Skip to content

Z NATION VOL.1: SEA OF DEATH

Written By:

Gareth Evans
Z NATION VOL1 SEA OF DEATH

Z Nation Vol.1: Sea of Death is the start of Dynamite Comic’s prequel series to the Z Nation TV series. While its function is to set up the status quo for its series, it could have just as easily worked as a standalone story. The setup is simple. Johnson, a member of what remains of the US National Guard is tasked with searching a ship for desperately needed food substitute but finds that the current owner isn’t willing to share.

The quality that makes this book stand out among other similar stories is how over the top the writers and artist are willing to get. Just about everything that could threaten a ship out to sea during a zombie apocalypse shows up here, and humans are not the only creature around to succumb to the zombie virus. The action is constantly moving, and the variety of obstacles for the main characters to face leads to some impressively drawn moments that would not be out of place in an old-school horror movie.

The characters are the sort of stock types that are commonplace in this genre. Johnson is strong, capable, and stern. He does his best to get the mission done, and early on he makes it clear that he will not let the villain’s actions go unpunished. He is a suitable lead character, and he does a good job of keeping the plot moving. He may not offer anything new but he what he does bring to the comic is done well.

The villain is the star of the show in this comic. Like Johnson, he isn’t new. He is an over the top (formerly) rich man who will happily sacrifice others to keep himself alive, or even just entertained. What makes him such a strong character to read is the lengths that he goes to in order to stay ahead. He starts off seeming like just a simple sea captain but then spends the rest of the book slowly revealing that he is what would happen if Lex Luthor was on a boat surrounded by zombies. As a villain, he falls squarely into the ‘love to hate’ category.

Z Nation Vol.1: Sea of Death is a faithful recreation of an eighties zombie movie in comic book form. It doesn’t challenge the expectations of that premise, but it certainly lives up to them.

Z NATION VOL.1: SEA OF DEATH/ WRITERS: CRAIG ENGLER, FRED VAN LENTE/ ARTIST: EDU MENNA/ COLOURS: SAL ADIALA/ LETTERS: SIMON BOWLAND/ PUBLISHER: DYNAMITE COMICS/ RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Gareth Evans

You May Also Like...

andy and barbara muschietti, aka the muschiettis, teaming with skydance for horror label nocturna

The Muschiettis Launch Horror Label NOCTURNA With Skydance

The It-team are joining forces with Skydance to launch a brand new horror division named Nocturna, THR reports. The brother-sister filmmaking duo known as the Muschiettis – Andy and Barbara
Read More
patty jenkins returns to the star wars film rogue squadron

Patty Jenkins Returns With STAR WARS’ ROGUE SQUADRON Film

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has given an encouraging update on what was presumed to be a dead project, stating that she’s back in active development on her Star Wars
Read More

Comic Book CAPITAL P Launched

Capital P Book One is the first part of a twelve-issue comic book maxi-series from writer Sam Gardner Jr and artist Jerome Canty. The official tag line is “A hero
Read More
neve campbell as sidney prescott in scream

Neve Campbell Returns To SCREAM Franchise

In an unexpected turn of events, Neve Campbell is confirmed to be returning to the Scream franchise, after several upsets to the production of Scream VII. It’s particularly surprising news
Read More

The First Trailer for THE CROW is Here

The highly anticipated remake of The Crow has its first trailer, which you can check out below. The film stars Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven and FKA Twigs as Shelly
Read More

Submit Your Film to THE RAY HARRYHAUSEN AWARDS

The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation is once again holding an awards programme to recognise excellence in the field of stop-motion effects. This year’s submission fees have also been reduced!
Read More