The Abandoned, Volume 1

Horror fans, get this one at all cost! Beautiful artwork... mostly black, white and grey, but with plenty of red thrown in the mix which pops off the page. The story rocks, and leaves us with a cliffhanger which should carry into a future volume of The Abandoned. Hell yeah! Get your gore on!

I recently read The Abandoned by Ross Campbell (published by TokyoPop). Wow! Very, very cool. This has love, lesbians, a storm that brings only a wave of death only to have those who pass on come back as meat and marrow starving zombies who attack without mercy or memory that often they are eating their family and love ones. Gah! Our main character, Rylie, rocks with her plunger of skull crush and the other main characters all shine with their brilliant and unforgettable characters. The thing about The Abandoned is it's a quiet parody of the zombie genre but it's also enchanting because of the dialogue between the friends, lovers and allies and how Ross Campbell takes his time drawing them and giving them their own plot arcs between the horrific zombie attacks. I like how none of the characters are above being attacked and there's a survival mentality that kicks in for the group that's tough, wise and smart. Had it all been men, well, they would have all died in the first wave of attacks. Man, what a great graphic album! Warning: it's very, very gross. It's made more gross and graphic because in the short time it takes to read the graphic novel, I found myself rooting so heavily for the characters. To see them eaten alive with that horrible look in their eyes frame by frame is, well, brutal. You have to check it out! Richard Van Camp [...]

ive been a fan of Campbells work since Wet Moon. So when i saw this new work at my local books store i was giddy! I didnt even wait to get it home i read it over lunch at my local chinese resturant! this is a horror/zombie fans dream there are refferancces to all of the "of the dead" flicks as well as some most folks might not even know about! (note the slow eye ball impailing) the art is, as always, wonderful, and the store is sort of an american "shaun of the dead" . also look out for guest stars, belle morte and ross him self! i give this book a solid five and would give it higher if such existed on this site! i look forward to a continuation of this store.... and whats with all the old folks up and dieing?

Wooow, what to say about this book? Well first of all, the artwork is gorgeous on absolutely every page. I finished it ages ago but I've just been looking through it all day. Ross's girls are amazing. (Along with his everything-else.) The characters are unique and have very realistic personalities, and you'll really be sympathizing with them right from the intro. And of course, there is a lot of completely awesome zombie-slaying, (and assorted gore) which is beautifully emphasized by the fact that the entire book is done in nothing but reds and sepia tones. Another plus is the illustration gallery and the fanart section in the back of the book. The only downside is that you'll probably eat yourself out of sheer cliffhangeritis at the end. :D