharp lately, but does that streak continue? Find out after the jump as I take a look at 28 Days Later #12.

28 Days Later #12
Written by:  Michael Alan Nelson
Illustrated by: Declan Shalvey

In recent issues of 28 Days Later, our heroes Selena, Derrick, Clint and Douglas have gotten into the thick of things in the worst way possible. They’ve gotten mixed up with American soldiers who are collecting the undead for unknown reasons and are for some reason gunning for Selena herself. It seems she has a history with some American military man named Captain Stiles, and it appears to be from her time as one of the Manchester Three (see: 28 Days Later, the film). Almost all of these plot threads come to a head in this issue, as we begin to figure out what exactly the Americans are doing and what exactly it means for our (not so) merry band of heroes.

While Michael Alan Nelson, to me, feels like John Jackson Miller did on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic at times (in that he was more of a caretaker to a brand than a writer), in this issue he started to stand out a bit. We’re given some significant moments for all involved: Derrick proves his worth, Selena is quickly broken and fixed thanks to her hard as nails nature, and Douglas finally becomes the cannon fodder he was long destined to be. He mixes these moments together well, creating an issue that progresses the plot significantly as well as gives genre fans some serious blood and gore to root for.

All of this action is ably represented by Declan Shalvey, an artist who has been a real find on this book for me. His work has grounded the book with a real sense of atmosphere and dread, draping scenes in darkness when the times are tough and never skimping on detail where necessary. One scene that he really impresses on (and Nelson is likely part of the reason this decision was made as well) was when Selena puts Douglas out of his misery. A lot of horror books would take glee in killing an infected child, but Shalvey keeps the death off panel and even effective as an offensive technique (read the book to understand that).

This was another solid entry into the series, and perhaps the best yet in simple terms of plot progression and character moments. While it still doesn’t reach any of the heights of intensity or emotion that the film itself did, it does continue the ongoing theme of telling a damn good story in an effective manner.

Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy


David Harper

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