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A review by ashlylynne
28 Days Later, Vol. 1: London Calling by Michael Alan Nelson, Declan Shalvey
4.0
I’ve been a fan of these movies ever since discovering them way back when I was in high school because I’ve always been a zombie lover (even if these aren’t typical zombies in the sense). It was different then, though. I first watched these movies when I was 16, which was 8 years ago already! (good god…) The Walking Dead hadn’t blown out of the water yet, so zombie-themed movies and books were scarce (not altogether, but far more than they are now) and harder to come by. But, I’ve always been a particularly good finder. (Okay, I’m not actually a Hufflepuff, but it’s a close second. If I weren’t popping a squat in the Ravenclaw common room, I would 100% be in the Hufflepuff one.)
Anyway, I’m getting off topic. The point of all this is that I really like these 2 movies. Although, I will say that the first one is far better than the second, but I still recommend watching both. So, when I came across this companion comic series, I knew I had to read it.
Synopsis
(of both)
Selena, as seen in the movie 28 Days Later as one of the main protagonists, is in a refugee camp and, there, is approached by a journalist who wants to get inside London, but more broadly even the UK will do, in order to report what’s happening there so the rest of the world has some idea of what’s happening and why it was evacuated and shut down. After much convincing, Selena finally agrees to head back into enemy territory and fight to expose the truth.
This series takes place sometime between the 2 films. Watching the first film is not vital to familiarize yourself with the story before reading this series as it’s a completely new story, but I highly recommend you do to get some grounding about who everyone is and what’s been happening.
28 Days Later, Vol. 1: London Calling by Michael Alan Nelson and Declan Shalvey
★★★★
Genre: Comic Series/Post-Apocalypse
Release Date: March 2010
Source: ComiXology – Borrowed
28 Days Later, Vol. 2: Bend in the Road by Michael Alan Nelson, Declan Shalvey, and Marek Oleksicki
★★★★
Genre: Comic Series/Post-Apocalypse
Release Date: June 2010
Source: ComiXology – Borrowed
I had no idea what to expect going into this series. I didn’t even know these comics existed until I came across them on comixology.com and read the 2 they had available straight away.
My experience could have gone either very well or very badly, as I’ve enjoyed the movies for so long–long enough to be a bit (okay, a lot) nostalgic about them.
I’m glad that I ended up enjoying this read.
This was a good story that was fun to read. Although, I will admit the premise of getting Selena back into London was pretty unbelievable. After she fought so hard to get out, I don’t think she would have gone back in for anything. I really don’t. Especially given that this comic doesn’t mention much about her new companions and, especially, her love interest of the movie. The comics paint her far more of a hardass than she actually was.
That being said, Salena is such a great character, so I did really enjoy getting to know more about her. I was really enjoying seeing her develop further and how she dealt with all the other characters. (Even if the writers did draw on her early film self versus her later film self that became far more soft and found something to live for).
Despite my complaints about the way the characters found themselves in enemy territory, I did really enjoy the plot once things took off. It had good pacing, excellent character development, and plenty of fight scenes. I thought the story progressed nicely from volume 1 to volume 2. I read them in succession, so it’s hard for me to separate where one ended and the other began. Still, I know the transition was seamless and had well-written cliff hangers.
It was very awesome to see a story I love in a different medium. I loved the artwork. I loved the dark colors (almost muted, but not quite) and the detail. Everything about it was very similar to how dark (no I’m not talking plot-wise; I’m talking actually dark) the movie scenes were.
I just really loved mostly everything about this story and enjoyed reading it. I recommend both the movie duolagy and this comic series to anyone who, like me, still likes zombies. I’ll be continuing on to volume 3.
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Dreaming Through Literature.
Anyway, I’m getting off topic. The point of all this is that I really like these 2 movies. Although, I will say that the first one is far better than the second, but I still recommend watching both. So, when I came across this companion comic series, I knew I had to read it.
Synopsis
(of both)
Selena, as seen in the movie 28 Days Later as one of the main protagonists, is in a refugee camp and, there, is approached by a journalist who wants to get inside London, but more broadly even the UK will do, in order to report what’s happening there so the rest of the world has some idea of what’s happening and why it was evacuated and shut down. After much convincing, Selena finally agrees to head back into enemy territory and fight to expose the truth.
This series takes place sometime between the 2 films. Watching the first film is not vital to familiarize yourself with the story before reading this series as it’s a completely new story, but I highly recommend you do to get some grounding about who everyone is and what’s been happening.
28 Days Later, Vol. 1: London Calling by Michael Alan Nelson and Declan Shalvey
★★★★
Genre: Comic Series/Post-Apocalypse
Release Date: March 2010
Source: ComiXology – Borrowed
28 Days Later, Vol. 2: Bend in the Road by Michael Alan Nelson, Declan Shalvey, and Marek Oleksicki
★★★★
Genre: Comic Series/Post-Apocalypse
Release Date: June 2010
Source: ComiXology – Borrowed
I had no idea what to expect going into this series. I didn’t even know these comics existed until I came across them on comixology.com and read the 2 they had available straight away.
My experience could have gone either very well or very badly, as I’ve enjoyed the movies for so long–long enough to be a bit (okay, a lot) nostalgic about them.
I’m glad that I ended up enjoying this read.
This was a good story that was fun to read. Although, I will admit the premise of getting Selena back into London was pretty unbelievable. After she fought so hard to get out, I don’t think she would have gone back in for anything. I really don’t. Especially given that this comic doesn’t mention much about her new companions and, especially, her love interest of the movie. The comics paint her far more of a hardass than she actually was.
That being said, Salena is such a great character, so I did really enjoy getting to know more about her. I was really enjoying seeing her develop further and how she dealt with all the other characters. (Even if the writers did draw on her early film self versus her later film self that became far more soft and found something to live for).
Despite my complaints about the way the characters found themselves in enemy territory, I did really enjoy the plot once things took off. It had good pacing, excellent character development, and plenty of fight scenes. I thought the story progressed nicely from volume 1 to volume 2. I read them in succession, so it’s hard for me to separate where one ended and the other began. Still, I know the transition was seamless and had well-written cliff hangers.
It was very awesome to see a story I love in a different medium. I loved the artwork. I loved the dark colors (almost muted, but not quite) and the detail. Everything about it was very similar to how dark (no I’m not talking plot-wise; I’m talking actually dark) the movie scenes were.
I just really loved mostly everything about this story and enjoyed reading it. I recommend both the movie duolagy and this comic series to anyone who, like me, still likes zombies. I’ll be continuing on to volume 3.
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Dreaming Through Literature.