In RABID WORLD #4, available from Scout Comics on September 15th, 2021, one of The Jibberish crewmembers starts to feel ill, and the scientists at Ft. Levine make two discoveries — one promising, the other troubling.
The Details
- Written By: Todd Cinani
- Art By: Oleg Okunev
- Colors By: Oleg Okunev
- Letters By: Lucas Gattoni
- Cover Art By: Oleg Okunev
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: September 15, 2021
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Was It Good?
This is the last issue in the mini-series, and it wraps up both threads neatly albeit without much punch.
Throughout the series, we’ve followed two threads. In the one, we follow refugees trying to escape the mainland on the sailboat The Jibberish. The crew’s story is mostly focused on survival and escape from the infected population. In the second thread, we follow military and scientific personnel as they search for both cause and cure. Without spoiling the details, each group finds what they’re looking for with room for a continuation.
Cinani’s writing gets high marks for creating people acting like decent people in the midst of a mass zombie outbreak. We’ve praised the writing in the past for not taking the easy path by creating characters that act like hysterical stereotypes, making idiotic moves that get themselves and other people killed. Here, the characters each have moments of relatability and depth.
The one, minor down point is that lack of dramatic punch for the ending. The threads just simply end. To be fair, there is a conclusion to all storylines, but there aren’t any “wow” moments. It’s the difference between walking across the finish line and diving across for a photo finish.
Okunev’s art also earns high marks for creating expressive yet stylized characters. Each character is distinctive and emotes crisp, strong emotion. On top of the designs are effective little punctuations of color to draw the reader’s eye. For example, the entire scene might be filtered with a range of sepia except for one hypodermic needle glowing bright green. It’s a smart play to draw focus, and Okunev uses those sparse pops of color brilliantly.
In all, the series completes with more than a whimper but not quite a BANG. The art is excellent, and the laser-precise pops of color add a memorable element to the visuals.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Before the infection overtakes you, read our RABID WORLD #3 review to come up to speed.
The beginning of the issue rapidly cuts back and forth between the refugees aboard The Jibberish and the leaders at Ft. Levine. Military choppers strafe the encroaching zombie hoard as it draws closer to the Fort’s walls. Meanwhile, Mike’s girlfriend is showing signs of illness that look more serious than food poisoning or seasickness.
During the Ft. Levine strafing run, one of the scientists notices the zombies are acting with a hive mentality. When the hive is disrupted, their direction is lost, which begs the question — who is controlling the hive?
Back on The Jibberish, Mike’s girlfriend is going downhill fast. It’s not the zombie plague and the others conclude she’s suffering from radiation poisoning from the nuke (see the last issue). Mike may have to take extreme measures to ensure his girlfriend doesn’t become one of “them”.
We conclude the issue with the Ft. Levine scientists discovering a possible vaccine… that needs a human test, The Jibberish encountering another ship in the nick of time, and a theory that the world’s current plague may have an origin in common with the Andromeda Strain.
Final Thoughts
RABID WORLD #4 brings the mini-series to a close with survivors aboard The Jibberish making a last dash for help, survivors in Ft. Levine making a last stand, and the creators taking their last run at wrapping up all the threads with a tidy, little bow. The story is well-written and ends the current conflicts neatly, but the conclusion lacks dramatic punch. The art is visually interesting with great linework and effective color usage. In all, this is one of the better zombie series around.
Score: 8/10
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