Graphic Novel Review: Crueler Than Dead Volume 1

Published by: Ablaze Manga
Written by: Tsukasa Saimura
Illustrated by: Kozo Takahashi
ISBN: 9781950912414
Ages: 16+

Maki Akagi wakes up in a lab with too many corpses around. Admittedly confused and disoriented, she struggles to discover where she is and what has happened… while us readers can only imagine which kind of zombie apocalypse she is living through, as it is a familiar sight to us. She comes upon a soldier who informs her (and us, though surprising and very unique to the typical genre’s ideas) that she is the result of an experiment where people were turned into zombies to combat a deadly virus that was destroying humanity. Along with Shoto, a young boy who also survived the process, she must take the remaining vaccine, made from her blood as she reverted back to being human, to a refugee dome nearby where 11 thousand people wait to be saved.

Maki has two advantages left over from the experiment: the uncanny strength of her former zombie self, and no longer being overly sensitive to sunlight. The journey begins with just the two of them, but both zombies and horrible post-apocalyptic humans stand in the way of the city’s salvation. Will they make it to the dome?

Tsukasa Saimura (HOUR OF THE ZOMBIE) and illustrator Kozo Takahashi (who previously worked on Paleo Biology textbooks) bring a unique story in a well known genre with extreme amounts of gore. Very fast paced, CRUELER THAN DEAD VOLUME 1 makes its splash in the world of horror manga. Not for those with a weak stomach. 16+

ADAM FISHER, Reference Associate

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Adam Fisher

Adam Fisher has worked for more than a decade at Lane Libraries in Fairfield, Ohio, where he is a Reference Associate. He creates and leads programming for all ages, manages the graphic novel, sci-fi/fantasy, and magazine collections at his branch, and has recently seen great success with his self-created Escape Room programs. He writes reviews for everything he reads and can be found on Goodreads @FisherAd80 and on Twitter @adamreadscomics.

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