Broken Frontier

The current top spot on Zuda's competition belongs to Dead in the Now  by Corey Lewis. The story is definitely not your everyday one that's for sure. This webcomic's first eight pages depict a fantastically bizarre world run by armed humanoid wasps. Our young hero, Braz V, is determined to overthrow the hive-like regime with the help of his friend Claire M . . . and an escaped, flesh-eating zombie named Z-Rex.

Substance is intermittent in the highly-stylized scope of Dead in the Now. The world Corey Lewis has created is certainly an intriguing one, especially given how Braz V has no parents because he wasn't "issued" any. Beyond the social crust of world-building, there's also some serious comedy, as seen by Braz's method of zombie domesticating: bacon and a lot of video games.

Dead in the Now certainly has the color, the design and the attitude to make an exceptionally entertaining webcomic, but I still can't help but feel the eight pager replaces the necessary hook with over-the-top exposition. Still, this is one book I definitely want to see in production.

If Dead in the Now is a miring of substance and style, Re-Evolution is all hook and not much else. After a cataclysmic change, life on Earth is nearly eradicated and apes begin to take over. Sound familiar? Well, Re-Evolution tosses an empowered pooch named Che-huahua, who leads the rest of the animal kingdom in a fight against their simian aggressors. It's essentially Planet of the Apes vs. The Taco Bell Dog – and it's surprisingly good.

While Che-huahua might seem like a one trick pony at first, creator Gustavo Higuera imbues every page with enough kinetic comic book cool to stop the premise from being anything but action-packed.

I also can't help but like the element of intrigue the eight pager brings to the table. Why are the apes oppressing other animals? What the humans doing in the zoo, and what happened to destroy the world in the first place? While the image of Che-huahua might look just comical at first, Re-Evolution has a lot more promise in its premise than meets the eye.

Finally, one story that drew me in from the cover alone was Brave Ulysses by Adam C. Moore. The story opens on Ulysses, a tired young officer performing administrative duties for an intergalactic police force. The entire story unfolds as Ulysses drifts off to sleep listening to a recording of one of his heroes, Captain and Chief-Marshall H.B. Manley – a cross between Dick Tracy and Buck Rogers. The rest of the eight-pager is pretty much a standard case for Manley, who almost effortlessly brings down a shuttle of smugglers. But, the book-ending pages remind us, this story isn't about Manley, but about Ulysses – the tired, young officer.

It's good to see some classic space pulp added to the Zuda proceedings, and it's hard to immediately identify with the work-weary Ulysses from the get-go. Unfortunately, that's the biggest problem with the pitch – it doesn't use its main character nearly enough. True, an introduction to Manley – the ideal space hero – is in order, but did we really need six pages of him?

Still, the world, the character and the art are all high quality enough to warrant seeing more of this book, but if Brave Ulysses earns a Zuda commission, I don't want to see any more of Manley than I absolutely have to. It's about Brave Ulysses, after all, and its his space odyssey we want to see, even in the most mundane of settings.