The two first issues of “Revival” were, for lack of a better word, badass. Setting up a zombie story that’s not quite a zombie story — the reanimated are sometimes able to resume their old lives — and having it play out in a small Wisconsin town, Seeley and Norton have aimed for slow-burn spooks as well as gory horror shocks. The result has, so far, more than lived up to the “rural noir” label on the cover of the first issue, with believable characters and sharp art really bringing this story to life.
Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Mike NortonMs. Vang is a little old lady who wants her piece of the pie. And the creature in her basement is how she plans to get it. Meanwhile, Dana and her new partner are on a case, Em has more secrets, and a walking corpse goes to her daughter’s funeral.
As you can probably tell from the solicit, this is definitely an in-between issue, keeping a couple of plot threads going but not quite delivering the same punch as #1 and #2. Which is fine, of course — issues like these break up the overall pacing of the series, even if they (sing it with me if you know the words) will read better in trade.
But as for new elements, the most important seem to be a reporter, May, in the process of getting a new story about the town, and Ms. Vang, her subject, a Hmong lady who (her words) is sick of cleaning white people’s houses, and thinks the thing on the cover might be her ticket to a better life. Actually, this issue places a lot of emphasis on the immigrant Hmong community that, as Dana explains, make up a large part of the working class in Wausau, and if you want to make a stab at theme this early in the series, you might say that it’s something about there being lots of people around — lots of life — that nobody seems to be able to provide for or appreciate. It can’t be a coincidence that the first two Revivers we’ve encountered have been a student and an old woman…
Speaking of unappreciated life, however, we do see a little more of Mr. Abel, the demonologist from issue #2. It turns out he’s able to change a tire but not turn off the volume on his cell phone? He’s shaping to be a pretty interesting character, actually, and even if what we saw him do in issue #2 were to be the absolute worst thing he’s capable of doing that still leaves a lot of room for him to impact the story in some gnarly ways. But for the moment he’s being kept on the back burner, showing up here to remind us he exists and then moving right along. Oh, but while we’re on the topic of Mr. Abel, if want to be reminded of a Limp Bizkit song that had all but disappeared from the earth, this issue features a Limp Bizkit song that had all but disappeared from the earth. Talk about eerie.
Meanwhile, it’s fun to trace the awkwardness between Dana and her new partner Ibrahaim when they could not have had a more unprofessional first meeting. Seeley is fleshing these characters out as flawed but sympathetic, and getting the most out of their clash by having it be as messy as possible. There’s more awkwardness in the form of a neat little scene with Em at school, listening to the obligatory “cool prof” crack wise in class. And while the reveal that occurs here isn’t the most original plot twist in the world, it gets us where we need to go: Em’s got problems, and she’s causing problems for other people, and only time will tell if and how it all relates to her Reviver status.
Put simply, this issue is all about little touches of character development, and they’re certainly not going to waste, deepening our investment in the story and raising the dramatic stakes. It’s no surprise, then, that while we do get the Reviver from issue #1 on a bit of a rampage, Seeley and Norton manage to bring home the emotional punch of this poor lady’s situation as well as underscore the horror of it.
Continued belowNorton’s art is wonderful as usual, clear and precise but leaving room for nuance in the characters’ expressions, while Mark Englert’s muted colours keep the mood realistic but heavy. And while there isn’t an inordinate amount of panels featuring scenery, Norton gets across the setting with verve, portraying that bleak kind of midwinter light like he knows it personally. The first panel of the issue alone — depicting slanting morning shadows across a block of dorm buildings — is more than enough to make this Montrealer dread the next six months.
The only real hiccup is that Dana and May look a touch too alike, and can read as the same character if you’re not careful. But overall the art here is accomplished and assured, selling both the banal and the horrific aspects of a story that’s only been getting better and better.
All told, there’s a lot of neat stuff going on in this issue, and while it doesn’t have the capital-A Awesome factor of the first two there’s still plenty to enjoy. It’s always a pleasure to see creators taking a moment to let character development come to the fore, and when the development is as credible and well thought out as this, it barely feels like a break. That said, I think we’re all ready for another bout of Reviver action in issue #4, and to learning a little more about the phenomenon that’s taken hold of Wausau.
Final Verdict: 8.5 — Buy
