iZombie vol. 2: uVampire

DC/Vertigo

Writer: Chris Roberson; Artist: Michael Allred

Aug 31, 2011 Web Exclusive By Jeremy Nisen

The second collection of iZombie still has all the elements that made the first collection great, but that may be what’s working against it at this point. The tale of Gwen, a zombie whose day job is that of a gravedigger, and her hoary host of friends and acquaintances, should not seem mundane. But this second volume, while still quite good, doesn’t break much ground, and, in fact, gets a little mired.

The art by Michael Allred is still slam-bang fantastic—poppy and pretty and dynamic. One chapter being guest pencilled by Gilbert Hernandez of Love & Rockets fame is not a bad thing either. Roberson’s story is still very good, especially as it pertains to the main character. Gwen uncovers more about her zombie-hood, even as she looks for a little love in the afterlife and tries to set things right for an ex-friend of hers. And the introduction of a bride of Frankenstein-style potential antagonist is intriguing.

Where the story gets a little confused is with Spot, the were-terrier. His own origin story is fine, although the geek aspects feel a little too “on the nose” for this geek. The further subplot of Spot’s grandfather, a voice actor for a cartoon monkey, and their strained relationship is at once an even further “on the nose” story (nerd with disapproving parent, ho hum), and the subsequent death and reincarnation of his grandfather into a primate is a forced irony, not really very funny, and seems to largely be an excuse to have a talking, cigar-smoking monkey. In some stories this is certainly a good thing, but compared to the high bar set by the rest of the book, it’s a come down. Of course, it’s teased that this will unearth more about the nature of afterlife as defined by the series, which could be compelling, but the payoff is not in this volume, so that remains to be seen. (www.dccomics/vertigo)

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