What do you think?
Rate this book
Undad #1
Undad - Volume One
More than just another zombie story, Undad is about the challenges of being a husband and father while being (literally) dead inside. A chance encounter with a ragged homeless man leaves Brett Buckley with deep teeth marks in his arm, and a sudden ravenous hunger for living flesh. Unable to control these urges, he consumes the hamster that belongs to his son's class. Fearing that losing his family might cost him the last of his dwindling humanity, Brett must win back their love and respect, all the while attempting to find his new place in the world and reconcile his vegetarian morals with his insatiable appetite for live meat...
212 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2015
4 people want to read
About the author
Shane W. Smith
16 books20 followersSHANE W SMITH is an Australian graphic novelist who has been writing since he could hold a pen.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing, and a number of published graphic novels, including the Aurealis Award finalists Peaceful Tomorrows and The Game, and the Shadows Award finalist Undad.
His oddest achievement is getting a comic published in an A-ranked refereed academic journal in 2007.
Follow Shane’s writing misadventures at facebook.com/ShaneWSmith.Author/
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing, and a number of published graphic novels, including the Aurealis Award finalists Peaceful Tomorrows and The Game, and the Shadows Award finalist Undad.
His oddest achievement is getting a comic published in an A-ranked refereed academic journal in 2007.
Follow Shane’s writing misadventures at facebook.com/ShaneWSmith.Author/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 19, 2019
Brett Buckley deals with dad-stuff.....kids, work, his marriage, responsibility...it all comes with the territory. Then, a chance meeting with a strange homeless man changes everything. One bite from the stranger makes Brett...different. He goes from being a strict vegetarian to craving meat. He has wickedly violent dreams. He eats his son's hamster.
How do you tell your family that you're a zombie? And how do you deal with being so.....hungry?
I love a good zombie story, and when I saw the title to this graphic novel .... Undad .... I knew I had to read it!
I loved the story. Brett goes through hell trying to figure out what has happened to him, how to gain control of himself, and how to tell his family he's undead.
This project was originally funded by Kickstarter, which I find supremely cool. I'm always excited about supporting creative indie projects. It was evident that the artwork was mostly digital and that several artists worked on the project. The art style changed between chapters. But....that didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story. Some of the art was excellent....some less so. But overall, I enjoyed this graphic novel. I'm definitely on-board for Undad Volume 2. I need to know what happens next! :)
Fun read! I did feel a bit sorry for the hamster though.....
**I voluntarily read a free copy of this graphic novel provided by the author. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. No zombies -- or hamsters -- were harmed in the writing of this review. My dogs protest the fact that the hamster eating was initially blamed on the dog. :) **
How do you tell your family that you're a zombie? And how do you deal with being so.....hungry?
I love a good zombie story, and when I saw the title to this graphic novel .... Undad .... I knew I had to read it!
I loved the story. Brett goes through hell trying to figure out what has happened to him, how to gain control of himself, and how to tell his family he's undead.
This project was originally funded by Kickstarter, which I find supremely cool. I'm always excited about supporting creative indie projects. It was evident that the artwork was mostly digital and that several artists worked on the project. The art style changed between chapters. But....that didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story. Some of the art was excellent....some less so. But overall, I enjoyed this graphic novel. I'm definitely on-board for Undad Volume 2. I need to know what happens next! :)
Fun read! I did feel a bit sorry for the hamster though.....
**I voluntarily read a free copy of this graphic novel provided by the author. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. No zombies -- or hamsters -- were harmed in the writing of this review. My dogs protest the fact that the hamster eating was initially blamed on the dog. :) **
April 8, 2019
This is a fun graphic novel about a dad zombie—an UNDAD.
Stories are separated into a series of chapters or “episodes.” It certainly didn’t feel like one story and you can tell as you’re reading through it.
Each one of the episodes was rendered by a different author/artist.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and i look forward to reading the next comic.
Shane has really stepped up in the graphic novel world.
Keep up the awesome work.
Stories are separated into a series of chapters or “episodes.” It certainly didn’t feel like one story and you can tell as you’re reading through it.
Each one of the episodes was rendered by a different author/artist.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and i look forward to reading the next comic.
Shane has really stepped up in the graphic novel world.
Keep up the awesome work.
April 2, 2019
I liked the story by Shane W Smith, it was written well and masterfully intermingled many story lines into one book, ones if your married and have kids youll easily understand, and trasition into the story, it could have been you.. The Fathers dealings with wife, kids, work, bills, inter-twined with the homelessman. Then the Fathers fears of loosing, wife, kids, job and ultimately his self. I look forwatd to reading part two. Also the book was drawn and inked well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2019
No wonder readers love Undad. I devoured volume 1 in a sitting, and I'm already hungry for more. Undad is chock-full of surprises--sad when you expect scary, funny when you expect sad. Perfect for readers who wish The Walking Dead had more to say.
March 16, 2019
I really enjoyed this very original zombie story. The different types of artwork for the different chapters made it interesting. The main character was very likable. I look forward to read Volume 2!
April 2, 2019
I read this with my daughter who is obsessed with all things zombie. It was fun to read together. She did take notice of the variations to the art work between the three chapters but she loved the story and can't wait to read the next.
April 1, 2019
Very interesting concept. With different artists adding their talents puts an extra bang into the story. Cant wait to see what comes in the second one.
December 6, 2017
This is a fun graphic novel about a dad zombie—an UNDAD.
Stories are separated into a series of chapters or “episodes.” It certainly didn’t feel like one story and you can tell as you’re reading through it. Each one was rendered by a different author/artist.
In the first chapter, the illustrations felt a little stiff—almost robotic and lifeless. Perhaps it was the 3D-style, which is normally pretty cool, but I just don’t think it worked very well in this story. I don’t think this was hand-drawn; this looks like it was computer-generated. The facial expressions were a little freaky and there weren’t enough active gestures. I mean, this is a comic about zombies. This should allow for a multitude of actions and wild gestures. Even when he gets hit by the truck, it was stiff and bland.
In Chapter 2, the style was much better—definitely more in the style of a comic book. And the story delves more into the life after death. It had almost a religious aspect.
Chapter 3 had more expressive rendering. It was simple, but the gestures gave the story more action. It was funny how he couldn’t “perform” with the wife. This was definitely the more hilarious one. The best one of the bunch!
Chapter 4 had the same style as Chapter 1—stiff and lame.
The overall stories were okay. Some were better than others. This is okay if you like zombie stories.
Stories are separated into a series of chapters or “episodes.” It certainly didn’t feel like one story and you can tell as you’re reading through it. Each one was rendered by a different author/artist.
In the first chapter, the illustrations felt a little stiff—almost robotic and lifeless. Perhaps it was the 3D-style, which is normally pretty cool, but I just don’t think it worked very well in this story. I don’t think this was hand-drawn; this looks like it was computer-generated. The facial expressions were a little freaky and there weren’t enough active gestures. I mean, this is a comic about zombies. This should allow for a multitude of actions and wild gestures. Even when he gets hit by the truck, it was stiff and bland.
In Chapter 2, the style was much better—definitely more in the style of a comic book. And the story delves more into the life after death. It had almost a religious aspect.
Chapter 3 had more expressive rendering. It was simple, but the gestures gave the story more action. It was funny how he couldn’t “perform” with the wife. This was definitely the more hilarious one. The best one of the bunch!
Chapter 4 had the same style as Chapter 1—stiff and lame.
The overall stories were okay. Some were better than others. This is okay if you like zombie stories.
December 19, 2015
An entertaining graphic novel about a vegetarian father, bitten by a zombie, who now craves the flesh of the living while still trying to be a responsible family man. I liked that every issue within Undad was illustrated by a different artist - it gave each issue a fresh feel, and some of the art was gorgeous.
There were, however, some frustrations. I found the overarching moral message a little heavy handed and distracting.
For zombie fiction to work well, the viral fiction needs to be consistent and make sense. I kept looking for answers in Undad as to where the virus came from. What caused it? Why is it manifesting in the way it is? Why ISN'T there a pandemic of flesh-hungry responsible fathers trying to hide their cravings from their families? Those questions remained unanswered, and I hope that they're delved into as part of Undad 2.
An entertaining, quick read.
There were, however, some frustrations. I found the overarching moral message a little heavy handed and distracting.
For zombie fiction to work well, the viral fiction needs to be consistent and make sense. I kept looking for answers in Undad as to where the virus came from. What caused it? Why is it manifesting in the way it is? Why ISN'T there a pandemic of flesh-hungry responsible fathers trying to hide their cravings from their families? Those questions remained unanswered, and I hope that they're delved into as part of Undad 2.
An entertaining, quick read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews