Bucket List of the Dead (Zom 100 #1)

The end of the world is a gift in Aso (the Hyde & Closer series) and Takata’s entertaining manga spin on the zombie genre. Twenty-four-year-old Akira Tendo’s employed at a company that uses exploitive tactics to work its employees to the bone. He frequently pulls all-nighters and deals with passive-aggressive threats from his superiors, and lusts after his winsome coworker, Saori Ohtori, who also happens to be the “boss’s side piece.” Akira is so set in the routine of his daily drudge that when a zombie apocalypse erupts, his first thought is that it’s going to make him late for the office. When reality comes crashing in, he determines to make a bucket list of 100 things to do before he inevitably becomes a zombie. First stop is confessing his love to Saori. Some reflective moments intersperse the fun and action, as Akira muses: “I sacrificed time I could have spent with friends and for what? What good did all that overtime do me?” Takata’s art pops with a wonderful frenetic energy that propels Akira’s quest. Akira’s glee at escaping his job—even if it means the world is ending—serves up giddy wish-fulfillment. (Feb.)