Recess Pieces

by Bob Fingerman

Bad things are brewing in the halls of the Ben Turpin School for K-8. When a science project goes wrong, only the prepubescent children are spared the fate of zombification - which is not to say that they're immune from being eaten alive! George Romero covered night, dawn and day, but how about recess? With Recess Pieces, Bob Fingerman (Beg the Question, You Deserved It) dishes up a grisly combination of Hal Roach's "Our Gang" and zombies, zombies and more zombies.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Zombies

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Recent releases are From the Ashes, a satirical "speculative memoir" set in post-apocalyptic New York (IDW, March 2010) of which The Onion wrote, “As a blitz of astringent satire, an unabashed love letter to his wife, and a love-hate manifesto aimed at the whole human race, From The Ashes is a gem; as an addition to the often-staid canon of post-apocalyptic pop culture, it’s a revelation… A“

In August 2010 my second novel, Pariah (Tor Books), a Pinteresque zombie tale, was released. It rec'd a starred review from Publishers Weekly and an A- from Entertainment Weekly and was Fangoria's Book of the Month selection. The mass market pocket edition came out in 2011.

My most recent release is the deluxe oversized hardcover collection Maximum Minimum Wage, from Image Comics (April 2013), which made Entertainment Weekly's Must List and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Reviews

[Patrick D'Orazio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I held off on buying Recess Pieces because the idea of little kids and zombies seemed a bit whacked out. Well, now that I have the book, I can confirm it IS whacked out. And oh, how gloriously whacked out it is!
I cannot highly recommend this graphic novel enough. Bob Fingerman knows how to blend the innocence and agonizing pain of childhood with the grim brutality of the dead coming back to life in a concoction that is wickedly tasty and grim while keeping the laughs coming at a breakneck pace.
To compare this to any of the other zombie graphic novels I have read would not be fair. This is simply different than all the rest. If I was forced to put it side by side with "The Walking Dead" and the like, I could only say that there is definitely room for the likes of this and TWD on the same shelf, while many of the other brooding "adult" tales of undead apocalypse would get honorable mention. This would be one of the first works I would recommend to a newcomer to the realm of zombie fiction.
The basic premise is a grade school taken over by zombies after a science experiment goes bad. The adults all turn, as do the older kids, but most of the younger children are spared, though it is certain that they too can be munched on by the ravenous zombies that now roam the school halls.
This story certainly has motivated me to check out more of Fingerman's works, because if he displays even half of the wit and verve he had for this subject with his other stories, they will be well worth the investment.

[Jacobi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what I was expecting when I read this book, but I wasn't expecting something so crass. It's fitting then that Fingerman's art evokes that of the Garbage Pale kids, because the things in the story they're involved in are disgusting. Of course, a book about kids dealing with a zombie outbreak is going to have some blood and guts in it, but I'm speaking more about the stereotypical depiction of some of the ethnic character and the crude (yet unfunny) one liners the characters spout throughout this book. There were a few instances where I did inwardly chuckle, but mostly I just read through the book unamused and barely entertained.

*I don't think Fingerman is a racist or anything silly like that, but I don't get what he was going for. But then his humor definitely doesn't line up with mine, which is why I didn't enjoy this book that much.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was considering gifting this to my 10-year-old niece (along with Micheline Hess's Malice in Wonderland) since it's about a gang of pre-pubescent kids tackling the zombie apocalypse but it quickly became apparent that this is for a far older audience so I had to shelve that plan.

Despite that let down, I enjoyed the story.

Maybe I'll leave it to Claire in my will.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

After searching high and low for zombie books that I may put in my library for that one special middle school student, I stumbled across Recess Pieces because of an Amazon recommendation. I figured that I would give it a quick read before I gave it to my student, and I’m definitely glad that I did. It’s not a bad story, but I’m not sure if I want to be the person to give this to one of my students to read.

The basic plot is that a science teacher in a K-12 school is working on reanimating a fetal pig while teaching two other boys in an AP biology course. It doesn’t seem to work, so the school day begins as normal. Normal for this school is a little rougher than what I remember school being like. The principal locks the students into the school. The reader follows a few younger students through their day, particularly one boy who makes a lot of bad jokes and is picked on by a bully. That boy happens to find himself in the restroom when the first sign of zombies appears. Everything goes downhill from there, and the younger students have to fight their way through multiple zombies in order to stay alive. How many will live? Well, you’ll just have to read it to find out.

I actually thought the story was good and the artwork was done really well also. I just don’t think it is particularly appropriate for the ages that I was shooting for. I would highly recommend this to adults that want a quick funny read and probably older high school students that can handle the sexual jokes that run throughout the story. Keep in mind that there is no particular point to this book, it is just a quick (less than an hour) read that perfectly fits the mindless zombie book/movie genre. (****)

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was freaking awesome!! This is a true case of you can't judge a book by its cover. What looks like a children's book turns out to be a fight for survival against ZOMBIES!! Yes, it is a true battle between pre-pubescent children and those that have their pubes as they say in the book. Naughty language and graphic kill shots are reminder that children might be young but they have all the wile and cunning of an adult, maybe even more so.

[Klley · Rating 2 out of 5]

reminded me of the garbage pail kids, the drawings and the humor. it was a thing where i kept reading it and wanting it to be over and kept reading it so it would be over soon. brian read this at my house and im not sure what he thought of it, but i think he experienced a similar test of endurance with it.i think it was bad now that i think about it.

[Shay Mcallister · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh...this book was just okay. A variation of the same ol' zombie story - this time little school kids are fighting them off. Nothing real original about that.

I also thought that Fingerman had a talent for drawing some amazingly ugly characters.

Not bad, but nothing special.

[Muggle-born · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel was a fun read. The author could have done more. It was like reading a book written for children with images created for adults. I would recommend it on the beach or a late night read if you want something very light and easy.

[Cory · Rating 2 out of 5]

My very first graphic novel! This got great reviews, but it was a little too mad magazine for me.

[Jennifer]

this looks awesome thanks for the idea Brandon :)