“Dead of Winter” #1

The popular tabletop game, Dead of Winter, gets a comic book adaptation from Eisner-nominated writer Kyle Starks and Eisner winning artist Gabo, and it’s a surprisingly warm story about the snow-filled zombie apocalypse. Read on for our review, which contains minor spoilers

Cover by Brian Hurtt and Bill Crabtree

Written by Kyle Starks
Illustrated and Colored by Gabriel ‘Gabo’ Bautista
Lettered by Crank!

From the tabletop smash hit comes this new series starring beloved characters from Plaid Hat Games’ Dead of Winter, written by Kyle Starks (the Eisner-nominated Sexcastle), and illustrated by GABO (The Life After). In the pantheon of heroes, none are more lovable and loyal than everyone’s beloved good ol’ dog, Sparky. Surviving in the wintery apocalypse of the undead, this former TV star turned zombie killing machine just wants to make friends and be a good boy. As his fellow survivors scavenge for supplies in the frigid wasteland, will Sparky be able to protect his companions from threats both undead and not yet undead?

If you want to grab people’s attention these day, especially in an overcrowded field such as zombie comics, then you need a good hook, because let’s face it: there’s one particular Image zombie series that’s done quite well for itself, and that’s your direct competition. That’s the issue facing Kyle Starks and Gabo with “Dead of Winter” #1, which is actually an adaptation of a tabletop game, something that comes with its own unique stigma; after all, it’s a sub-genre with arguably more misses than hits. Thankfully, “Dead of Winter” relies on something that we can all rally behind: a lovable canine protagonist.

Choosing to center the story around a group of survivors is one thing, but a group of survivors with a dog in a cape (Sparky was the ‘star’ of a TV Show in which he was a superhero pooch, before the apocalypse), well, that’s another thing entirely. It sounds glib, but “Dead of Winter” could easily have become another clone of more popular franchises, or at least suffer unflattering comparisons. Instead it introduces a unique quality to help it stand out: a  pitch-perfect tone established early on in both the script and the art that skews toward the lighter side.

Set in the inhospitable landscape of a nuclear winter, “Dead of Winter” #1 throws not only the undead horde at the survivors, but the threat of scavenging for supplies in a perpetually frozen wasteland. In this, the story is borrowing from the mechanics and motivations of its tabletop origins. In the game, your every move is dictated not only by the survival of the whole group through offensive and defensive decisions, but by personal motivations and secret objectives. It’s clear from this early chapter Starks is sprinkling the plot with character decisions and narrative hints towards dissension among the cast (there’s conflict about bringing yet more survivors to a camp with supplies already stretched so thin,) and it’s these conflicts that players themselves have faced when playing the game.

There’s no need to have any familiarity with the franchise prior to reading “Dead of Winter” #1, despite the influences of the game. Starks and Gabo choose wisely not to focus the plot overly on the zombies and instead on the characters and their everyday survival tactics. In fact, the zombies present little threat thanks to Sparky’s ability to dispatch the undead more handily than a one-handed sheriff, thereby giving the book more space to focus on the cast and their interpersonal problems.

The concept of an ever-growing group of survivors threatened by the unnatural elements of an eternal winter, an undead horde of zombies, and dwindling supplies doesn’t sound particularly fun, and to a large degree it’s not, but there’s definitely a lighter tone to “Dead of Winter” #1 than most other zombie books. Starks is no stranger to comedy, from his creator-owned works like “Sexcastle” and “Rock Candy Mountain” to his writing on the “Rick and Morty” comic. His humor is tempered here somewhat, which suits the tone of the story. That’s true here with Ruckus Burley, described as ‘White Trash’, who perhaps channels Starks’s unique style of writing more than any other character, calls the undead, ‘Zomboys.’ It’s always verging on meta commentary when he states that they all could have been “hiding from dragons in a cave or . . . casting spells at tree people” instead of surviving the apocalypse.

Similarly, Gabo’s wonderfully cartoon leanings, especially in his characterisations, add an element unfamiliar to the zombie genre, namely a level of warmth and humanity. There are graphic scenes on display here, including the obligatory inventive zombie kills, and Sparky makes more than his fair share of grisly undead murders, however thanks to Gabo the edge is taken off and it’s presented in a way no less graphic, but much more pleasing to the eye. The emotional resonance, however, is much more powerful due to the aesthetic on display, but more on that in a moment. Gabo’s color choices lend a weight to the bleak surroundings, with a cold, realistic palette broken only by a bright page in the middle that depicts Sparky’s previous life as a Lassie-esque television personality. It’s also appropriate that the bright red cape worn by the heroic pooch is sometimes the brightest element on the page.

“Dead of Winter” #1 presents itself as an undoubtedly grim scenario, but overall it has a lighter slant than most, with the delightful twist involving a superhero dog rescuing survivors from the apocalypse. The art and script both lean into the idea that yes, things are gritty and realistic, but central protagonist Gabriel Diaz personifies the feeling of hopeful naivety that permeates through the issue. It’s not until the final few pages of “Dead of Winter” #1, however, that the truth of the series is revealed. It seems like all that came before is merely a ruse to pull the rug out from under you, as the final page cliffhanger feels eminently more twisted and bleak than if it were to appear in a book with a darker tone. Make no mistake: it may be an adaptation of a tabletop game, and it may be facing stiff competition in its class, but “Dead of Winter” is certainly pulling no punches.

Final Verdict: 8.0 – A strong start. A fresh take in a saturated genre, with a deceptively light tone, and a cast that carries real weight and emotion.