'68, Volume 1: Corri nella giungla!

'68 #1

by Mark Kidwell, Nat Jones (Illustrator), Jay Fotos

Benvenuti nel 1968: la fine del mondo è arrivata. Dalle umide giungle del Vietnam al campus universitario di Berkley, illuminato dai fuochi delle manifestazioni studentesche, orde fameliche di inarrestabili non-morti stanno cambiando per sempre il volto dell'Era dell'Acquario.
Una nuova serie targata Image Comics, scritta da Mark Kidwell e disegnata da Nat Jones, che hanno riletto la figura dello zombie in chiave gore e con un tono spiccatamente socio-politico. Un'avventura in cui, per la prima volta, i destini di yankee, vietcong e hippie sono legati nel segno dell'incubo horror.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Zombies, Historical Fiction, War, Military Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Platoon incontra La Notte dei Morti Viventi in un cocktail esplosivo, avvincente e truculento.



Avevo letto e apprezzato questa serie in inglese quattro anni fa, così quando ho trovato l'intera collezione in 6 volumi dell'edizione italiana scontata del 75% al Romics, non ho saputo resistere.





Jane Fonda, that's you? <

Sorpresa gradita, questo primo volume è l'encore edition, edizione remasterizzata ed ampliata che racchiude anche l'originale one-shot del 2006, praticamente uno spin-off del capolavoro di George Romero, omaggiato da uno splendido easter-egg finale, e che all'epoca non avevo letto.



A volte è difficile distinguere o affezionarsi ai vari personaggi, ma storia, disegni e ricostruzione storica sono davvero eccellenti.



Un must-read per tutti i fan di ucronie, film di guerra ed apocalissi zombie.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome horror series. I'm a little burnt out on the zombie genre since The Walking Dead satisfies my "zombie" reading. But this was great. This is set in Viet Nam in 1968 during the war. Basically the same zombie outbreak depicted in the original Night of the Living Dead is a worldwide epidemic, and this series shows what's happening in Viet Nam. Great artwork (although heavy on graphic violence) and a great story as well. The book really does a good job of making you "feel" the setting. Think of Marvel's comic THE NAM mixed with THE WALKING DEAD and you have this book. At times the story also shows whats happening on the homefront, but mostly its in the jungle where the war is show to be even worse than imagined. Highest recommendation possible for the horror fan.

[Devon Munn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4

A nice and mildly entertaining zombie comic, would defintiely recommend for a fun, fast paced and quick read plus it's always interesting to see zombies in historical settings

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zombies and Nam.
The ideal couple for political satire and straight out bloodletting.
All we are saying is " Give zombies a chance."

[Marek Osvald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Above average genre read combining the Flower generation, Vietnam war and zombies. Fairly well researched, action-packed and somewhat scary. Very solid three stars.

[Dávid Novotný · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be 'unnecessary'. I'm not a big fan of zombies and I'm missing the point of putting them to Vietnam war. For some pulp/trash it is not unchained enough and for some social commentary/anti war protest it is too weak. Kind the mix of both, but truly none of them. First book consist of few stories, mixing different view on same events, but lacking one, strong, that would hook you up to the story. Art is strange, when on one side zombies are threated will all the love, bringing up all the horrifying details, but rest of the characters are sloppy. Especially if they are viewed from different than portrait angle. Not really my cup of the tea, but it will probably find it's readers.

[Jake Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘68 was a lucky find in an obscure and new comic shop I found back in 2012. The trauma of Vietnam and the sheer terror of the jungle is amplified by the rise of the recently dead; Kuen Yam, a Vietnamese American soldier is the butt of every joke. Nicknamed “Little Charlie”, Yam is the odd man out but when the dead start to rise and the battles go from bad to worse, Yam gives it his all. Partnered with a German Shepard named Nero, Yam fights his way back to Firebase Aries where the American forces there are preparing for a battle with the Vietnamese and the undead.

A complaint I have for most properties now is that there are plenty of loose ends left to hype up spin-offs or sequels. For me, ‘68 did it first and did it well. I won’t pin the blame of recent superhero/franchise fatigue on ‘68 but it works in this series favor when characters like Declan Rule, a CIA operative, get to return with a vengeance.

I love this series and I have wanted more ever since it concluded in 2016. If you’re lucky enough to track down some trades or single issues, do yourself a favor and dive in.

[Grant Houtary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big history guy and while I mostly stick to more serious reads this was a great and entertaining series (I've read all '68 books) the ones taking place in vietnam are by far the most interesting. If you haven't read the Jungle jim offshoots I would recommend them. Interesting 3 way battle between the anti-coms, the commies, and of course the zombies.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. The idea of zombies during war was really something that I found fascinating but even more so zombies as a period piece. They aren't your normal zombies they're freaking insane and gross. Imagine Sgt.Rock with zombies and you have half of the story.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sssssssooooooo GROSS!!!!!!!

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story and EC-type illustrations make this Viet Nam War based zombie graphic novel well worth the read. Highly recommended.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book flew under the whole “zombie craze” radar. That’s a shame because it’s well-written, beautifully rendered story. I would put this up against the best of the zombie books.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

18+ Mature

Not for the faint of heart.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing start to a pretty solid series overall. It provides a solid base set of characters to follow and get involved with.

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really is quite an ingenious idea; creating a comic book based around George Romero’s starting date of the zombie apocalypse and transplanting it to whatever else was happening in the world in 1968. The Vietnam War is the obvious answer (made even more obvious by Night of the Living Dead’s own allusions to it) and this gruesome, ferociously paced, satirical book delivers on everything I expected. What I didn’t expect was for ’68 to be quite so concerned with historical accuracy (zombies aside, obviously), so that was a very pleasant surprise. This volume, collecting a remastered version of the original one shot, the first four issues, a couple of shorter, self-contained stories, explanatory notes, script examples, sketches and variant covers is a compelling one I rattled through in one sitting.

[Victor Doom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well god damn I thought zombies were a dead medium. This book was written back when zombies were hot and if done right they can be timeless. Putting zombies in an already horrific environment (the vietnam war) makes them even scarier. Tensions are high and now you’ve got walking dead men a fantastic idea. The art is grisly and gross, really shows the mud and blood well, war is hell and this shows it in all of its unpolished bloody glory. Recommend this book highly I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I might have read some of this before, but not sure. Still, this is a very good series that looks at zombies in the Vietnam War, basically extrapolating out from the events of the original Night of the Living Dead. There is also a story featuring zombies making an appearance at an anti-war protest in California. The artwork is grim and gritty and there's a lot of very gruesome violence. Good stuff.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first encountered '68 a few years ago in the Horror Book trade paperback. This mini-series ties in nicely with the one-shot, and it done by the same creative team. The basic premise of this series is this: What if the events that occurred in the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead occurred around the world? What if the dead rising was not an isolated incident but a global one? This takes place in Viet Nam, with the exception of one scene, and is a great read.

[Komuniststar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odvojak peiče koji se odvija u SAD-u nije mi bio naročito zanimljiv, još jedan zombie otutbrake sa svim poznatim klišejima. Da se ne lažemo i dio u đunglama vijetnama-kambođe je pun klišea, dapače duplo u klišeima jer uz zombi tu su i vijetnamski klišei, ali ovdje to dobro funkcionira. Ima dozu napetosti. Svidio mi se i crtež Nata Jonesa, lica likova dobro ocrtavaju njihova stanja, emocije, a kadrovi su mu puni akcije kad treba dat dinamiku.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it and will probably read more eventually but it kind of got repetitive. Sometimes the characters were hard to tell apart/keep track of and I think it would have been more effective in general if there was a reason to care about any of the characters. Also I get that the racist language was accurate for the time but it felt excessive.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this more than I thought I would, as zombies and horror are not usually my thing. I really enjoyed that they included historical facts about the Vietnam War at the end. They definitely did their homework, and this pleases me.

[Earl Pike · Rating 4 out of 5]

1960's social chaos and vietnam made worse by the zombie apocalypse? Heck yeah, gimme more. Art is better than the story lines. Story lines are alright and dialogue isnt grear but it has its moments. Ill be hunting down vol 2.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel series is just awesome. Great story line, incredible graphics, scary vibe, and zombies! The zombie apocalypse begins during the Vietnam conflict and quickly spreads all over the world. This series is incredibly well done, and I am thoroughly enjoying reading it.

[skyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zombies in the 70s in veitnam so good

Wow can't Evan explain why this so good I'm really surprised they haven't done this idea of war and zombies really enjoyed reading this definitely getting the other books

[alejandro galvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

So dope.

A must read! Really cool Zombie book. A lot of effort was put into this. You can tell the quality just by reading it from start to finish. Great art by the way. Lots to love here. From actual facts to Military lingo and good plot, this has something for everyone.

[Michael Lent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to like more than I did. Once you get over the initial shock and awe of the art and concept, a certain sameness sets in. Dialogue felt like a greatest hits of the period.

[abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's just not really an interesting take on zombies. snooze.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. That was a gruesome start.

[Sassafras · Rating 3 out of 5]

My eleven year old son and I discovered this series at the 2016 Phoenix Comicon. The creators had an amazing booth in the exhibition hall. The tween boy was hooked by the military fascination and zombie action. Darling Son had now read and reread the first four volumes. He loves them. Mom, moi, not so much. Yes, I get the allegory of zombies and unnatural acts of war. It just isn't my thing.

Yet, if you get past the violence and language, there are protagonists to root for and antagonists to deplore. Fave characters: Yam the under appreciated hero and Nero the war dog.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sota on helvettiä, sen tietävät kaikki, mutta lopullisesti lapasesta homma riistäytyy siinä vaiheessa kun kaatuneet sotilaat heräävät henkiin, eivätkä ihmislihan himossaan erottele ystävää vihollisesta. Rauhan ja rakkauden opit eivät auta myöskään hippejä kotirintamalla kun ensimmäiset zombiet rantautuvat yliopistojen kampuksille. Maailmanloppua odotellessa...

Mark Kidwellin hurmeisiin Vietnam-visioihin törmäsin ensimmäistä kertaa sarjakuva-antologiassa Horror Book Volume 1. Kyseisen albumin sisältämä tarina '68 jäi mieleen Ilmestyskirjan ja Night of the Living Deadin onnistuneena ristisiitoksena, ja nyt sain sitten käpäliini ensimmäisen kokopitkän albumillisen samaista veripalttua.

Sarjakuva on ihan onnistunut kauhugenren edustaja niin käsikirjoitukseltaan kuin kuvitukseltaan, joskin sinne sun tänne poukkoileva tarina on hieman hajanainen, eikä henkilöihin tahdo saada vielä kunnon otetta. Potentiaalia löytyi kuitenkin sen verran, että toinenkin osa täytyi laittaa tilaukseen.