Sporting what is easily the grossest cover to grace the Futures End tie-ins this month, as well as most words in the title, comes Star Spangled War Stories: Featuring G.I. Zombie. Is it good?
Star Spangled War Stories Featuring GI Zombie: Futures End #1 (DC Comics)
It’s five years into the future and a zombie plague has hit — and it’s spreading rapidly. Not only that, but the plague seems to be the work of a terrorist attack and in the crossfire, G.I. Zombie’s partner, Carmen, was infected. Making matters worse, the zombies seem to be intelligent and are under the leadership of a mysterious figure. With the plague heading towards Gotham, if G.I. Zombie doesn’t figure out a way to stop this, the whole world could be doomed. (I guess Batman has better things to do.)
Zombie virus cure?! You think there are better ways to cure a zombie plague than a lot of headshots?
What an enjoyable one-shot. Not only would it serve as a great conclusion to the series (it definitely feels like an epic finale), but it actually sort-of continues the main story going on the book. The missile launched in the final pages of the second issue was carrying something that could cause a zombie plague (at least that is what the solicits imply) and that could be seen as the first real threat of zombies that would eventually explode into the story going on in here. I enjoyed that little bit of continuity, but even ignoring that, it’s still a good story with some nice twists and solid tension throughout.
The writing by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray is solid. G.I. Zombie is still a very likeable character, being very determined and heroic despite the odds and challenges. There’s one aspect of his character that seemed to come out of nowhere, so I hope we get a reason for what he did in future issues of the series. Cameron’s sort out of the picture for most of the story, but the ending with her is good and makes sense considering everything that has happened to her. The dialogue is good, the pacing is tight, the storytelling is excellent and the ending is great (though strangely lacks the indication that it was the ending page like other books do). It feels well deserved and ends on a happy note. This is one of those Futures End tie-in titles that I would hope ends up being the actual future for the characters.
Time to start a mosh pit!
The artwork by Scott Hampton remains something I’m so-so on. It’s not bad work; there are some solid looking layouts, great action scenes, befitting tone and skilled at capturing the terror and silence in the scenes. It’s just that some of the characters look a bit irregular, the coloring is a bit mixed since some of the brighter colors look weird considering the tone and setting at the time and it feels slightly unfinished without the work of a different inker. It’s good artwork — just not really my bag.
Is It Good?
Star Spangled War Stories Featuring GI Zombie: Futures End #1 is a fun and exciting tale, that also doubles as what would be a great ending for the series whenever it comes. The writing is great, G.I. Zombie is a great lead, the story’s enjoyable, and the art does have some good qualities. If you liked the previous two issues of the series, definitely give this a look.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
