Zombies: A Brief History of Decay

This particular zombie apocalypse—imported from France—begins when lonely, wandering Sam Coleman gets a phone call from his daughter, already caught up in the havoc. He hauls it to Seattle to find her, and meets up with a group of men and women intent on restarting civilization. While the premise is decent, writer Peru ambitiously turns this simple story into a sprawling narrative, and simply bites off more than he can chew. For instance, soon after Coleman arrives in Seattle to find his daughter, he gets caught up in other missions with other people, and for a long period of time he seems to forget she even exists. Peru’s problems juggling multiple subplots make it difficult to understand what any character wants at any given time. Cholet’s illustrations are a revelation, however. Whether illustrating gunfights in tight corridors or sprawling vistas overwhelmed by zombies, the artwork is beautiful to behold and he’s a fine storyteller. (Apr.)