Review: Living with the Dead

Two boys, a girl, and seven billion living dead!

Writer: Mike Richardson

Artist: Ben Stenbeck

Cover Artist: Richard Corben

Two survivors enjoy the good (as it gets) life years after zombies have risen and the world as we know it is no more. Straw and Whip (they made up their own names after the Zombies took over) are relatively happy with the world they live in – sometimes they argue but the rest of the time they kick back and play instruments on the roof.

So what could possibly ruin a perfect friendship that has helped these two men survive while others perished? A woman of course.

Straw and Whip find Betty in a shopping mall and rescue her from a horde of living dead (though she seemed to be doing just fine on her own) and from then on, the best friends become rivals as they try to win the affections of possibly the last woman on earth.

Interested? You should be! This is a quirky little gem and simply a great read.

The artwork is of a high standard and compliments the comedic tone of the story and the gore is not over the top to the point of ridicule. This is a story about characters and the zombies need to take a back seat from time to time so less gore works well.

Quirky characters help to set up jokes and one liners but Betty is a relatively unbelievable character and most will find her annoying, however, this may have been something that was needed for the overall story.

There are two major flaws in the story that can’t really be overlooked. Straw is left for dead by Whip, who did this on purpose. Although this shows that there is rivalry and it is believable that Whip would leave Straw knocked out in a supermarket – It is not believable that he would leave no weapons or a zombie disguise (the zombies are easily fooled) for Straw to defend himself. The other flaw is the finale, it seems rushed and creates numerous plot holes.

The Living with the Dead graphic novel is a compilation of a three part mini series and due to this it is fast paced and fun but also leaves you wanting more…