Resident Evil: Collection One

by Ryan Odagawa

Based on the video game of the same name.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Science Fiction, Zombies

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love all of the Resident Evil Books. This book rocked!

[Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the best Resident Evil comics, some great art and they actually try to expand the Resi Canon instead of the disposable action fueled nonsense of the comics that came after this series.

[Kwstas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it long live resident evil.read it people!!!

[Cretin Workshop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing as Image Comics' Resident Evil comic is an anthology series with different writers and artists per short story, it's only natural that there's some variance in quality within. Don't expect rich, layered storytelling here, you won't find it. Instead, Image sets out to make a pulpy, fun ride with characters old and new in different and interesting scenarios, while also expanding on the events of the games and the franchise's world setting. None of the writing here is all that substantial, but at its best, it succeeds in providing pulpy dime-an-issue excitement and scenarios. My favorites of which have to be the STARS members' plane flight interrupted by zombies, the nerd who injects himself with the virus to get back at his college bullies, and the couple who have to survive an island jungle of mutants. At its worst, however, the comic often feels frivolous if not downright ridiculous even within context. The Umbrella researcher making bat people and the couple who get maybe a couple of pages of dialog before their untimely death stand out as particularly weak. A problem with some of these stories is that they simply end too quickly before anything interesting can be explored or delved into, again, making them feel frivolous. Something that is consistently very solid is the artwork, which isn't afraid to be violent and gory. Although again, there is variance in style and quality, generally it features contrast heavy shading, solid rendering of proportions, and a nice sense of stylization. The aforementioned bat scientist scenario has the weakest artwork, but even then it's mediocre at worst. Overall, Image produced a decent-enough comic which probably felt a lot cooler back in the late-90s before the RE world had been entirely fleshed out. There are quite a few reasons for a seasoned RE fan to check it out, as it's always cool to see neglected characters like Barry Burton get some deserved screentime, and the artwork can be a joy. Non-fans however will be turned off by the highly inconsistent storytelling and scenario quality however, and frankly, this is mostly a fanservice affair.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a throwback! I had this back around 2002-3. It's peak 90s tie-in comics: by Wildstorm/Image, a lot of chunky art with vaguely defined characters, Jim Lee covers (!). Only a few of these shorts are any good but there's something charming about the bright art used to portray extreme gore while say running through the plot of RE2 in an insane 20 pages. The Barry side story actually feels like a lost 90s game, complete with vague plot and a fetch quest!

[Mac Dubista Keso The Bibliobibuli v(=∩_∩=) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love everything about RE. ❣️ Just 4 stars coz yah know? Cliff hanger. I want more.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

still releasing such interesting books today