Sadly, Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie was cancelled a couple of months ago and what we have before us is the final issue. I sort of saw this coming, since war comics unfortunately don’t sell that well in this day and age.
However, we won’t let that dissuade us from enjoying the comic until the very end. Let’s look at the last issue and answer the question: Is it good?
Star Spangled War Stories Featuring GI Zombie #8 (DC Comics)
This is it. G.I. Zombie and Cameron are in position and ready to take down this Forrest character before he starts Armageddon by unleashing a zombie virus plague upon the United States. Everything has been building towards this and the question is, who will be victorious in the end? …if you read the Futures End issue, you probably already know, but still…
And with this, Star-Spangled War Stories comes to a close and honestly, I’m a bit half-half on this final issue. First of all, I feel it did a great job at wrapping everything up. Every little plot point was addressed and wrapped up in some fashion, whether in this comic or being left to be finished off in the Futures End issue from a couple of months ago. Seriously, if you consider the Futures End issue to be the true ending (those issues were considered to be potential endings after all), then this issue would lead into that one nicely. There was only one exception to that and it was the whole thing about Jared’s more zombie-like appetite we saw in the first issue. It was never really addressed again in the entire series and I feel if the comic went on longer, we would have seen more with it. Shame.
The other side of the coin is that I felt that the comic, while wrapping everything up, did feel rushed and not as satisfying as it could have been. Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti seem to quickly rush a few plot points, like the big climactic showdown with Forrest and his second-in-command and even with the last minute bomb threat. It was also noticeable when the comic got very exposition heavy at points, where there were pages full of dialogue explaining things. It made it feel like some of the conclusions were lacking in impact or power due to that rushed, tacked-on nature.
The writing and artwork overall were fine though. The dialogue, while very heavy at points, still read fine for the most part and there were some pretty good lines throughout. The pacing was uneven due to trying to wrap up every single point in the comic and the storytelling felt off at some points, where the comic had awkward and abrupt transitions between scenes. The characterization was still good and everyone was pretty enjoyable to read. As for the art, the layouts and colors were decent like usual. The characters looked good and improved over the earlier issues of the series. The action was brutal and easy to follow, though some of the gore looked a bit off in areas. Overall, not much to say but that the comic turned out pretty well in both of these fields despite some minor hiccups.
Is It Good?
Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring GI Zombie #8 does a decent job wrapping things up and even setting the stage for the Futures End issue. However, it felt like it was a bit rushed and heavy on the dialogue in areas, leading to some weak conclusions to plot lines.
Overall, Star-Spangled War Stories was a good comic from beginning to end, just one that sadly didn’t catch on with the public. Maybe it was because it was so different than the usual comics DC puts out or the fact that it was a war comic. Either way, I’ll miss it and if you’ve been enjoying the ride, I’m sure you will as well.
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