I've never been much into comic books and graphics novels. I used to read them back in middle school, but it wasn't until a couple years ago that I got back into them with The Walking Dead. Being a freak for all things zombie related, I really took to the series and had hoped it would act as a gateway drug into the whole comic and graphic novel scene.

I tried to get into other books, but when I would look at them in the store, most seemed boring or too abstract for me to care about. I just couldn't get into them.

That all changed yesterday. With half an hour left before closing time, I ran out to the comic book store (Comix Zone in North Syracuse, NY, for those keeping score) to look for something to fill my current reading drought. That's were I found these two.




A year or so back, I went into a comic store at the mall to pick up a copy of the latest Walking Dead book and I got to talking with the guy at the register. I had lamented that I was having a hard time getting into any books that didn't have zombies in them, and he told me about this sort of preliminary issue of a new series called Crossed that I could get for only $1. He seemed to like it, and at that price, I figured "why not?" It was only five pages or so, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't really know much more about it and soon I had forgotten all about it, so when I saw the trade at the store, I decided to pick it up.

Crossed is probably the most brutal thing I've ever read. In fact, I just finished it. I could not even think of putting it down (truth be told, I did, just so it would last longer). Rape, murder, dismemberment, torture, circle jerks, kids being turned into mashed potatoes, the works. This series pulls zero stops. Nothing is taboo, all is fair game. If you like horror comics, I would definitely recommended it, but it's not for the squeamish or the sensitive. I actually had to put the book down after one scene so I could contemplate what I had just witnessed.

Zomnibus...well, ok, it's another zombie book, but at least it's not The Walkign Dead, right? Progress! I haven't started it yet, but it appears to be a triple feature of sorts, with Zombies: Feast, Zombies! Eclipse of the Undead and Zombies vs Robots. I've only flipped through them a bit, and the first two seem like your average zombie comic, while the third seems more tongue in cheek. I don't know if I'll enjoy Zombies vs Robots, but we'll see. I'm willing to give it a shot.

Sort of on topic, a friend from work lent me League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which I loved, and the first Sandman trade, which I didn't like.

Feel free to recommend some books, zombie related or not.