Broken Frontier

Amidst a former City of Angels, a group of teenagers tries to survive being the only humans left in town. Yes, all the residents of L.A. are zombies.

Everywhere they turn, some zombie is trying to eat them. So the kids do what they must. They run and hide. And they survive the first night. But what next? They decide that they must try and find other survivors, if there are any. They’ve got to find a place that’s safe to stay where they can hold up and survive the nighttime assault. And they decide they’ve got to get out of town as fast as possible. But when is it ever that easy?

If nothing else, Johanna Stokes’ script doesn’t sweat the small stuff. It really doesn’t have time. As soon as the kids get out of one predicament, they’re squarely in the face of a worse one. This is good because it presents a great many opportunities for some witty dialogue and one-liners. It’s bad because it turns the story itself into just another generic teenage horror book. From the cliché group of main characters to their interaction with each other, everything from the classic "nerd vs. jock" contrast, to the unrequited love, and the minorities that don’t make it is included inside. And don’t even get me started on the deus ex machina ending.

Oddly enough, for a book with this much violence, death, and sexual tension, it really looks like a kid’s book, almost like you’d expect Zombie Tales to include Riverdale High School. A lot of this has to do with the incredibly vibrant colors of Arif Priyanto, which are almost too much for a book with this type of theme. But the illustration of Rhoald Marcellus definitely leans that way as well. Marcellus’ character designs are heavily influenced by anime designs, as are a few of the character moments. The action however, is presented with a more Western influence. None of this means that the book is ever hard to follow, the storytelling is easy to read and all transitions are smooth, just that nothing ever really stands out.

In the end, Zombie Tales ends up a well-produced book that doesn’t offer much inside besides a generic story with generic characters. Fans of teenage horror and/or zombie movies will probably enjoy it, and there is some good violence as well, but on the whole it leaves you feeling like a zombie: empty and hungry for something else.