A Comic a Day in May – Day 22: Vietnam Zombie Holocaust #2

After a strong opening in issue #1, George Lennox & Jim Devlin return with the second issue of the gruesomely entertaining Vietnam Zombie Holocaust.

While that first issue introduced the Government’s plans to create & release zombie soldiers into the jungles of Vietnam in an attempt to bring the war to an end…..it’s plain to see that the plans aren’t going to be smooth.  The stranded group of soldiers are still reeling from already facing a zombie donkey and zombie civilians but there’s more of the same facing them as nighttime falls.  A similar gruesome approach to the us vs them element of war, there’s now much more to this story than mindless mayhem.

The scientific elements are still there in the background and we switch to & from the jungle action with flowing ease as George juggles those elements well.  This develops the character base we have on offer as more are introduced with the core platoon, the civilian zombies, the platoon of zombies and other army elements thrown in to shake up the chain of command in the quest for survival.  There’s casualties along the way of course and some disturbing elements thrown in as we step up from a zombie donkey level……just wait until you see the zombie baby.

It’s a fine balance as the politics & war elements blur together with science pushing both these along on and it’s credit to George for adding another level in issue #2 which builds on what we saw in that first issue.  The artwork & particularly the colouring from Jim Devlin hits new heights too and while I thought he brought his “A Game” in that first issue, there’s a significant step up here that’s evident on every page.  He adds a crackle & energy to the horror, the action & the slower moments that capture the uncertainty of the times and the clamber for victory.  Another nod to Colin Bell who seems to add the perfect finishing touches to the title he works on be they indie or mainstream.

A stunning follow-up issue that not only matches the success of that first issue but adds further momentum to this Cult Empire Comics release.  One where every element seems to work as the creative team pull together an intriguing yet disturbing tale that leaves us wanting more and the final page reveal of new players in the game in the form of Death Squad X adds to the growing roster.  That in itself may be my only concern with the pages starting to fill up with an extensive number of characters but the creative team seem to be on top of the pacing which helps handle that…….so roll on issue #3.

Issue #2 will launch at Granite City Comic Con on the 30th May – you can get hold of the issues over on the Cult Empire Comics website and keep up to date with what’s next over on their Facebook page.

9/10

G-Man