The Other Dead #5

The Other Dead #5

Writer/Co-creator: Joshua Ortega
Co-creator: Digger T. Mesch
Artist: Qing Ping Mui
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Tom B. Long
Cover Artists: Pat David (tiger cover), Sam Shearon (Obama/eagler cover), Kevin Eastman and David Millgate with colors by Blond (gorilla cover)

In the last issue, we had promise of a bloodbath. Everyone was locked up in a remote house in the woods surrounded by herds of zombie animals. The Other Dead #5 delivers the action, but not much else. There are no good character moments, no tantalizing plot twists or reveals, and even the action is leaves something to be desired. To be honest, it feels like this series is losing steam.

Plotwise, the characters get attacked by a lot of zombie animals. First off, there’s zombie wolves which can’t be killed for some reason, even with headshots. Then there’s the zombie deer. The final wave is a bunch of zombie bears. As cool as a zombie bear might be, it was pretty ridiculous to see a whole herd of them all magically appear at one time. While this may be a zombie story, the writers really need to decide if they want to tell a realistic what-if situation or a totally ridiculous spoof on the genre. As is, they’re walking the line between both and it’s resulting in a mediocre comic.

There are other problems in this issue as well. From a soldier duel wielding assault rifles while riding on a helicopter support strut to troops going into combat at night with sunglasses on, there are plenty of logic flaws in the artwork. Adding to the weirdness is covers illustrating zombie tigers, gorillas and eagles, none of which appear in this issue.

Even with all of that set aside, the comic doesn’t have much going for it. The dialog, the artwork and the characters are all mediocre. The story doesn’t have much punch. At this point, there’s just not much of anything to stick around for. The issue ends with the promise of zombie bats, but I’m not sure I want to buy another issue. The novelty of specific animals being zombified can only carry the series so far. If they really want this series to last and to carry an audience, they need to back it up with rich characters and tense and intriguing plot developments. Right now, they have a cast of characters I care nothing for with issue after issue passing by without any meaningful character development. The plot is as shallow as can be where the only surprises are what zombie animal will attack next. It’s not a good formula.

It’s sad to see a promising series flounder, but the way this one is going, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I give this issue a two and a half out of five metal bikinis. It’s neither good nor bad, but something uncomfortably in the middle.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.