Title – The Living Corpse: Relics
Writer: Ken Haeser
Story and Art: Ken Haeser and Buz Hasson
Pages: 160 (Trade)
Sub-Genre: Smart-Ass Zombie Action
Synopsis: After the events of The Living Corpse: Exhumed, our undead hero has left his job as the Gatekeeper between the world of the living and the monsters that live in the shadows. Now living in a Monsterary in Tibet, The Living Corpse is called back into action when an ancient evil with ties to the Living Corpse’s past rises from the tombs of ancient Egypt. Also, the young Vampire, Lilith, goes on a search for her fellow Nosferatu to see if she is truly the last of her kind. And she might just regret that decision. All of this as well as we learn more about Asteroth’s ties to the Gatekeepers and we find out exactly how John Romero died!
Our Thoughts: With many long-running comic story arcs, it can be hard to jump in on a new book. Fortunately for us, the creators, Ken Haeser and Buz Hasson, take the time to provide an introduction in the form of our zombie hero telling us his story thus far. This allows for both new and old readers of The Living Corpse (TLC) to get up to speed real quick and dive into this latest entry in the franchise, “The Living Corpse: Relics.”
What may be perhaps more useful for new readers to know is that our protagonist, John Romero (also known as The Living Corpse and lovingly referred to as Corpsie) has an ATTITUDE. Although this is the best thing about this series and what makes it so unique, many new readers may bit a bit surprised by the constant narration and fourth wall breaks.
As usual, the artwork is on point for Relics. The art stylings of Ken and Buz have been well-refined over the years and this book has been carefully detailed. Blair Smith is in to color and paint. Again, there are a lot of monsters here and the crew does a great job of giving them all their own distinctive style and flair.
This book is big and ambitious and probably the best one yet for TLC. It is a straight-up monster mash of a variety of monsters as well as characters that have been in other arcs. Pick a monster and you will find it here. Luckily, this all blends together well to produce something that feels rather epic for TLC.
Previous readers of TLC can pick up this book and know that they are getting the same solid quality and attention to detail that they are accustomed to in the series. Despite all the long-time love from many fans who appreciate this more intimate, narrative style of story-telling, The Living Corpse franchise may be a bit too zany for casual readers. However, anyone considering checking out TLC or just seeking something different from other zombie stories will want to jump in on Relics and give Corpsie a chance to impress you.
Information: Previously only available as a KickStarter, the book is now available for purchase online. Visit https://www.corpse-crew.net for more information.
