Awakening Volume 1

Awakening #1

by Nick Tapalansky, Alex Eckman-Lawn (Illustrator)

The once peaceful city of Park Falls has been tainted by a series of gruesome murders and missing persons. Cynthia Ford, known as the town crazy, finds retired police detective Derrick Peters and relates to him her belief about what's going on in town. Her explanation - Zombies! Unable to ignore Cynthia's information, though not sharing her beliefs, Derrick and others in the town explore the mystery as weeks turn to months and the death toll rises. Follow the first half of Park Falls' year-long struggle for answers in this collected edition of the first five issues of the ASP existential horror series.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Comics, Fiction, Zombies, Comic Book, Mystery

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Nick Tapalansky writes some comics you should totally read, including A Radical Shift of Gravity, Awakening, and Cast No Shadow, a fall 2017 Junior Library Guild selection. His work has also been included in the award-winning Popgun and Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard anthologies. He currently lives in New York with his wife and daughter.
http://nicktapalansky.com

Reviews

[Robin Burton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A+ for the illustrations. There was a graphic of the killer wearing a devil mask and I was mesmerized by the dark and gritty artwork leading up to that moment.

The actual story was slow and I couldn’t get into it.

[Willie Krischke · Rating 2 out of 5]

VERY slow moving zombie comic. At one point the “action” comes to a halt as two characters spend a page wondering if they forgot to copy someone on an email.

[Francesca Giardiello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buon inizio di lettura, con disegno e narrazione che ricordano molto lo stile noir.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new twist to the zombie tale, is it a large conspiracy? The story is good, but the art style made it hard sometimes to tell characters apart.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I want to make it clear that I'm not much of a zombie-fanatic, and I haven't read/wrote/watched very many things involving zombies. However, I have watched quite a few mystery shows and read several mystery novels. That being said, the first volume of Awakening went beyond what I expected from zombie fiction. Not the usual "in-your-face" blood, guts, zombie-shoot-em-ups, and survivor groups. It's an interesting mystery approach to zombies.

However, I feel that while it's really no surprise in the story at all. Zombies! I don't really care where they come from. I just want to know if everyone dies or if the main characters manage to stop the destruction. At this point in the series, there is no confirmation that the zombies are even the problem. There is just speculation and investigation, like a mystery. I can at least show appreciation the steps that the author takes to effectively run the investigation. Unfortunately, this volume lacks a strong character. Most of them are long-standing stereotypes of a mystery novel - the would-be informant that no one listens to because people think she's insane, the lone ex-detective who has a secret past that haunts him, and the lab guy.

I enjoy the art style. Grungy, dark, haunting. Like the subject of the graphic novel. It vaguely makes me think of the illustrations in Surrogates, but only vaguely. It embodies the darkness and murkiness of the plot and the on-going investigation. There are occasional spots of clear art... I'm trying to figure out the artist's intention of that.

This volume of Awakening leaves a lot of questions to be answered, and I'll probably continue reading it just for an occasional brain dump. Some final irritating questions. Why does it feel like the author forced character development - predictable at that - onto the main character? Why did he incorporate stereotypes of a detective story while he had an interesting angle of a zombie story? I can definitely say, though, that a cool new angle means nothing if there isn't a strong backing of characters.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, and the story line was fairly compelling, but I can't get past the illustrations. I had a really difficult time following the characters because I couldn't tell who was who in all the hazy, arty illustrations. To be honest, the whole thing kept reminding me of that "Take me on" video by a-ha (Kids, it's an eighties video--listen to your elder and go to YouTube to see it). I won't be continuing this series. So much potential, squandered...

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the story, and I really enjoy the art, but I'm not sure I enjoy them both together. They're both too hectic; I feel like they should each be paired with something more stable to bring out their unique qualities. I would be absolutely interested in more work by the writer and the artist, just not together.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the collage style art -- more graphic novels should look like this. I was intrigued by the detective angle on the zombie story, but found the characters blended in with one another and it was hard to see the story clearly. The illustrations were fantastic -- I think the text should have anchored them better so they functioned as a cohesive whole.

[J.R. Randle · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS A MUST!! Both Edgy and Horrifying as you await the unexpected. You feel death in the air as you would rain or a terrifying storm. The graphics and lettering are darkly superb with clear precise artistry.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, yet intriguingly beautiful graphics, create a mood of mystery for this comic book adventure. Part crime scene investigation, part zombie mystery, I am drawn into the story and look forward to the next volume.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am eager for the next volume; the first does a great job of hooking you but it leaves you with so many questions. The narrator is a little distant but the art brings you closer to the action. I feel it's too early to say how I really feel about it, but I'm looking forward to more.

[Jennifer]

honestly, i read this and i'm not sure what my damn stars are yet.
i'm engaged.
i'm also seeing a million others in the pages here.
and seeing a lot of blurry.
hmm.

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark tale, disturbing and inspired. Unsettling and beautiful art work, intense writing and a story that has me hooked. Highly recomended.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not to be confused with Kate Chopin's "The Awakening."

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Points for trying something new in the storytelling and art, but overall this book was bellow average. Mediocre at best.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Dark and disturbing combining zombies and corporate corruption, this series will be up there with the Walking Dead.

[Sonic · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was interesting and different enough that I read the whole thing.

...

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great story, I love zombies and I love noir. I never thought the two could be put together so nicely.

[lesleymac · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art was great, but in some places too stylized or abstract to convey the story.

[Cassandra Carico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy, imaginative, and a slightly different take on the zombie phenomenon. Can't wait to read the next one. I will probably do that tonight....

[Karin Bartimole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the artwork, but the story line felt disjointed and confusing for me. I am intrigued enough to have started volume 2 to see if it comes together better for me.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story has been done to death. Moving on...

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

fantastic artwork. Love the impressionistic, collage feel. But the story and characters were flat and not at all compelling. The plot didn't really go anywhere. Meh.

[Abbē · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the artwork in this book but the writing and story just didn't hold my interest.

[Kateri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing art, decent story. Reread and maybe continue?