Revival – Graphic Novel Review

Revival is perfect if you’re looking for:
* a philosophical, thought-provoking take on zombies
* moody rural horror and striking visuals
* complex characters and relationships

Revival Volume One: You’re Among Friends
by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton (2013)    
For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it’s up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them. In a town where the living have to learn to deal with those who are supposed to be dead, Officer Cypress must solve a brutal murder, and everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.
My result: Recommended

A fresh take on zombies

The dead keep the same personalities and knowledge as when they were living. Revival is a story as much about relationships as it is about the dead. How do you make room in your life for those you’ve already mourned? How do you move on when some of you are stuck forever?

Conflicting beliefs in an isolated environment

I loved the philosophical and religious aspects, as everyone comes up with their own theories of what’s happened and why. The townspeople interpret the Revival as evidence of God’s existence. The triumph of demons. The beginning of the rapture. Mass hysteria. Or scientific anomaly. Those beliefs cause simmering tension that threatens to break into violence at any moment. The town is quickly quarantined, and the tensions ratchet up another notch. Revival uses horror’s isolated environment trope to good effect, and there’s more than enough variety in this small town to set up a lot of future drama.

Beautiful artwork

The artwork is atmospheric and moody, especially in the covers and larger panels. Facial expressions are perfect, expressive and subtle as the story demands. I also appreciated the diversity in the characters, even those in the background of the scene. There’s no default white here, and there’s a range of ages presented too. The artwork captures this realistically, with faces that feel genuine and never stereotyped.

Strong Characters

For characters, I adore Ibrahaim Ramin, the CDC liason. He’s smart and capable, and an outsider viewpoint I can really root for. The complex father-daughter relationship between Dana and Wayne Cypress is also intriguing, with even more tension added by the fact that they’re Sheriff and Constable in this small town. I’m looking forward to reading more of these characters.

You may also like:

• Walking Dead – If you want zombie comics, you want Walking Dead. There are differences between the comics and the TV show, so the plot will still surprise you.
• 30 Days of Night – Horror in an isolated Alaska town, with beautiful art and terrifying vampires. (Read my review on Goodreads.)
• Hack/Slash Omnibus – A young survivor hunts down serial killers, by the same author as Revival.