Artist: Oleg Okunev
Publisher: Aftershock Comics
Reviewer: Justin Burkhardt and @justinburkhardt on Twitter
Who doesn’t love medieval times? (and no I’m not talking about the family dinner theater) It’s one of my favorite periods of history, and for good reason. The medieval period was a brutal time to be alive. It was also a time where cool looking armor and weapons were necessary since crime and war were common place. Add in the scenery, and you’ve got a period of time that people’s imagination just loves to run wild with.
It was also a time of famine and disease, including one of the most famous (and devastating) pandemics in all of human history: The Black Death. An estimated 75-200 million people died during the time period of 1346-1353. The Black Death also created even more social, economic, and religious issues, which completely changed world history.
But what if the Black Death wasn’t the Bubonic Plague, but instead was zombie related? Well that’s what Aftershock’s new comic PESTILENCE is all about. Being a fan of world history, I put this on my pull list the second I read about it in Previews.
PESTILENCE #1 is written by veteran comic writer Frank Tieri (WOLVERINE, DEADPOOL) with artwork by Oleg Okunev (RED FURY, INOK) and its one action packed first issue. The story starts with a map with some main characters and an introduction (I’m a sucker for a good introductory map, especially when it comes to a complex story). We find that it is 1347 and we will be following the men of Flat Lux, the assassin’s arm of the church. They are lead by ex-Crusader Roderick Helms and have been sent to figure out the cause of this outbreak and destroy it before it destroys the earth.
You get solid introductions to each character and it’s the kind of story where different readers will have a different favorite character depending on what they like. Yes it’s another zombie comic, but this book does a good job building on the character’s personalities that it doesn’t feel like just another zombie book. It is a darker story, but there are also some comedic lines as well to lighten it up a bit.
The art is by Okunev and he does a great job with his panels. The comic builds up to the zombie reveal, and so does his artwork. If the final few pages are any indication of what’s to come, Okunev will be doing great work with this gory and gritty zombie story. I haven’t heard of Okunev until now, but I think more readers will know his name very soon.
If there will be one turn off to some, it will be that this book in addition to having violence, gore, and bad language, it has some pretty sexual parts in the story as well. I really wasn’t expecting it and it didn’t deter me from reading, but I could see how it may not be for everyone (and it is DEFINITELY not for kids). I give PESTILENCE #1 4 out of 5 rat fleas. If you’re a fan of medieval times or zombies, you’ll enjoy it. If you’re a fan of both, I think you may really love this book. This is another hot book that has already gone to a second printing, so you may have trouble getting your hands on one!
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