Dead of Winter #2 Review

Writer: Kyle Starks / Artist: GABO / OniPress Comics I read the first issue of Dead of Winter and rated it pretty high because it was a comic that touched upon several of my faves, like dogs and zombies, sprinkled with lots of comedy. The first issue also accomplished something that I didn’t want to spoil at the end of my first review that I figured was likely: the dog lived past the first issue. Yes, Sparky lived despite being knocked unconscious by a thrown explosive and he’s here to keep saving the day. Even with an unhinged and very possibly plastered Santa Claus walking about.

What really works this issue on Sparky’s end is the writing that uses flashbacks of his earlier life before the zombies to parallel his motivations and actions during events popping off now. He’s very protective of people but why is an question that gets some light in this issue. And we get a better picture of the group that our survivor belongs to and what possibly happens to folks that don’t belong to their group anymore. (Hint: They don’t like milk and cookies.) As it is with zombie stories, it’s usually a study of the deteriorating of the human psyche and a lot of what we’ve socially constructed (civilization, laws, rules). The majority of our survivors meet another strange character who isn’t a member of the undead yet he isn’t completely…all the way present. He’s a man who is stuck in the role that he had in the time before zombies and it’s funny, fascinating, and terrifying to see out fol…