iZombies: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson & Michael Allred... A Review

iZombie Written by Chris Roberson, Drawn by Michael Allred

What's a girl to do?! Gwen Dylan digs graves for a living, her best friend Ellie is a girl from the 60's who happens to be a ghost, and her other friend Scott is of the furrier persuasion, a.k.a Were-Terrier... kind of an off shoot of a Were-Wolf. Add to that mix one "hot" Mummy, a pack of Vampire ladies who run a paint ball game in the woods, and a pair of Vampire Hunters. Wow! Oh, I forgot... Gwen is a Zombie, but a kind of Zombie hybrid. She's not all stiff and stumbling around with her hands out stretched, but she does needs to eat human brains once a month to maintain her "being normal".

iZombie: Dead to the World is the trade paperback of the first 5 issues of the comic iZombie plus House Of Mystery Halloween Annual #1. It's 144 pages of a great story, published by DC Comics and Vertigo. First the artwork though... Michael Allred is talented! The characters are well drawn with wonderful nuances to really bring the characters to life; expressive and detailed. Not only are the characters drawn well, but the backgrounds are fully fleshed out, making the whole scene interesting to look at. And all of this adds to the great story, which is both complex and well developed.

The story centers around Gwen, who we learn early on is a Zombie and who works during the day as a grave digger. In these first 5 stories that make up the first tpb, iZombie: Dead to the World, we don't learn Gwen's background, but we learn of her anguish as she must eat a human brain once a month to keep her memories alive and be "normal". She chooses her "victims" as the recently departed that she happens to bury the morning before. What happens when she does "eat", besides her utter revulsion to it, is that she becomes possessed with the last thoughts of the dead person, and must fulfill their last wishes; which may mean "righting a wrong" or solving their murder as is the case in Gwen's first "possession" in Dead to the World." The other stories that are woven together are those of "the murderer", the vampire ladies who are seductive looking as well as deadly as they run a paintball game deep in the woods outside the city, the handsome and aloof mummy who wants to teach Gwen more about her "new" self, and his leopard companion, and finally the good guys who know about the vampires terrorizing the city and aim to rid the area of them. There is some dead-pan humor, romance and mystery layered within the story, which keeps you turning the pages. It's an intelligent take on the whole zombie scene and I really enjoyed it. I loved the story with all the different subplots that are all inter-related, and as I previously said, the artwork was great.

I don't mind a zombie or two on my reading plate, or a vampire here and there either. This is the start to what I hope is a fun series. If you enjoy graphic novels, enjoy a host of fun, "flawed" but engaging characters living out their lives in a great story, give iZombie a try! It's a step up from your everyday zombie novel, and you'll be dying for more! And if you are, iZombie: Dead to the World collects the first five individual issues of iZombie, but as far as individual issues are concerned, issue #12 is due to come out April 6th.

iZombies: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson & Michael Allred... A Review

iZombie Written by Chris Roberson, Drawn by Michael Allred

What's a girl to do?! Gwen Dylan digs graves for a living, her best friend Ellie is a girl from the 60's who happens to be a ghost, and her other friend Scott is of the furrier persuasion, a.k.a Were-Terrier... kind of an off shoot of a Were-Wolf. Add to that mix one "hot" Mummy, a pack of Vampire ladies who run a paint ball game in the woods, and a pair of Vampire Hunters. Wow! Oh, I forgot... Gwen is a Zombie, but a kind of Zombie hybrid. She's not all stiff and stumbling around with her hands out stretched, but she does needs to eat human brains once a month to maintain her "being normal".

iZombie: Dead to the World is the trade paperback of the first 5 issues of the comic iZombie plus House Of Mystery Halloween Annual #1. It's 144 pages of a great story, published by DC Comics and Vertigo. First the artwork though... Michael Allred is talented! The characters are well drawn with wonderful nuances to really bring the characters to life; expressive and detailed. Not only are the characters drawn well, but the backgrounds are fully fleshed out, making the whole scene interesting to look at. And all of this adds to the great story, which is both complex and well developed.

The story centers around Gwen, who we learn early on is a Zombie and who works during the day as a grave digger. In these first 5 stories that make up the first tpb, iZombie: Dead to the World, we don't learn Gwen's background, but we learn of her anguish as she must eat a human brain once a month to keep her memories alive and be "normal". She chooses her "victims" as the recently departed that she happens to bury the morning before. What happens when she does "eat", besides her utter revulsion to it, is that she becomes possessed with the last thoughts of the dead person, and must fulfill their last wishes; which may mean "righting a wrong" or solving their murder as is the case in Gwen's first "possession" in Dead to the World." The other stories that are woven together are those of "the murderer", the vampire ladies who are seductive looking as well as deadly as they run a paintball game deep in the woods outside the city, the handsome and aloof mummy who wants to teach Gwen more about her "new" self, and his leopard companion, and finally the good guys who know about the vampires terrorizing the city and aim to rid the area of them. There is some dead-pan humor, romance and mystery layered within the story, which keeps you turning the pages. It's an intelligent take on the whole zombie scene and I really enjoyed it. I loved the story with all the different subplots that are all inter-related, and as I previously said, the artwork was great.

I don't mind a zombie or two on my reading plate, or a vampire here and there either. This is the start to what I hope is a fun series. If you enjoy graphic novels, enjoy a host of fun, "flawed" but engaging characters living out their lives in a great story, give iZombie a try! It's a step up from your everyday zombie novel, and you'll be dying for more! And if you are, iZombie: Dead to the World collects the first five individual issues of iZombie, but as far as individual issues are concerned, issue #12 is due to come out April 6th.

The Twilight Saga in Review... Is it Happily Ever After for Twilight Fans??

The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer

I knew the end was near when I had a copy of Breaking Dawn in my hands... I had come to know the Twilight world so well... The teenage angst, the flutter of butterflies as you fall in love the first time, longing, desire, disappointment... no matter what the nay sayers had to say about Stephanie Meyer and her writing (yes, that includes you Mr. King), Stephanie Meyer gets it! She knows what if feels like to be a young girl in love, and with a swipe of the pen she put that magic down on paper for us all to enjoy. She created a world where vampires fall in love, Indian folklore comes true, and how the normal everyday girl gets the gorgeous guy in the end...

It all started with a book called Twilight... A story of love, tenderness and vampires in a place called Forks, Washington. As I opened up the pages of Twilight, I was immersed in a world not so different from the one we all live in. Stephanie Meyer filled this world with believable characters, beautiful scenery, and a story to fill our hearts with hope. It was the start of a 3 year relationship, as the skies moved from Twilight to the New Moon, to an Eclipse, to finally Breaking Dawn, we came full circle to the end of the "Team Edward, Team Jacob" debates, and the million other questions we all had about loving a vampire. Read my review of the first book, Twilight! It was one of my first book reviews on Chick with Books, and the beginning of a different kind of vampire love story...

New Moon continues the complications of a romance with a vampire, the love story of Edward and Bella, but this story is Bella's pain. Edward realizing how dangerous he and his family are to Bella's safety (fresh blood and vampires are a dangerous combination and Bella is a bit of a clutz) decides to leave Forks. If you really love someone, can you simply walk away if you think it's the best thing for them? Bella spirals into a depression that turns dangerous as she turns daredevil to try and feel anything. Her friendship with Jacob turns into a little more than friendship, as he becomes her crutch and then her sun as she tries to live through each day without Edward. But as Bella tries cliff diving, Alice, Edward's "future seeing" vampire sister, tells Edward she's seen Bella die. And almost like Romeo and Juliet, this bit of information has dire consequences. We have an exciting and frightening "meet & greet" with the Volturi, the most powerful vampires "alive", who make sure all the "rules" are kept among their kind, as Edward begs to be released from his earthly ties, and then finally must deal with them as he & Bella find each other once more. But you can't write anymore books without Edward, right?! We learn about Werewolves, and love triangles, and what getting grounded is all about.

Eclipse is revenge, truces and still love triangles with the faint sound of wedding bells as background music... In Book One of the Twilight Series, Twilight, we meet the devastatingly beautiful and dangerous vampire Victoria. As her mate, James, decides to have Bella for a snack, a dangerous cat & mouse game ensues with enraging results for Victoria. She wants revenge for what happened and Eclipse is where she makes her stand. As a vast army of newborn vampires are created and begin to wreak havoc in Seattle, the real goal only becomes clear as time goes on... And the action heats up, an alliance is made , and we are left on the edge of our seats as we wait to see who lives and who dies in a blood thirsty battle with vampires.

Breaking Dawn is all about resolutions, true love, and happily ever after. Wedding Bells ring early in the book, as Bella weds her true love. But things are never easy in Forks for some reason, and something happens that threatens all that Bella loves, and her frail human life. But at the last turn of the page of Breaking Dawn you know the answer to "will she or won't she", who Bella will spent eternity with, and can vampires and werewolves really get along... And as much as I wanted to savor the last book of the Twilight Saga, I just couldn't put this down. I don't want to give away too much here because if you don't know what happens in Breaking Dawn, it would be a BIG spoiler, but suffice it to say that you will be furiously turning those pages until page 740 to find out for yourself.

Things to look forward to? Two more Twilight movies, which will cover the last book, Breaking Dawn. I recently saw the movie Eclipse and loved it! Especially the vampire/werewolf fight, which was done so well... I still have The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner to read... But what I'd really like is for Stephanie Meyer to finish Midnight Sun! Midnight Sun is Twilight told from Edwards perspective. Unfortunately someone posted the unfinished partially written draft of Midnight Sun on the internet without Stephanie's permission, and the author was so upset she decided not to go forward with the project. But one can hope that someday Stephanie will go back to Midnight Sun, and we'll be able to read the full story of what Edward was thinking... Until then though, we can read Chapter 1 of Midnight Sun on Stephanie Meyer's website!

Have you read Twilight and the other books in the series? What did you think?! Are the critics too harsh? Friendships, family, love & morality, life & death, what did you read in Twilight? And which book is your favorite? I think my favorite is Eclipse, and I think that's because I like life before Renesmee. I wish Bella and Edward had more time as a "couple" before Renesmee appeared. If you don't know who Renesmee is I can't tell you! It would ruin Breaking Dawn.

*P.S. The four books of the Twilight Saga are available as a set on Kindle too! Even though I had bought the hardcovers when they came out, I found it so much easier to load them on my Kindle and read the last two books as though they were one long book.

The Twilight Saga in Review... Is it Happily Ever After for Twilight Fans??

The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer

I knew the end was near when I had a copy of Breaking Dawn in my hands... I had come to know the Twilight world so well... The teenage angst, the flutter of butterflies as you fall in love the first time, longing, desire, disappointment... no matter what the nay sayers had to say about Stephanie Meyer and her writing (yes, that includes you Mr. King), Stephanie Meyer gets it! She knows what if feels like to be a young girl in love, and with a swipe of the pen she put that magic down on paper for us all to enjoy. She created a world where vampires fall in love, Indian folklore comes true, and how the normal everyday girl gets the gorgeous guy in the end...

It all started with a book called Twilight... A story of love, tenderness and vampires in a place called Forks, Washington. As I opened up the pages of Twilight, I was immersed in a world not so different from the one we all live in. Stephanie Meyer filled this world with believable characters, beautiful scenery, and a story to fill our hearts with hope. It was the start of a 3 year relationship, as the skies moved from Twilight to the New Moon, to an Eclipse, to finally Breaking Dawn, we came full circle to the end of the "Team Edward, Team Jacob" debates, and the million other questions we all had about loving a vampire. Read my review of the first book, Twilight! It was one of my first book reviews on Chick with Books, and the beginning of a different kind of vampire love story...

New Moon continues the complications of a romance with a vampire, the love story of Edward and Bella, but this story is Bella's pain. Edward realizing how dangerous he and his family are to Bella's safety (fresh blood and vampires are a dangerous combination and Bella is a bit of a clutz) decides to leave Forks. If you really love someone, can you simply walk away if you think it's the best thing for them? Bella spirals into a depression that turns dangerous as she turns daredevil to try and feel anything. Her friendship with Jacob turns into a little more than friendship, as he becomes her crutch and then her sun as she tries to live through each day without Edward. But as Bella tries cliff diving, Alice, Edward's "future seeing" vampire sister, tells Edward she's seen Bella die. And almost like Romeo and Juliet, this bit of information has dire consequences. We have an exciting and frightening "meet & greet" with the Volturi, the most powerful vampires "alive", who make sure all the "rules" are kept among their kind, as Edward begs to be released from his earthly ties, and then finally must deal with them as he & Bella find each other once more. But you can't write anymore books without Edward, right?! We learn about Werewolves, and love triangles, and what getting grounded is all about.

Eclipse is revenge, truces and still love triangles with the faint sound of wedding bells as background music... In Book One of the Twilight Series, Twilight, we meet the devastatingly beautiful and dangerous vampire Victoria. As her mate, James, decides to have Bella for a snack, a dangerous cat & mouse game ensues with enraging results for Victoria. She wants revenge for what happened and Eclipse is where she makes her stand. As a vast army of newborn vampires are created and begin to wreak havoc in Seattle, the real goal only becomes clear as time goes on... And the action heats up, an alliance is made , and we are left on the edge of our seats as we wait to see who lives and who dies in a blood thirsty battle with vampires.

Breaking Dawn is all about resolutions, true love, and happily ever after. Wedding Bells ring early in the book, as Bella weds her true love. But things are never easy in Forks for some reason, and something happens that threatens all that Bella loves, and her frail human life. But at the last turn of the page of Breaking Dawn you know the answer to "will she or won't she", who Bella will spent eternity with, and can vampires and werewolves really get along... And as much as I wanted to savor the last book of the Twilight Saga, I just couldn't put this down. I don't want to give away too much here because if you don't know what happens in Breaking Dawn, it would be a BIG spoiler, but suffice it to say that you will be furiously turning those pages until page 740 to find out for yourself.

Things to look forward to? Two more Twilight movies, which will cover the last book, Breaking Dawn. I recently saw the movie Eclipse and loved it! Especially the vampire/werewolf fight, which was done so well... I still have The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner to read... But what I'd really like is for Stephanie Meyer to finish Midnight Sun! Midnight Sun is Twilight told from Edwards perspective. Unfortunately someone posted the unfinished partially written draft of Midnight Sun on the internet without Stephanie's permission, and the author was so upset she decided not to go forward with the project. But one can hope that someday Stephanie will go back to Midnight Sun, and we'll be able to read the full story of what Edward was thinking... Until then though, we can read Chapter 1 of Midnight Sun on Stephanie Meyer's website!

Have you read Twilight and the other books in the series? What did you think?! Are the critics too harsh? Friendships, family, love & morality, life & death, what did you read in Twilight? And which book is your favorite? I think my favorite is Eclipse, and I think that's because I like life before Renesmee. I wish Bella and Edward had more time as a "couple" before Renesmee appeared. If you don't know who Renesmee is I can't tell you! It would ruin Breaking Dawn.

*P.S. The four books of the Twilight Saga are available as a set on Kindle too! Even though I had bought the hardcovers when they came out, I found it so much easier to load them on my Kindle and read the last two books as though they were one long book.