THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

Scars is the second issue of the '68 comic series - the fictional account that dares to wonder what else was going on in the nightmarish, Zombie-fuelled world of Night of the Living Dead. The action picks up, right where the first left off - Saigon is in flames, destroyed by ruthless Viet Cong and merciless Zombies. One of the few remaining US army battalions valiantly attempts to defend Tan Son Nhat International Airport waiting for the pull-out signal so they can finally leave this Vietnamese hellhole. Life is not any better back home though as the Zombie plague sweeps through the United States. New York City is overrun, the parents of an overseas soldier trapped inside the concrete jungle.

MY VERDICT:

I was mildly disappointed by this second outing for the Vietnam Zombie series. There just does not seem to be as many living dead in the story, instead focusing on human dialogues; the conflict between the majority of US soldiers wanting to get out of Vietnam and others wanting to stay and finish the fight with the Viet Cong, the broken morale of one soldier not being accepted and the horrors taking place in New York. It's not a catastrophic failure - the wartime action of the original issue continues, the writing is still feasible and the art style is improving, especially for human characters. The Zombies, what few there are, are still wandering meatbags in the classic Romero style. I just expected something more than a direct continuation of events after the jaw-dropping potential of the first book and, sadly, was left wanting.