Action Lab Entertainment 2016
Written & Lettered by Steve Bryant
Illustrated by Mark Stegbauer
Coloured by Jason Millet
Colour Assists by Drew Browne
Something stranger than usual haunts Full Moon Hollow, Paranormal Capital of the World. Adults either can’t see it, can’t remember it, or go crazy from it. So when zombies attack during the Hemlock County Scouting Jamboree, only a group of misfits can save the Hollow. Be prepared. Be very prepared!
So far this is everything I wanted “The Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” to be. Humorous, interesting and full of characters that don’t fit it but find a way to save the day with each other. I think this might also be the first time i’m not going to care about how a zombie apocalypse will have started just that it made it’s way the campgrounds the kids were at.
Well we open with the boys as they are sitting around a campfire arguing. Seems they’ve been banished from the rest for well being boys, see irresponsible behavior. They’ve got one among them who seems to be the jock type and really doesn’t fit in with the other three. The characterization here is great we really get a look at a couple of the boys right off the bat and get a nice feel for their dynamic. Also I have to say love the way the zombies came! That was a pretty smooth and genius move to have it happen that way.
After a not so nice move by the jock type the others find the girls who are also scouts and camping out in the woods. So now there’s five of them and it’s a right proper group to save the town from being overrun by a zombie horde. Once they meet the girls it seems everyone gets more characterization through actions and dialogue. This really helps set the new dynamic for this group moving forward. Though I have to say two very opinionated and “natural” leaders from different groups working together will fun to see.
Mark, Jason and Drew do some nice work on the interiors here. Mark has a good strong eye for storytelling and how the pages and panels should help the flow of the book. It’s an all-ages title so nothing too gruesome is shown and yet we still get to see a very good imagination on display. Heck it isn’t easy to make zombies all-ages and it’s done well here.
I like the idea behind the story too, being prepared, accepting others who are different than you and most importantly teamwork to save the day. They are universal and we should be reminded of them at every age/stage of life. Sometimes I think we forget what we learned as kids or we weren’t exposed enough to various cultures and peoples that we aren’t sure how to act. So this is a great reminder for that even if you don’t look at it from that angle it’s a great story.
Action Lab is putting out some of most unexpected, fun and intelligent books around and you should be noticing that!