I have to be honest, my tolerance for zombies is on the edge. They have been used to, ahem, death and I dread hearing about zombie related projects. However, something interesting happens when a genre has reached a certain saturation point. People start doing creative things. Out of all the carbon copy projects that are out there, every once in a while, if we are lucky, something original and fun rises to the top. Dead Future King is such a project.
Dead Future King is created, written and illustrated by David Flores. It tells the tale of King Arthur being resurrected in a post apocalyptic future to battle zombies. Okay, I realize that is quite a lot to digest in one simple sentence, but yes you read correctly. King Arthur + future + zombies.
We are immediately thrown into a battle between Arthur and his son, Mordred. Arthur is mortally wounded and has to kill his son. Excaliber is returned to the Lady of the Lake and that is where most King Arthur stories end. Oh, but we are just getting started. We see Arthur reborn, confused, tired and hungry. Wandering the land without a purpose. He heads to what he perceives as sanctuary only to be discovered by the undead. A reunion with Excaliber, a mysterious stranger and a great surprise ending wraps up a near perfect introductory issue.
The writing in Dead Future King is very strong. It sets up and moves the story along at a brisk pace. There are a lot of unanswered questions, but that is to be expected. You can’t answer everything in the first issue if you want people to stick around for more, and stick around you will. How did Arthur come back from the dead? Why are there zombies? Who is the mysterious stranger?
The art isn’t flashy, but it doesn’t have to be. I noticed that the use of colors is almost a companion to the story. The colors are muted in the opening flashback with bright splashes of red. When Arthur is resurrected, we are introduced to more colors, but still slightly muted. By the end of the book we have more vibrant colors to go along with where we are in the story. It is all done very subtly, but very effective.
If you are looking for a different take on the zombie genre, then I suggest you search out Dead Future King. I’m sure you will be hooked as quickly as I was and be anxiously awaiting the release of issue #2. You can get more information about the release schedule and where to buy by visiting www.deadfutureking.com or @deadfutureking on Twitter.
