The Waking #1 (Zenescope – Gregory / Durichio / Henderson / Crank!)
In the big city, four police detectives investigating two routine murders discover that the victims of these crimes are coming back from the dead in search of those responsible for taking their lives. Now the detectives are in a race against time to find the source of the recent “awakenings” and will be torn between doing their jobs or allowing the victims to find their own justice. Meanwhile, a father with an incredible ability must choose between avenging his daughter’s death or losing her forever.
In the last couple years, “zombie” stories have made a huge comeback in the mainstream media. There are an endless number of theatrical and direct to video releases that deal with the theme of “heroes rise from anonymity and battle an undead holocaust”, unfortunately for every one smart and fresh standout like Shaun of the Dead or 28 Days Later there are literally twenty predictable flops. Good or bad (I say that because some fans thrive on bad zombie stories), this proportion has also followed into the comic book landscape. You go to any comic shop or news stand and odds are you can find ten comics that came out this week that deal with protagonist battling rotten fleshy creature that are out to eat them and probably only one of them is not a direct re-hash.
While this review will only deal with issue #1, I have had the privilege of reading all four issues of Raven Gregory’s The Waking, and I can say without a doubt that this one of the smartest, well-constructed, innovative horror books I have read this year.
Gregory sets the stage and tone for the entire series with an emotional opening scene, an apparent “homeless vagrant” type crying in a run down building with his back to a door and his daughter on the other side pounding hard and begging to be let out. If it wasn’t for her word bubbles being all black and uber-ominous, we might think the dad a severe bad guy here. But as it is, we know nothing good for that father lies ahead.
Then the issue opens up to our cast of characters which primarily is made up of police officers, detectives and coroners. During murder investigations the reader gets to meet the primary players through interpersonal dialogue, interactions and reflections on how tough life can be. And just when you get the “oh, this is a HBO cop drama story” vibe, Raven Gregory turns it on it’s ear and cue… dead bodies coming to life.
The story is compelling and intriguing. The Waking is set up in such a way that from this first issue that while you relate and recognize all the classic horror story factors, but you cannot predict where the story will go and to me that is a huge bonus. The characters, while being studly and beautiful in that Zenescope tradition, are both likable and followable. The art team of Vic Durichio (pencils) and Garry Henderson (colors) does a gorgeous and admirable job of capturing fear in the moment and backing Gregory’s tale of restless spirits.
Issue Grade: an unyielding A
Please check out my interview with Raven Gregory here!
You can order The Waking in this month’s Previews or talk to your local comic shop owner. Ships in Feburary.
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