Broken Frontier

An interesting concept and a fast-paced read, Undead Task Force is a gruesome and innovative take on the horror/gore/ action genre.

Scott Reynolds’ story turns bloody in the first few pages, as we are introduced to a jail where the inmates have turned zombie. The gore continues in a bar when a patron gets the kind of kiss you would never expect. Meanwhile, in a New Orleans cemetery, a taskforce of elite soldiers are taking on a horde of zombies, when they are pulled off the mission and sent to the jail, while the President warns, "We can’t have vampires running loose and wild like a bunch of blood sucking fraternity brothers…"

Inside the jail, those prisoners not yet affected (i.e. they haven’t turned zombie), take advantage of the situation to launch a revolution, one that comes up against some unexpected and very undead opposition.

As someone who is not particularly into horror, this is not the type of book that I would normally read. If and when I do read or watch horror, I usually stay away from anything in the zombie genre (As a kid, I had a bad experience that involved Night of the Living Dead!). However, I must admit to enjoying this book! It is a quick and light read, with a story that skips along at a fast beat. There is a creeping sense of danger and anticipation that flows through Reynolds’ story, an ill-feeling that keeps you turning the page as you jump from one bloody scene to the next.

Perhaps the only thing that I didn’t quite enjoy about Reynolds’ writing was the script’s limited concentration on character. I wasn’t left with a clear sense of who everyone in the Undead Task Force was. I really do enjoy the idea of the UTF though, and the idea clearly has a lot of potential. One imagines that the storytelling opportunities are endless, assuming the members of the task force survive each mission!

This is a book that revels in paying homage to the zombie genre, with several money shots and key points in the script that will thrill long-time horror fans. The strongest suit played by this book is its art team. Tone Rodriguez’s art is dynamic and fluid throughout, and the colors are suitably dim and dank, until we reach the necessary spurts of blood and gore…

The story comes to an end with a cliffhanger that leaves you hanging, waiting for the action-packed blood bath that is sure to dominate issue #2.