Aftershock Comics 2017
Story by Eric Bromberg, Brandon Auman & Frank Tieri
Written by Frank Tieri
Illustrated by Oleg Okunev
Coloured by Rob Schwager
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
How did Roderick Helms' and Geofrey Anteil's journey as members of Fiat Lux begin? We find out this issue as a journey of another sort is underway for Fiat Lux — a race to rescue the Pope himself in Avignon! What knowledge of the zombie plague does the Pope possess? And will he share it with Roderick and his men before it's too late?
Well I’m always a fan of alternate history and I’m a fan of horror, zombies in particular specially when they bring something new to the mythology. So that this one is all about the Church and it’s army facing off against the plague that isn’t just Black is Zombie has piqued more than my curiosity already and continues to thrill with each new issue. It does make me wonder how much of the story is thought of before Frank gets to run wild with it, because honestly if I’m going to give a story like to someone Frank’s the man who gets a blank slate.
Okay on a personal note I loved the opening here. As Roderick and his men are seen as we see them, naked, strung up and being tortured for the sheer fun of it before being rescued and becoming members of the Fiat Lux. Now I know Oleg could’ve done better and not used shadows like that, it’s silly already that people feel the need to hide a penis or two throughout a story. It’s something all men have and shouldn’t make anyone nervous, squeamish or upset and if it does that’s their issue not Aftershock’s or the comics. Even more so when Geoffrey says what he does when they are saved, c’mon seriously guys?
So the group is on it’s way to find and rescue the Pope. It’s on this journey that Frank takes to the past to see how they ended up where they are now. It’s also a great opportunity to show us that this isn’t going to be like any other zombie story we’ve seen to date. I will wholeheartedly admit that this doesn’t go anything like I was expecting and that means what’s to follow should be particularly interesting to see.
As far as the interiors go I do like them, hiding aside. Oleg has a nice eye for storytelling and while it’s got a decided comic book style to it and the dead don’t frighten as much as they could it’s still a nice use of creativity and imagination. His use of page layouts through angles, perspective and even backgrounds make the story fun and interesting to see. There’s still some interesting attention to detail here and overall i’m digging his work.
While I’m not sure how long this is supposed to last, six issues or longer, I will say that the pacing is nice to see. Already they’ve reached where they need to be but that’s only part of what they need to do. Getting in is always easier than getting out and when you read the story you’ll understand why so much better.
The Church, it’s soldiers, doctors and zombies all have to find a way to survive the Plague it’s a race against time and the odds don’t look that good for Roderick and his men.