Impressions: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: REVIVAL’s #4 Issues Feature the Series’ Most Ambitious Storytelling Yet

There’s something odd, dangerous, and fascinating going on in Evans County, Pennsylvania. The dead have risen with voracious appetites, but that’s not all. No, that’s only the half of it. A higher power is behind this zombified movement, leaving the surviving humans to try and figure out just what the hell is going on… if they can live long enough to come up with the correct answer. Progress is made, blood is spilled, and more intriguing questions are raised (along with the dead) in the #4 issues of Night of the Living Dead: Revival, out today from Double Take.

What began as a sequel of sorts to George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead has morphed into a unique creature that stands sturdily on its own two feet. For many of the ten individual-yet-intertwined series under the Night of the Living Dead: Revival label, only about 24 hours have passed since their stories kicked off last September in their respective first issues. Now those initial issues have transformed into something truly special, and like a baby growing at an accelerated rate, these stories are all grown up from where they started (which was a pretty damn good beginning). They have surpassed their original expectations and are now raising hell and having fun outside the playpen, making these #4 issues the best treats yet for readers.

Once again the pages are packed with eclectic characters coming to terms with the living dead uprising that has rocked their quiet rural town to its apple pie Americana core. Boasting the foulest language within town limits (and likely well beyond them, as well), little Lisa Foster continues to display an advanced vocabulary of swearwords so salty that they would be cringe-inducing on the most hardened sea vessel. After the (literally) explosive end of Home #3, Lisa and her seemingly picture-perfect family (minus that nasty bite on big brother Kevin’s arm) are finally taken under the wing of the local medical authorities, who have gained a better understanding of what exactly is causing local residents to eye their neighbors like they are a plate of grandma's home cooking.

This move into quarantined quarters places Lisa squarely in the care of Dr. Grimes, the badass scientist from the Slab series who is humanity’s best hope for finding a cure, and yet isn’t exactly adored by his adult daughters, who are protesting his experiments with a crowd of hippie-cultured kids in Slab #4. Suffice to say that if you’ve been reading these series all the way through, the upcoming verbal showdown between Lisa and Dr. Grimes should be well worth the price of admission to lay eyeballs on these panels. Kudos to Michael Coast for continuing Lisa’s adorably devilish dialogue and setting up what should be an epic issue in the NOTLD: Revival universe.

Readers keeping their eyes peeled for familiar faces from George A. Romero’s seminal film won’t be disappointed. In Soul #4—also written by Coast—Ben’s journey (slightly tweaked from his grim fate at the end of the 1968 film) takes a Groundhog Day-esque turn that brilliantly blurs the lines between the real, the unreal, and the downright strange. The last time we saw Ben, he was literally plummeting to the Earth in a free fall cliffhanger that channeled the “tune in next week” style of classic Batman episodes. Readers have had to wait longer than one week to see what happens to Ben next, but Coast and company deliver a strong follow-up that is well worth the two-plus months of fingernail chewing.

The bro-sis combo of Johnny and Barbara are also back in Rise #4, and although they don’t have as much to do as in previous issues (they are, after all, fenced in like petting zoo animals), events escalate and lead into what should be a pivotal fifth issue. As a bonus, Johnny resurrects his immortal "they're coming..." line from the cemetery with a new twist that fits snugly into their current predicament. And on the other side of town, Chief McClelland is locked and loaded and really finding his living-dead-slaying groove in Honor #4, which features eerie encounters with zombies that are “all messed up.”

As fun as the references to Romero’s movie are, though, it’s the new ground covered in these #4 issues that make them prime for the picking on your next trip to the comic shop. Other than giving wheeler-and-dealer George Reynolds (who could probably convince The Return of the Living Dead's Tarman to switch from brains to a diet of leafy greens) plenty of time to shine, Dedication #4 also blends in some truly “what did I just see happen?” moments that will have you re-reading dialogue and double-checking the cover to make sure you didn’t just step into The Twilight Zone.

The latest issue of Spring, meanwhile, makes good on its promising three-issue buildup with awesome artwork and thorough explanations to some of Evans County’s biggest burning questions, while Remote #4 takes a hard left turn that proves that in this zombie apocalypse, anything can happen to anyone.

Night of the Living Dead: Revival’s #4 issues could have taken a more safe and predictable path, but they instead take a delightful off-road detour that keeps you guessing and reminds you to never get too comfortable with what you think will happen next. Far from stagnant, this series only gets fresher the further it goes, so if you’re looking for something different, come visit Evans County and stay awhile. It looks like things are about to get even weirder.