Jack Chandler is the sole survivor of the zombie apocalypse in his rural farming community, but rather than eliminate them, he has chosen to continue living alongside the undead — including the husband and adopted daughter he fought so hard to have. But when his town is discovered by outsiders, Jack suddenly becomes the one thing standing in the way of those who hope to kill his family for good. Everything Dead & Dying #1 is written by Tate Brombal, drawn by Jacob Phillips, colored by Pip Martin and lettered by Aditya Bidikar for Image Comics.
Courtesy of those folks over at Tiny Onion Towers, stylish, modern horror is alive and well in comics these days. As a big fan of House of Slaughter and That Texas Blood, the pairing of Tate Brombal and Jacob Phillips immediately made my ears prick up. When I saw Phillips’ gorgeous, haunting cover to this first issue, intrigue turned to excitement. If the story within matched the pastoral horror aesthetic of the cover, I thought, we’re onto a winner. Reader, we are.
Everything Dead & Dying brings the horror of a global pandemic to the door of a small town stumbling, murmuring and covered in blood as any good zombie story should. Its real strength, though, is the immediate pathos it creates for protagonist Jack Chandler, and the tragedy of a “dreamland” turned into a nightmare. The first issue uses the conceit of a global pandemic to remind us of the ephemerality of life and the precarious nature of acceptance of queer love. It’s also a stark reminder that even the “damnedest flu” can change not just your own life but the entire world around you overnight.
The setting Brombal establishes for the story of the small town of Caverton, and particularly the quintessential small-town view of “the world is as far as the eye can see” framing Jack’s dad places around it, hints at an illusory safety. Jack frequently describes his life as a “dreamland,” which evokes the typical idyllic way small towns are described in, for example, true crime documentaries. The history Brombal creates for the town, which is rooted in treachery and exploitation, hints at a darker reality, however. Before the darker reality of Jack’s story in the present day unfurls, then, it’s clear that all is not as it seems, and that this weight of history hangs over his life like a Damoclean sword.
The Groundhog Day narrative style Brombal employs throughout the issue emphasizes Jack’s desperation to cling to his routine despite everyone being dead or dying around him. In the issue’s first act, Phillips intersperses panels of Jack’s vivacious, loving life with decaying creatures. As the narrative develops and the mystery unravels, the scenery itself begins to decay, too. Meanwhile, the speaker in the scene remains perfectly preserved, their chipper dialogue repeating from previous scenes, suggesting Jack’s determination to cling to his old life through memory. The dissonance Phillips and colorist Pip Martin create through the sharpness of contrast between vibrant life and pervasive death in these scenes is both effective horror storytelling and emotionally resonant, and it is these two effects in parallel that makes this issue sing.
Aditya Bidikar’s lettering sells this duality brilliantly also. The ornamental narrative caption boxes lend a classic western overtone that represents Jack’s romantic view of his life, while the visceral horror lettering rips through this dreamworld and drags the reader firmly back to reality. The issue’s closing scene resets the tone of the story moving forward like a flying bullet: The safety net of Jack’s illusory life has been torn down around him, and there are people who intend to turn his dreamland into a painful new reality.
The idea that hell is other people is a well-explored trope of zombie or zombie-adjacent fiction. Whether it be The Walking Dead, Revival or Stillwater, there are lots of other comic series that use the dead among the living to crystallize the preciousness of life. Everything Dead & Dying is in good company, then, and is off to a strong start. Within a pretty crowded field, the key moving forward will be how it separates itself from the rest.
Buy Everything Dead & Dying #1 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Jake Murray spends far too much time wondering if the New Mutants are OK. When he's not doing that, he can be found talking and writing about comics with anyone who will listen. Follow him @stealthisplanet.bsky.social.
