Revival #1

Revival #1. Buy it. The end.

No, just kidding. Not about the buying part, though. You should definitely do that. In fact, go ahead and do that now. I'll wait here.
La la la. La la la. La la la.
Oh good, you're back. Now don't read it yet, let me tell you why you just bought an amazing book. Then you can read it and see how right I was.

Image has some of the best horror books in the market today. This one has quickly put itself right near the top. It has all the creepy atmosphere, intriguing characters, suspenseful moments, and gore needed to scare the living bejeezus out of you. The last two or three pages really grab you and don't let go. I literally yelled an expletive out loud when I read it. And I read it at work, so talk about awkward.

I'm not going to get into too much detail about the plot. I feel it would spoil a great mystery that the first issue really only hints at. Too many things are spoiled by trailers or solicitations nowadays. Remember before the internet when you didn't know when a character was going to die? Man, those were the days. Everything was exciting. Now we're all jaded before we even read the issue. Just go to any comic site's forums. People hate books just from teaser pictures. It's ridiculous.
Wow, where'd all that come from? Sorry about that. Anyways, what I will say about the plot is that it is not zombies. At least not your typical ones if it has to be classified as zombies. Trust me, it's a pretty fresh take on the horror genre.

The art is really gorgeous. It's a great blend of realistic, yet cartoony. The people look like they could be people you know, yet exist in a fantasy world. And we should all be thankful we don't live in their world. The fact that the entire first issue takes place in the daylight and yet is still as scary as if it took place at midnight is all in thanks to Mike Norton's handiwork.

Norton and writer Tim Seeley have a real winner on their hands. Revival came out the same day as the 100th issue of The Walking Dead. I don't think that was a coincidence. It was a perfect marketing opportunity by Image to get some attention to their next horror icon. Will Revival make it to issue #100? Will it surpass The Walking Dead as the premiere horror comic currently on the stands? I don't have the answers to either of those questions, but I do know it's off to the right start to accomplish both of those things.