Throughout Everything Dead & Dying #5, the concept of life is touched upon. That might seem like an oxymoron, given this series focuses on the aftermath of a zombie plague, but upon close reflection, what is a zombie story but a reflection on how precious and fleeting life can be? In this comic’s case, it’s a story about how life is a cycle – even when the dead roam the earth, the sun will still rise and set, and the living will have to carry on.
In the case of Jack Chandler, his life has been violently upheaved for the second time, as he violently strikes back against the people who’ve invaded his home and threatened the fragile peace he’s crafted with the dead. Tate Brombal doesn’t hold back with the emotional moments, as Jack viciously shoots people in the head, stabs through the head of a dying body with a pitchfork, and even gets into a fist fight with one of the invaders. Brombal’s script also cooks up some appropriately grisly ends for certain characters, particularly the religious fanatic Colette.
Equally as impactful is the artwork by Jacob Phillips. I’m still wowed by Phillips’s ability to shift between the warmer, more human moments Jack shared with his husband and his daughter, Daisy, and scenes of the rotting dead lunging at the reader, hunger burning in their eyes. That blend of horror and humanity is rare, but it’s what makes this book a standout. Pip Martin’s colors continue to separate past and present, saving the warmer colors for the former and the muted, bloodier tones for the latter. This even extends to the lettering by Aditya Bidikar, which takes on a sepia tone for the past panels and grows distorted when it comes to the zombies’ guttural growls.
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The true beauty that lies in Everything Dead & Dying #5 comes in the back half, when a despondent Jack trudges through the ruins of what used to be his home. It’s a sharp contrast with the first issue, which established a twisted sense of normality as he took care of a farm populated by the dead. This time, there’s a sense of loss in Jack’s eyes that signals he’s come to terms with the fact that the people he loves are dead. Until he reunites with Daisy and delivers an emotional monologue that will tear readers’ hearts to shreds. “Life is for living, Daisy,” Jack says in one panel that closes in on his hand gripping Daisy’s decaying one. “I know that now. I only wish I learned it sooner.”
I think that statement perfectly sums up what Everything Dead & Dying. It’s not meant to be your usual zombie story, but rather a meditation on life. How do we live in a world that wants to beat us down, especially if we don’t fit the mold of what certain people think the world should be? How do our lives change with marriage and childbirth? How does death affect us? Everything Dead & Dying #5 doesn’t offer easy answers; instead, it closes on a scene that perfectly underlines the fact that life keeps marching on, no matter what.
Titles like these are what make Image one of the best publishers on the stands: it doesn’t just offer comics that shake up your expectations of certain genres, but sticks with you long after you close the page.
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