Broken Frontier

Risers are zombies that rise from the grave to finish some dark business they left behind. Annette returns, but she has no secret to pursue. Why is she back?

Risers is a different kind of zombie book. In fact, it is more akin to Charles Burns’ Black Hole than it is The Walking Dead. The first big difference in this book is that the story is pretty much told from a zombie’s point of view. We see the world as it happens to Annette, a fresh riser who is unsure of her purpose.

That’s really the big thematic similarity to Burns’ opus. These zombies have some deep dark secret that they need to atone for before they can find eternal peace. For the most part, these are not good people. They come back and fix what they did or get the people around them to make peace with them and they pass on. Or they get to be the living dead. Here they are fully aware and functional. Zombies have even written books. These are not slack jawed brain suckers.

No, these zombies need their reasoning to accomplish their mission. Ned is the head of a facility that tries to assist the risers in their new "life." Their location is somewhat secretive, as there are large factions of the population that would love to rid the Earth of this abomination.

The book is not your typical horror title. In fact, other than some flesh eating and some radical fundamentalist Christians, there is nothing horrific about this story. It is a comic book version of What Dreams May Come. People have to make peace with what they did in life, before they can move on. It is a careful and fantastic character study that takes us from the clinical world of safety to underground communities and the dens of righteous vigilantes.

It is also a tale of a woman watching everything she knows crumble around her. Annette thinks she led a good life. It is difficult for her or her family to come to terms with her arrival back in the world of the living. Her family rejects her. The staff of the facility is at a loss as to why she is there and her fellow zombies note that she is different. But beyond that she must study those around her and come to terms with why they are there and what it all means. She is shielded from the feasting of her peers and is horrified when that secret comes to fruition.

Ultimately, Fisher is studying the nature of humanity. He has found a device that makes it easier to show the reader the ugliest sides of themselves. Make the dark soul of people a monster and it is a more palatable story. Writers have done this for ages, whether it be the ancient tale of Grendel or the more modern slasher like Hanibal Lector. That slippery slope of evil can be best studied as a caricature of our primeval worst.

Belcher is an able assistant in bringing this allegory to fruition. His human designs are just as unattractive as his zombies. It is not a far stretch to see most of the people in this book returning to pay the piper. His art needs some polishing. There are slight inconsistences here and there, but he brings a strong style and storytelling ability to the book. There are panels that just pop and bring out the emotional gravitas of the narrative. Together they work well. Belcher also helps with the reminiscence of Black Hole with an angular style that is grotesque and surreal.

Risers is a book with a strong voice. It is not groundbreaking in any single sense, but it is a reprieve from the usual methods used to tell this kind of story and it is not your typical zombie bandwagon book. This is something with careful consideration behind it. It is a deep and provocative book that shows promise from a couple of rising talents.