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Comic Review: Awakening #1 and 2
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Ryan Midnight   |  

Archaia Studios Press-Awakening #1Awakening #1 and 2
Written by Nick Tapalansky
Artwork by Alex Eckman-Lawn
Lettering by Thomas Mauer
Archaia Studios Press
Cover price: $3.50; Available Now

In the early winter months of Park Falls, four citizens have gone missing and another three have been found outright murdered. And while Park Falls can sometimes be a tough little town, it has never been this tough. Derrick can feel it in air. When Cynthia comes bursting into his apartment, claiming she knows what and who is responsible for these killings, Derrick is at first quick to dismiss her rantings as just part of her persona. But what she says sticks with him, and he begins to follow through on her claims of zombies, and who the recently shut down Cline Pharmaceutical is responsible for creating them.

Meanwhile, a blond-haired stranger has come into town on command of the Department of Defense to begin his own investigation. He is unsure what exactly he is looking for, but knows that something is definitely amiss, and when his path crosses Derrick’s, their exchange of information only solidifies Derrick’s resolution to look further. After questioning a few of the former employees of Cline, he finally decides to drive out to the abandoned building to take a look for himself not knowing just what, or who, he will find there.

Archaia Studios Press-Awakening #2Did I lose you at “zombies”? I hope not, for despite the fact that this is yet another entry in the glut of zombie tales that have been sprouting up across the entire spectrum of entertainment media recently, creators Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn have tapped into something that can only be akin to a mix between the told-by-bystander unfolding of Kurt Busiek’s Marvels and the mystery/survival of the original Resident Evil video game. Their approach to the material is cautious, almost to the point that they are as skeptic as their character Derrick that this is another living dead story, and keep their feet firmly planted in the detective styling that does not allow much room for “horror” at this stage.

By following skeptic Derrick around, who has had no contact with the murderers or any evidence that what is causing the deaths are zombies, the story unfolds around someone who would be considered a secondary character in any other zombie epic, one that is merely there to doubt or dismiss the ramblings of the “heroes” before finally coming around in the final reel. It is not quite Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, as we follow the inquisitive detective “offscreen” while the heroes are kicking butt and getting eaten, but it feels pretty close.

Through Derrick and the mysterious government official, we are given the same pieces of the puzzle they get, and it makes for a quite subjective and interactive reading. The fact that they are both level-headed characters who are searching for distinct answers and have the know-how to get them, rather than a group of strangers running scared, has so far kept the story at a slow burn leading up to what must surely be pure anarchy as pot boils over later on. In that, writer Tapalansky has tried to keep the story as reality-based as one possibly can with the chance that the living dead roaming the streets, using reason and clues to lead the way and letting the reader fill the gap in with their knowledge of the zombie rules to figure out what is going to happen next.

Awakening 2-page spreadArtist Eckman-Lawn tries here to mimic the story’s blend of reality and the fantastic through eye-catching artwork that blends what appears to real photos (or what is some of the most photo-realistic artwork ever produced) with highly stylized multi-dimensional art that is at times similar to Japanese animator Shinya Ohira (Kill Bill, Animatrix). These two very different styles at times fight one another for page time, as if the photo-realistic art is trying desperately to fight the fact that not only is this a comic book, but that zombies have invaded it. The more edgy artwork is completely at home with the build-up to mayhem, and at times can not even keep within the lines at its impatience to get to the action. Eckman-Lawn’s hybrid work here just goes to show how much art can influence the feeling of a book and the nigh-limitless length that technology has allowed art to expand within the comic book medium.

Just who are “The Awakening”? No one has yet to provide a solid answer, but surely Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn have awakened within the realm of the zombie world a new direction to take what could have easily been another retread of tired material. There are eight more issues to unfold before this nightmare is over. Try to stay awake long enough to survive!

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