G.R.A.V.E. Grrrls:Destroyers Of The Dead #1

I am a zombie nut, that is I love the whole zombie genre. From the classic Night Of The Living Dead to every bad rip-off since then. So when a new zombie comic hits the stands you can bet that it will fall into my grubby little hands. There is nothing better than a good zombie comic, unless of coarse it involves zombies eating cats,now there is a great comic idea.

G.R.A.V.E. Grrrls: Destroyers Of The Dead #1 is a fresh edition to the ranks of horror comics. Written by Scott Licina and with art by Ken Wolak, Grrrls is definitely a tour-de-force in visceral carnage that runs cover to cover. The story hints at what's to come in this 3-part mini-series, introduces us to 2 of the 3 G.R.A.V.E. (which stands for Genetically Refined And Virally Enhanced) Grrrls by the names of Tara Nathan-Tate "Boom-Boom" and Susan Sweetwater "Suzi Sioux". We also get a brief description and background to the "Born Again Chip" which plays importantly into the storyline. As with all my reviews I do not want to delve too deeply into story plot so as not to give away any spoilers to new readers. We are also treated to a 5 page preview of the upcoming series Project:Born Again by Scott Licina and Ollie Nome. This initial release was solicitated originally under the Moonstone logo but just before press time the creative team parted ways with Moonstone and self-published under their own Midnight Show banner. Issue #1 was released with 3 covers. 2 by issue artist Ken Wolak and a special variant by Alex Ross.

I would like to take a moment now to look at the creative team behind this new comic. If anyone out there could write a good zombie comic it would be Scott Licina. Scott is an amazingly multi-faceted creator who has had his hands in many genres over the years. As a composer Scott has worked on many projects including Alex Ross's Earth X soundtrack and the comic soundtrack for Purgatory for the late Chaos Comics. Scott also produced the new soundtrack used in the 30th Anniversary Edition of the Night Of The Living Dead DVD in which he also acted in newly filmed footage as Rev. Hicks. Scott also had his hands in the musical parody The Slice Girls. Scott's writing on this book is more like a screenplay than a normal comic story and the action flows cleanly page to page. Even pages with large amounts of dialogue can be easily followed and don't let your interest waver(hint to Kevin Smith). G.R.A.V.E. Grrrls is a excellent edition to Scott's ever growing portfolio of accomplishments. (Oh wait, I almost forgot to mention the old Dark Theatre days. For some nostalgia check out this old pic of Vlad Licina.)

Ken Wolak takes up all the art chores on the new series and supplies 2 of the 3 covers for Issue #1. Ken has been in the business for many years and has his hands on many of the top titles in comics including Captain America, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Youngblood, Kolchak The Night Stalker and Robin Hood. Ken's art has progressed over the years and I have to say that this is the best and most polished art I have seen from him. His art is crisp and clean with great facial expressions and panel use. And when the body parts start to fly, Ken does not let us down with all the gore and blood you would expect from a good zombie tale. The full page shot on page 4 of issue #1 can't help but bring back memories of the old EC horror comics. (Also a note of personal thanks to Ken, last year at the Wizard Chicago he drew a beautiful rendition of Matt Wagner's Hunter Rose Grendel for me which now is a prized possession in my display case.)

This is a book that any horror comic fan should not pass up. I know it won't be every readers cup of tea, but ya never know, ya might like it. Overall a very well done book and doesn't stumble at all like most 1st time self-published books seem to do. A well drawn and thought out story which is guaranteed to pull you back for issue #2. Scott and Ken have created a great new story and if they keep it up we could see them take over the modern shock/horror comic spot left vacant by Chaos Comics.

Hopefully next week I will get to have a interview with the creative team and I will post it here along with some artwork from the upcoming issue. Take some time to check out the official website at www.gravegrrrls.com where they have some great info and a contest to win a piece of original Alex Ross artwork.

G.R.A.V.E. Grrrls:Destroyers Of The Dead #1 Midnight Show 2005