In Review: Edge of Extinction Issue 2

By John Freeman on September 23, 2018

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

Note: Some strong language as zombies try to eat characters included

The Book: The End of The World is here. . . Are you infected?

The dead walk. You don’t have time to think as the chaos unfolds around you?

What would you do in order to stay alive? Who would you save? Where are your children, family, friends?

An ongoing real time zombie horror comic, set in small town England.

Quarantined. Cut off. The United Nations enforce martial law off the coastline of the United Kingdom. Humankind is on the Edge of Extinction.

Zombies stalk the land. You stop? You’re dead…

The Review: Three years after successfully launching Edge of Extinction with an issue that Tony Esmond previewed here on downthetubes, looking forward to the second, Issue 2 of this zombie tale is finally here. It will be on sale at various British conventions, including Nottingham Comic Con and ICE Con Brighton, and through the project’s web site.

Comic creators aplenty will sympathise with the crappy roller-coaster ride co-creator Baden James Mellonie has been through (redundancy and all that brings with it, for example) that has delayed the release of this issue, but patience is a virtue and trust me, you’ll be rewarded for it. Mellonie and 2000AD artist Paul Peart-Smith crank up the action as a zombie infestation takes hold of the UK, and it’s clear the authorities, apparently, have no clue what is going on.

If you like your zombies mean and apparently unstoppable, Edge of Extinction #2 is right up your street, and it certainly piques my interest for Rejected, another project from the team trailed at the back of the book. Mellonie’s script is taut, his dialogue rapid fire, complemented perfectly by great, scratchy and indeed edgy art from Paul Peart-Smith, bursting with an intensity that suits this tale.

Have the team successfully succeeded in their attempt to create a comic-book that is a little different to everything else out there in today’s overcrowded market? Well, with just two issues out there (the third on its way, and plans in place for continuing the story in a manner that pays the creators a decent page rate), that’s difficult to say. Any zombie tale is inevitably going to face comparison with the juggernaut that is The Walking Dead, but that doesn’t mean that great as it is, Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s magnum opus has a monopoly on the genre.

Edge of Extinction variant cover by David Millgate

(The creators themselves acknowledge the book is a kind of mash up of 24 and Dawn of the Dead, too, but for me, that kind of tip of the hat simply serves as a kind of “elevator pitch” that helps a potential reader decide whether this horror comic is for them).

I’d definitely recommend that zombie and horror fans check out this independent series (limited stock of issue 1 is available) and find out why Baden, despite all life has thrown at him in the past three years, has stuck with the project and continues to do so. I think you’ll be glad you did.

• You can find the creators and order Edge of Extinction at www.edgeofextinction.co.uk | Facebook

• You can find the writer Baden on Twitter @MelMellonie

• You can find the artist on Twitter @PaulPeartSmith and at his blog www.paulpeart-smithartspace.blogspot.com

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.