28 Days Later Vol 1

Gr 10 Up—Based on the popular series of zombie horror/action films, this book follows the subsequent adventures of Selena, one of the few survivors of the zombie plague infecting the UK. When a team of American journalists interested in reporting on the devastation in London attempts to hire her as a guide, she agrees, against her better judgment. Their plan to sneak into the quarantined British Isles goes awry, and soon they find themselves running from both hostile U.S. military forces and ravenous zombies. Although the artwork is excellent and the action well depicted (quite gruesomely so), this volume suffers from an occasionally predictable plot. Likewise, the characters are so broad and obvious (the journalists are depicted as amazingly smug and deluded, and Selena is hard-boiled to the point of being obnoxious) that it's difficult to connect with them. At one point, readers are nearly ready to root for the zombies. Still, there are enough cliff-hangers and spine-chilling moments that one can overlook the dearth of character development. This title is best suited as a supplemental purchase for a general graphic-novel collection in need of a solid horror work. The tie-in with the popular movie series is bound to find interested teens.—Dave Inabnitt, Brooklyn Public Library, NY