Six Feet Under and Rising

iZombie (Volumes) #3

by Chris Roberson, Gilbert Hernández (Illustrator), Mike Allred (Artist)

The continuing adventures of the undead detective Gwen and her ghost pal Ellie and were-terrier Spot, written by World Fantasy Award finalist Chris Roberson! This collection features the "real-time" storyline "5 Brains, 5 Months," which follows the team as they uncover mystery after mystery over the course of a five-month period. Collects issues #13-17.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Zombies, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Vampires

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

Chris Roberson is the co-creator with artist Michael Allred of iZombie, the basis of the hit CW television series, and the writer of several New York Times best-selling Cinderella miniseries set in the world of Bill Willingham’s Fables. He is also the co-creator of Edison Rex with artist Dennis Culver, and the co-writer of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D, Witchfinder, Rise of the Black Flame, and other titles set in the world of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. In addition to his numerous comics projects, Roberson has written more than a dozen novels and three dozen short stories. He lives with a teenager, two cats, and far too many books in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collected volume of iZombie issues kicked things up a notch. There is a whole lot of back story on the characters we know as well as a whole bunch of new characters introduced. If you have liked the series so far, you should continue to enjoy it with this volume.



Another great thing about this series is how wildly creative it is. It continues to impress with storylines that include just about every classic monster you know and love. Including a variety means that, even though "zombie" is in the title, and even if zombies aren't your thing, you should be able to find something in here to suit your monstrous interests.



Finally . . . A moment of silence. It seems very appropriate that I happened to finish this on the day of George Romero's death. Romero is the father of the modern zombie movement. Without Romero and his classics Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, etc., I don't think we would see things the iZombie, The Walking Dead, and other pop-zombie culture be so widespread and popular right now.

Rest in Peace . . . and, if you come back from the dead, this brain is on me!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Also reviewed for Addicted2Heroines

I'm still enjoying this, but the new car smell is starting to wear off just a bit.
However, since there's a possible tv show pending for iZombie, I'm interested in seeing how the comics play out.
'Cause nothing is more irritating than that person who continually says, "But that's not how it was in the boooook...".
My husband finds it exceptionally annoying. So, naturally, I must be that person.
It's the little things that keep a marriage spicy!

I will say volume 3 has the forward moving plot that the last volume was missing.
It starts off with the gang having already solved a Scooby-Doo-like mystery, and patting themselves on the back for a job well done.
Gwen runs off to see Horatio (who still has no idea he's in love with a zombie), and lovey-dovey stuff happens.

I liked the introduction of the Dead Presidents, a group of monster hunting government agents...made up of monsters, and led by Abe Lincoln.
The lead agent is a zombie, so it looks like Gwen isn't the only undead chick that isn't a shambling wreck. Guess we'll have to wait for the next volume to see how all that plays out, though.

The main plot revolves around the sudden appearance of hundreds of mindless zombies, who have apparently been trapped in a cavern underground. Poor Scott is actually the one who discovers them when he accidentally falls into a sinkhole. And being trapped with a group of hungry corpses makes him think...and the first person he thinks of is Gwen's hot brother. Hmmm. Is he potentially a gay were-terrier?
Gwen and Horatio rush to his rescue, and in the aftermath, there's a battle between the Foundation's monster hunters and the Dead President's monster monster hunters. And uneasy truce gets called so that they can both fight the zombies, but during the confrontation Gwen gets outed as a zombie.
Will Horatio be able to look past her undead status?

Galaeta, the Paintball Vampires, and Scott's grandpa (Mr. Chimp) all show up again, which was nice.
I was excited that Amon played a significant role in this volume. His past is more heavily entwined with Gwen's than previously thought. The BIG REVEAL at the end was quite a shocker, and makes me curious to find out what happens next.

My biggest problem with this?
There are about 500 hanging plot threads, and nothing resembling a resolution for any of them.
I usually love the introduction of new mysteries, but not when the old ones are still sitting there unsolved. Something, anything, needs to get tied up.
I'm not really known for my patience, and it's starting to wear a little thin with iZombie.

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
I liked the same things about this one as I liked about the previous volumes---great characters, fun supernatural stuff, gorgeous art. This one also had more story, like the last volume. The twists were good too. It was a fun read. And I was cracking up so much when Amon was going off on this whole passionate speech about skee ball. It was such a random, unexpected thing for anyone to be so passionate about, let alone a many-thousand-year-old, snazzily-dressing, brandy/whiskey-drinking, formal mummy. This is a really short review, but I don't really know what else to say other than this is just a cool series.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looks like things are finally coming together. It took the introduction of yet another category of oddly supernatural people to get the ball rolling. I'm not quite sold on the Dead Presidents yet, though they are appealingly weird enough to fit in with the rest of the cast. But there's only one more volume after this, and I'm getting concerned about how all of these many, many plot threads will get wrapped up.

[Cisz Geverink - Strasters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, i am HOOKED!!! VOL. 4 here i come ♡

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay! This book had SO much more action than the last volume. All the backstories are starting to come into play, and everyone's paths are starting to cross. The Dead Presidents made so much more sense now that they are also in Oregon. I am totally digging this series!

[Lesincele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Va mejor con cada número pero aún me falta algo

[Shelby Kollin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the variety of monsters and other supernatural creatures in this series. The art is fantastic! The story is definitely simple, but I still love the characters. The first one was still the best for me. I wish as they've continued that they would have kept up with Gwen solving mysteries by eating the brains of the dead. I still love it though! It's a simple love. But still love!

[Anna Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so kind of scared to see how rushed and less good than this and the previous two that #4 will be. It's kind of inevitable, at least in my opinion. I mean with this many dangling plot threads, what else could possibly happen?



I really enjoyed the twist with Amon and Gwen's memories, etc. Also, WTF was up with Gavin in that one scene? Still not quite sure what happened... Spot cornered by zombies (who now apparently overrun the tunnels underneath Gwen's cemetary), saved by Gwen and Horatio, only to have the zombies terrorizing the streets of Eugene, Oregon!!! Also, there's the little matter of the Dead Presidents who have been sent to clean up the situation (a team of U.S. govt. sanctioned monsters, led by an undead Lincoln!). I also liked the way that the Paintball Vampire ladies tied into the rest of the story in this one. Probably my least favorite plotline was the thing with Galatea, whom you'd think would know better than to attempt what she's doing. After all, her own creation didn't turn out the way that the guy who created her intended, did it?

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I'm on a roll with these comic books. LOL. But seriously, this story is SO COOL. Just when you think you know where things are going, it takes an unexpected turn. Love that!

Everything is going well for Gwen and Horatio. Then it isn't. I mean, there are so many things happening at once, and a bunch of secrets are coming out that could turn the world upside down. Amon is keeping more secrets than suspected. Ellie is quite the detective. Scott is starting to realise something about himself. And his grandfather cracks me up! Gavin is in big trouble. Big trouble. :/ And the vamps are, uh, recruiting.

Oh. And I love the introduction of The Dead Presidents. I'm intrigued. They're so kick-ass!

I'm really enjoying this action-packed story, this expanding world and the very colourful characters. The artwork is awesome and pretty. And THAT ending! o_O

BTW, I LOVED Vampire Queen of the Amazon. Soooooo gooooood.

Can't wait to see what happens next. One volume to go!

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fun, humourous, offbeat series continues! Different plotlines evolve and converge, revelations abound, mysteries deepen and the new characters - The Dead Presidents - are a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the series' conclusion in iZombie, Vol. 4: Repossession, and I can't wait to see how everything works out for the different characters, the good ones and the bad.

[Lauma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mad scientist, vēl viena mednieku organizācija un īsta zombiju apokalipse pilsētā. Secināju, ka noskaņa man atgādina kādreiz skatītās TMNT multenes, bet ar visu to kaudzi, kas šajā vienā nelielajā komiksu sērijā ir salikta, nerodas sajūta, ka būtu par daudz. Viss salikums ir gana interesants un labs, tāpēc arī netraucē tas, ka viss jau kaut kur ir redzēts. Lasot šo ir sajūta, ka tas vienkārši ir tāds foršs un ne pārāk nopietns paralēlais visums daudziem jau zināmiem stāstiem, bet man pārāk patīk, lai es par to satrauktos un piekasītos katram sīkumam.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what to think of this one. I enjoyed the gentle pace and small town setting of the first two volumes, but suddenly there are warring secret government agencies, a Russian zombie carrying a mad scientist's brain in a jar, a ghostly superhero possessing the body of a main character, side trips to Rio and a zombie apocalypse to boot. It feels like too much, too soon. Still lots of fun though.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have totally changed my tune on this series. It's absolutely great. Scooby-Doo meets The Munsters meets Mod Squad. I dunno, or something. It's freakin' lush and adorbs, is what it is. Kay.

[Gabriela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun but not as entertaining as the previous issues, it felt dragged at times and that's saying something since graphic novels are usually super fast-paced.

[Jessica (a GREAT read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thinking that description up there is a bit misleading, yes the details are right in theory for iZombie: Six Feet Under and Rising by Chris Roberson and illustrated by Michael Allred, but I still don't feel like Gwen is really "detective" material. Yes, she finds herself caught up in thick plots and tries to help the spirits attached to the brains she's been eating finish their unfinished business so they can move on, but she's not like Liv from the TV show!

In this set of comics we have Amon pressing Gwen more and more to kill innocents to be the "better" zombie or whatever and we learn of a new supernatural group known as the Dead Presidents. They are a bit mysterious themselves and clearly aren't human, but they vary in their supernatural-ness.

Gwen starts eating more than one brain a month in order to keep her human memories but there are still some things she can't remember. Then we have more mystery surrounding Gwen's brother, Gavin. Then a shocking reveal over Gwen's life as a human and how it connects to her current status as a zombie. Then there's Scott going through some self-realization changes, which I kind of saw coming at some point, but it will be a matter of seeing how things play out in the last set of comics.

Through all of these issues we get another look at the bizarre groups that are running about the country; the monster hunters, the monster monster hunters, and the other bizarre people who are plotting something diabolical that I still can't really understand! All in all, a bunch of weirdness that just doesn't provide answers and since comics are so much shorter, it makes you wonder if answers are coming or not! Time will tell I guess!

I like that we get to see so many different characters' points of view, but it does get a bit confusing in the long run because you can't really see how their stories will eventually connect. I see the lines connecting some of them, but there are still a few things that I am not quite understanding. Perhaps it's because I am looking for a deeper answer than the simple one and it really just may be the simple answer.

Yet there was quite the jaw-dropping reveal at the end of one of the last comics that I am really looking forward to see its eventual outcome! Can't believe how quickly these comics read because I've only the one volume left and then that's it! End of series!

Binge reading the series is definitely the way to go. I'm already regretting starting my other beloved comic because I still have a single issue left to that one and then I decided to wait for the compilations of the rest, however many that may be!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book in the series completed. I liked the story but I didn't like how it jumped from person to person, I didn't get to read much about one person before jumping to the next and was very back and forth. Again I have to shut off the tv series as it's nothing like it but as a comic series I like it. Alot more action and monster killing in this one so I got more out of this than the previous ones.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

iZombie seriously ups its game in Volume three. Falling and Rising are amazing books, and the Dead Presidents are must read. There was so much going on in these issues that I had to basically read everything twice, and I loved every minute of it. Things are going much deeper than I anticipated, and I'm really excited for the final volume.

[Vladimír · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zábava graduje a ja mám túto skoro už telenovelu stále radšej. Viac príšer, viac nebezpečenstva, komplikovanejšie vzťahy, skrátka všetkého je viac a v 4. knihe nás čaká asi totálny výbuch. Stále sa to číta dobre a stále ma to baví. A to je pri tomto oddychovom komikse najdôležitejšie.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally different from the TV show but good!

[Hastings75 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great instalment in the I-Zombie franchise!

Am hoping the final book will reveal how Gwen died!!!

[Lauren Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a previous volume that was light on plot, here we start to get into the thick of things. Zombies are invading Eugene, Oregon, secret societies--including a government-affiliated monster team led by Abraham Lincoln--are fighting each other as they try to save the city, and some sort of ageless necromancer is working to bring a cosmic horror into our dimension.

So plotting isn't a problem. And writer Chris Roberson keeps the gag level suitably high, even as artist Mike Allred captures all the ghouls and ghosts in his signature style (although the art is constrained somewhat by all the empty rooms and underground caverns we get as settings).

It's welcome to see all the pieces come together, but this volume moves too far from the character-driven exploration of the "monster" theme that was such a success in the first trade. Here it's all about piling up the developments, and I have to wonder if the timetable was rushed along by the demands of the marketplace.

It's decent enough, with plenty of promising ideas, but the humor and characterization suffers with the pace. I'm hoping the series can find the right balance for each element as it wraps up in volume four.

[Meran · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You see, Eugene, (OR), is special…" Apparently, in a similar way that Sunnydale was. I think this comic is emulating Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

There are zombies, (every issue), a mummy (every issue), ghosts (every issue), were-dogs and werewolves (dogs in every issue, wolves,- almost every issue), and more monsters each time! There's even a government organization, V.E.I.L., of dead presidents! Protecting our country, of course, and another organization of monster hunters, The Fossor Corporation, called Fossors or "gravediggers", to which, Gwen's new boyfriend, Horatio, belongs.

But how long will he be with Gwen? Especially once he finds out she's a Revenant/Zombie? (And HOW can't he tell?? "Love is blind" only goes so far…

Back to "Eugene is special".. The "walls" are thin, letting some of the gravity go and letting monsters of all kinds in.

This series is the beginning of the tv series, but it's only loosely, very loosely, based on this series. In some ways, the tv show is MUCH better.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Review for the entire series] Though nothing like the show (which is better, let's be real), this is a fun world with (mostly) interesting -- if derivative -- characters. The first volume struggled a bit to find its footing, and then end struggled to stay there, but there are some interesting moments in the art and a solid backstory to explain the WHY of everything, which you don't always get in supernatural stories. There's a convenience to some things that didn't sit well with me, and I wish they'd dug a bit more into the conflicts and made it all a bit meatier*, the series was a pleasant bit of mindless* fun, and it's neat to see where the story for the show came from, and where it has gone.

Oh, and sidenote: what is with the boobs?! Everybody has braless torpedo boobs in this, I just. . . why?


*there's a zombie joke in there, somewhere.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't care for the artistic fill-in at the end of the collection, nor did I care for the dangling Gavin development. Overall, though, a fun book that keeps getting better/ weirder. I know Roberson has now left DC, but I can't help but think a Roberson/ Allred Doom Patrol would have been pretty swell.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now things really get moving. Stereotypical zombies start to appear everywhere, we meet the Dead Presidents group, save Scott from the catacombs and Gwen starts to remember how she became a zombie. Lots of action.

[Sardonyx · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series is improving! Loving the newly introduced characters. The plot line is thickening! Art does not fail ya!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a little more than the second installment; the artwok wasn't quite as wonky and the story is leading to something less Scooby-Doo and a bit more serious, bigger-picture.

[Nuno Gil Franco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third volume takes the pace of the second one and kicks it up a little, introducing the Dead Presidents and some more backstory. Once more, Allred's art is superb and really fits the book.