Amigo Comics 2020
Written by Victor Santos
Illustrated by Alberto Hernández
Lettered by Monkey Typers
What I mean by revenge
The living dead triumphed, and now on the top are the "Fathers", undead with telepathic powers... and the living form the base of the food chain. And there, Ezequiel Himes looks for vengeance.
Here we are once again with a book that is only two issues which is now completed and it has left me wanting so much more. Victor and Alberto have managed to create a nice little world here that is unlike anything else that we’ve seen. Sure it has some standard zombie tropes, there are some constants that seem to be universal however, this world is completely unconventional to say the least. This new mythology that is being created with the “Fathers” is something that I cannot get enough of. The originality and thoughtfulness that it takes to bring this to life for the reader is astounding.
The way this is being told is incredibly strong. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. The flashback to the past, how that has shaped his present, it all makes for intense and captivating reading. The character development is great and as we see the events, the circumstances and situations that Ezequiel finds himself in and how he reacts them shows us the measure of the man. Also it leaves us with a slew of unanswered questions as well, which is fine because in all honesty I want to see and learn more. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way we see how everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
I like the way that this is structured and how we see the layering within the story itself. There is a lot of stuff that is left open ended and I just hope it means that the guys plan on revisiting this world and Ezequiel to bring us more of his adventures. Both in the past and from where this leaves off, I'm not picky it can be anywhere in the timeline of his life. Seeing how it all begins wouldn’t hurt either but then again I am kind of okay with not knowing that.
The interiors here are really good. They aren’t what I would normally gravitate towards but that’s part of why I really like it. The linework is great and how we see the detail work being done thanks to its varying weights is fantastic. There are some truly creepy ass moments as well when you just see a zombie in a certain way that leaves the reader unsettled and oh my stars and garters it hits you. The way we see backgrounds being utilised to help create the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope of the book is handled extremely well. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a very interestingly talented eye for storytelling. That this isn’t traditional black and white work and in the tradition of the old spaghetti westerns I think the sepia tones are incredibly well laid down. The hues and tones we see utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is expertly rendered.
Ezequiel Himes is an amazing character and the world in which he lives is crazy, nonstop and above all dangerous as all get out and it’s these factors that make us want to see more. The writing is stellar and the interiors are really well suited to the story creating a stunning backdrop for this to be told.