In Review: Edge of Extinction 1-3

Edge of Extinction - Issue 1 - Cover by David Millgate

Edge of Extinction – Issue 1 – Cover by David Millgate

Written by Baden James Mellonie
Art and Letters by Paul Peart-Smith
Covers by Stephen Sampson (also known as Steve Sampson), David Millgate, Ryan Brown and Huy Truong
Published by Eighth Continent Publishing

Note: Be warned now, just as most zombie movies have a 18 certificate, so does this comic. Don’t let the kids get hold of it or you will not hear the last of it from your partner…

Zombie comics are not what you would call my normal fare.  After all, there aren’t that many in Commando!  However, from “The Cursed Earth” to Plague 2000, I have read my fair share of zombie stories.  That’s not to mention my love for George A Romero’s body of work.

Now that I have laid out my credentials for reviewing zombie comics, let’s get to the meat of the matter. Edge of Extinction is a gritty look at what it would be like if the Zombie Apocalypse hit the UK and, let’s be brutally honest, if a prequel to 28 Days Later was made, this is the graphic novel of that movie.

The action in Issue 1 starts normally enough for Jason Mills, with his alarm waking him and the usual doom and gloom on the morning news.  Things start to take a turn for the worse when the postman knocks thrice only to fall in dying, when Jason opens the door.

The action flows naturally with the Emergency Services arriving on the scene only for the situation to take a turn for the worse when the dead postal worker comes back to life.

I like the fact that Baden and Paul allow the story to breathe.  They haven’t felt the need to rush any part of the story, which can result in a story feeling forced to get through necessary parts of the plot.

Does this mean that the pace of action is sedentary? Far from it. This story rattles along at a fair old rate of knots and I was almost breathless by the time I  finished reading Issue 3.

Edge of Extinction Issue 2 - cover by Stephen Sampson

Edge of Extinction Issue 2 – cover by Stephen Sampson

Going back to the action, Issue 2 sees the characters exposed to an ever increasing level of danger as they escape the house and begin to navigate the zombie infested mean streets of Bedford.  Once again, it’s an admirably professional piece to maintain pace and tension without one being sacrificed for the other.

Edge of Extinction Issue 3 - Cover

Issue 3 is a race to get to the hospital before the growing horde of zombie bring their two vehicle convoy to a grinding halt.  Once arriving at the hospital, the story does not end there.

Never let it be said that we don’t spoil you here at downthetubes: here’s is one of the variant covers for Issue 4.

Edge of Extinction Issue 4 - Variant Cover

Edge of Extinction Issue 4 – Variant Cover

I have to say that Baden and Paul have set themselves a high bar to follow what they have achieved with three issues. If you like your zombies comics, these are for you.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to the Sports and DIY shops to buy a baseball bat, a hammer and six inch nails…

• Review of individual issues of Edge of Extinction are here for Issue One by Tony Esmond,  and issue Two and Three by John Freeman

Edge of Extinction #1 – 3 are available from www.edgeofextinction.co.uk – note there’s only limited stock of #1!

• Also available from Eighth Continent Publishing: Maximum Mayhem – The Art of David Millgate, for £17.99 including postage in the UK

Edge of Extinction # is also available from the following stockists across the UK: Close Encounters Bedford, Northampton and Peterborough, Comic Book Guys Belfast, OK Comics Leeds, Destination Venus Harrogate, Bat-Cave Blackburn, Sheffield Space Centre, Sheffield, Unit 74 Pontypridd, Orbital Comics, London, Abstract Sprocket Norwich, Chaos City Comics St Albans, Limited Edition Comix Stevenage, Big Bang Comics Dublin, Comic Den Oldham,  Travelling Man Newcastle and York, Gosh London and Forbidden Planet Leicester

CREATOR LINKS

• Follow writer Baden James Mellonie on Twitter @MelMellonie | Follow artist Paul Peart-Smith on Twitter @PaulPeartSmith | Follow cover artists on Twitter: Stephen Sampson (@thedarkinker); David Millgate (@DavidMillgate); Ryan Brown (@ryanbrown_art); and Huy Truong (@huy_truong)

Check out horror comic collections and graphic novels on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)



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