Year Zero 2

Year Zero

by Benjamin Percy

Eine Weltreise durch die Apokalypse Auf der Flucht vor unerbittlichen Piraten navigiert sich eine bärbeißige norwegische Seekapitänin zusammen mit ihren zwei Enkelkindern durch einen Ozean voller Untoter. Ein kolumbianischer Kartellboss frönt all seinen sadistischen Freuden und ahnt dabei nicht, dass gerade eine weitaus größere Bedrohung als Zombies auf seine Dschungelfestung zusteuert. Ein Arzt aus Ruanda muss jene lähmende Angst überwinden, die ihn schon sein ganzes Leben lang plagt, während er sich mehr schlecht als recht einen Weg durch den wilden afrikanischen Busch bahnt. Zudem entdeckt eine schwangere Frau, dass die größte Bedrohung der neuen Welt vielleicht gar nicht von den Untoten ausgeht ... Diesmal wirft Autor Benjamin Percy (Wolverine, X-Force) zusammen mit Zeichner Juan Jose Ryp (Britannia) und Kolorist Frank Martin (Infinity Wars) einen weiteren globalen Blick auf die Zombie-Apokalypse.

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

144 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2021

About the author

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels -- most recently The Sky Vault (William Morrow) -- three short fiction collections, and a book of essays, Thrill Me, that is widely taught in creative writing classrooms. He writes Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire (where he is a contributing editor), GQ, Time, Men's Journal, Outside, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and the Paris Review. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writer's Award, the Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, the iHeart Radio Award for Best Scripted Podcast, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics.

Reviews

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 4 out of 5]

Percy continues his zombie apocalyptic saga and just like in the Year Zero Vol. 1 he brings four new characters. Unlike the first volume where characters were mainly just experiencing zombie pandemic, here already some time passed. Stories are more tight, art is better, overall is more grim and darker.
Story of an old Norwegian fisherwoman and her grandchildren being chased by a group of survivors who mean them no good was a good one. There is a little bit of connection with Norse mythology (ship of dead) which hides quite gruesome and bone chilling secret.
Ishmael is a Rwandan doctor who survived Tutsi/Hutu conflict, now lives in a makeshift home among treetops in the middle of savannah. Burdened by fear, he finally defeats it, but pays the price. Maybe it was a karma effect for all those people he left. Nice story.
Young woman locked in a department store finds out she's pregnant. A product of a careless act just moments before apocalypse. Now she's trying to make it through, but while waiting for her child to be born she learns there are enemies outside other than the undead.
And by far the weakest story of them is the one about sadistic Colombian drug lord. It would've been more interesting if this was told from the perspective of his lover, as she seemed like a better choice, but Percy decided to go with him. Could've been better.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually a pretty good installment. The first volume was about how they find about the virus and zombie outbreak but here the characters know it and are trying to survive.

Like the first story we have multiple characters and stories. The first is a pregnant woman whose trapped in a supermarket and trying to survive and the challenges she faces. The other is about a Norwegian woman who along with her grandsons live in the sea but finds the Ship of the dead, the Nagflar. Another one is about a Doctor named Ishamel who carries on his oath and protects the people even at the cost of his own life and finally a Mexico based story about a crime lord who punished his bodyguard and wife for being in love. Out of all of them the 4th story was super weird and so unnecessary and a chore to read.

The art was okay but the coloring was so cool.

My problem with Percy's writing is he has so many characters in the series and only a few stories are good like the one with Ishamel and the others are just left meandering with no definite conclusions. The story he says is akin to how people are trying to survive in this pandemic and one can find similarities but then again only few align with that. The stories are decent and can make for a good one time read but the ending with who the real survivors are ..is interesting. Vol 3?

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good volume! 3 7 🌟

[A.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little more enjoyable than Volume 1, which still isn’t saying alot, since this series just isn’t very good. Zombies are boring and Percy does absolutely nothing you haven’t seen before. Just read The Walking Dead for a more interesting zombie world and story.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Another decent volume. Same technique as the last volume, we follow different characters while this zombie apocalypse is going on. We have drug lord held up in his mansion with his guards and concubines. A doctor living in a treehouse he built in the middle of Rwanda. A pregnant girl held up in a giant department store and a sailor with two kids out living on the ocean. It was cool seeing how each of them is handling the zombies and what kind of troubles they were dealing with based on their location and situations. I’d check out a 3rd volume.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty solid volume. So really good character moments and fights to survive. The changing narrative every 3 pages or so continues and one of the pluses of this series. The character in the supermarket as well as the drug lord were the two best characters. The rest range from decent to meh. Overall though if like zombie survival tales you'll like this.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the first volume. These stories just aren't as compelling. And the series' debt to World War Z is once again very apparent (look at the cover, for crying out loud).

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe because I'm used to the format, but I enjoyed this and though it was a big improvement over YEAR ZERO VOLUME 1. The format is the same - - four individuals in different parts of the globe coping with the zombie pandemic.
The difference here is that some time has elapsed. In Volume 1, the characters were learning about and experiencing the first wave of the zombie invasion. In Volume 2, the pandemic is already established and these characters are all survivors.
They were also more interesting than the characters in Volume 1.
Finally, the inclusion of Juan Jose Ryp makes a big difference. Very detailed, very graphic, very violent, very expressive.
While each story has a conclusion, nothing further is explained regarding the cause of the plague or how it might end. So, that leaves the door open for a Volume 3 - and I would welcome that.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoy this method of storytelling that Percy shows here. Everyone knows what happens in a zombie apocalypse, but this way of storytelling under a microscope in very specific ways is really intriguing. While reading each story a couple pages at a time took some getting used to last volume, it really works well as it hits its stride through this one.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am back

After several years away, it looks I am back to the zombie apocalypse! Loved this series. Both Vol
1 and 2.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought these stories were tighter than the first volume. Juan Jose Ryp also has a more interesting art style than Ramon Rosanas. The four different stories consist of a pregnant woman locked up tight in a Wal-Mart, a Norwegian fisherwoman and her two grandchildren, a Columbian drug lord and a Rwandan doctor who has found safety in a treehouse.

[kesseljunkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff

Continues to deliver on the promise of the first volume. Well plotted and the art is good. I will continue the series

[William M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Benjamin Percy is firing on all cylinders with this second volume in the Year Zero series. Using all new characters in this zombie apocalypse, we now follow a family of fishermen off the coast of Norway, a villager in Rwanda, A drug lord in Colombia, and a young pregnant woman locked in a Costco/Sam's Club type store. This volume is unquestionably better than the first, with better characters, better situations, and more original twists. In addition, artist Juan Jose Ryp was brought on and brought an incredible amount of detail to virtually every panel and definitely was an improvement over the first volume's artwork. This series is getting so good, I really can't wait to read volume 3.

[Justin Soderberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a combined review of all 3 volumes of Year Zero.

Zombie stories are a dime a dozen these days, but only a select few really give the genre something as special like Year Zero from AWA Studios. What started with writer Benjamin Percy, and finish (but also before) with Daniel Kraus , Year Zero offers a unique perspective and narrative in zombie storytelling.

An epic series that offers a global look at the Zombie Apocalypse. These harrowing tales follow several survivors of a horrific global epidemic from all around the world who must draw upon their unique skills and deepest instincts to navigate a world of shambling dead. Year Zero wrestles with the weighty moral and theological questions posed by the pandemic and investigates its cause and possible cure.

Tackling a zombie horror story with new purpose and vision can be a difficult task, as the story can blend into the background or can standout like a sore thumb. Few can say they have crafted a zombie tale that stands with legends such as George A. Romero, yet Year Zero does just that. Percy sets out in the first volume telling tales from four different points-of-view and from four different social levels and backgrounds. Giving a new version on what its like to take on a zombie apocalypse.

Things continue with four other perspectives in the second volume by Percy and gets a prequel, a look before the first volume, by Kraus. each of the volumes feature stories from all over the globe (and even space) from people we tend to see avoided in the typical zombie story. We get versions of these stories from those who don't typically get a voice or get avoided in the mainstream. Its refreshing to see what it would be like to be plunged into the zombie apocalypse from all over the globe.

While I don't usually connect Percy with zombie stories, I do find one of the better people to jump into this universe and succeed is Kraus. He takes his knowledge of working with Romero on The Living Dead and brings this to Year Zero Vol. 0 , a prequel to the original story. However, each of these 12 different perspectives are unique and captivating, while also emotional. There is heart in these stories and you cannot help but feel for those who get a raw deal.

It's not just the writers on Year Zero who set these stories apart from the crowd, it's the artists. We give credit to Ramon Rosanas for kicking things off and Goran Sudzuka for bringing vision to the prequel, but it's the illustrations by Juan José Ryp in the second volume that shines for me. The attention to detail and stunning panels that had me in awe.

Year Zero is a fantastic series taking the zombie genre and giving it some heart and soul while also bringing attention to the forgotten corners of these stories. Benjamin Percy and Daniel Kraus write fantastic tales, while Ramon Rosanas, Juan José Ryp, and Goran Sudzuka bring fantastic visual storytelling.

Year Zero Vol. 1 , Year Zero Vol. 2 , and the prequel Year Zero Vol. 0 are available at your local comic shops and bookstores everywhere from AWA Studios.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for zombie stories, so I picked up this new Year Zero series, which proved to be World War Z in graphic novel form.

In the first volume, the outbreak had just occurred and we were introduced to five different individuals all over the world. While I expected this second volume to pick up with those characters again, instead we meet four new ones a few months into this new apocalyptic world. There is the sadistic Columbian drug lord, a pregnant woman trapped in an Arizona big-box store, a Rwandan doctor consumed with guilt, and a Norweigan sea captain and her two grandchildren who are trying to elude pirates on their fishing boat. The fates of these new survivors were more at risk than in the first volume, which made it harder to connect with them, as some died and others had implied grim endings. We also get some world-building in the form of a few letters throughout this slim volume.

While Benjamin Percy remained the author, the artist and colorist changed to Juan Jose Ryp and Frank Martin. The art remains strong with great details, with coloring shifts for each location change, which helps somewhat with the constant back and forth. I do wish Percy spent more time with each character at a time, for often it shifted every two to three pages.

While I still remain interested in this series, I’m not up for volume three to introduce even more characters. I hope they start to connect the characters still left alive from these first two volumes, and begin to braid their stories together as they learn to cope with the new world order. (Actual review 3.5/5)

This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2022/10/2...

[Verba Non Res · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite better than the first volume. The stories are more interesting, although not all of them. Percy still misses the mark with Latin America, and in this case, the chosen character is a Colombian drug lord who seems like a slightly disguised version of Pablo Escobar (although he also reminded me of the one Brendan Fraser played in a segment of Bedazzled). Once again - this is a personal obsession, I admit it - there is an awful use of Spanish. Even when dialogues are written in angled quotes, which would mean they are a translation of what the character is saying in Spanish into English, expressions such as "los muertos", "puta", and "mis gatitas" appear, which makes no sense (at least, here he also meddles with Norwegian). In general, except for this one, the stories are quite decent, although they also overuse local color and implausible -mostly inner- dialogues. There is also a bit more room for the more universal human theme, although, in almost all of them (there is only one that does not include a shootout), the message and vision of the apocalypse tend to be the same.

[Yani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, we run into the issue here that I run into with a lot of graphic novel series.

The artist changed... and I don't love it. Ryp has a very... grimy and gritty style, which, to be fair, suits the material. But it just all becomes gritted teeth and too many lines and grizzled faces and... it's just not my jam.

Also, I will admit, I was slightly disappointed we ended up with a whole new batch of characters. Part of me does wonder if the original comic volumes split the story up the same was as the graphic novel or if they each told one of the four stories here. Because, honestly, in both cases... that might have been a better approach. But at the same time, these stories are... a little light. Or they're less a whole story than they are a brief vignette. And there isn't really time to get attached to anybody.

So, as a concept, interesting... in execution, leaves me wanting something more.

[Orlanda Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't think I'll .....

..... be continuing this series. Seeing real time brutality is difficult enough. Reading this story has only reminded me the evil of humanity. While there have been some sacrifices and the story has shown people surviving .... the take away that instead of coming together, trying to survive, we continue with the same old ways of being in control and maintaining power. The sad thing is that as much as I hope this not to be, if the world was to shut down, humanity would act this very way.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eine solide Sache, die ich mir gut als Fernsehserie vorstellen könnte. Gegenüber dem Platzhirschen hätte sie da den Vorteil, dass der Fokus (zumindest hat es bisher den Anschein!) auf verschiedensten Protagonisten aus den unterschiedlichsten Winkeln der Welt behält. Südamerika, Afrika, Nordeuropa und natürlich (unvermeidlich) Nordamerika.

Die einzelnen Geschichten sind in sich recht schlüssig, auch wenn hie und da ein bisschen weniger mehr gewesen wäre.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn't look like there's going to be any more of this series, and that's a shame. Volume 1 showed snapshots of different people reacting to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, and Volume 2 focuses on a different set of individuals later in the apocalypse. Not all of them are good people, and we may find it hard to root for them, but it's still enjoyable to see them trying to survive against zombies, nature and the really bad people like pirates and Road Warrior types.

[Xroldx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved vol.1 and this might even be a bit better. We're six to nine months after the pandemic and once again follow four characters you usually don't read about in a zombie comic such as a Norwegian grandmother, a young American woman, an African doctor and a Colombian drug lord. They all deal with living in a zombie infested world very differently.

[Kiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its definitely not like any zombie apocalypse graphic novel I've read

If you want crazy people in a crazy post apocalyptic zombie world this is it, whether you are a grandma protecting her grandchildren or a pregnant woman survivng in a big department store , this books has alot but its worth it.

[Lazymum · Rating 5 out of 5]

CRAVING FOR MORE

All I can say is I want more. I devoured the three volumes fast. I like how it has different experiences from different people but I am also looking forward to seeing who at least (still) survives (trying to survive) especially some of my favourite characters from v1 and v2.

[Ani Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Year Zero is a series that follows 4 people within the apocalypse. In Vol.2 we follow the stories of Tina Pumper, Hallie Ragnar, El Topo, and Ishmael Achebe.

Man, Ishmael got the short end of the stick compared to everyone else. Maybe Hallie's next on the misfortune - atleast based on what we can infer.

[AJ Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped to follow the characters a bit more from volume 1, but these are entirely new characters. Still really interesting, and I feel like we get a bit more closure on the characters in this volume than in the previous one. Still an interesting world and telling of stories of all different ways people could have chosen/been forced to survive.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second volume, even more than the first. The four new survivors just seem that much more interesting, it's not just the end of the world, they're trying to survive. Looking forward to reading more of this series.

[Jota Houses · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy digno sucesor del primer volumen. Sigue su misma estructura con nuevos personajes. El dibujo, sin ser malo, me gusta un poco menos pues incrementa el realismo y por tanto la casquería. Muy entretenido.

[Devon Munn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting this volume to continue the stories from the first volume and while i am disappointed they weren't being followed up on in this volume it still offers decent stories (the main character in the story set in Rwanda had a decent arc) and Benjamin Percy is a solid writer

[James Atkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great second book

I really enjoy that they did not continue the stories from book one. They expanded the world and tell different stories in a great way. Artwork is fantastic and stories are strong. Give it a read.

[ed chumley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best zombie stories I have ever read

Volume 2 was actually better than the first volume. Can't wait to read volume 3. This is more than just a series about zombies it's about human survival. Very well written and the art really captures the moment.