Cemetery Beach by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard

A scout is captured and placed in a cell for interrogation… but Mike Blackburn doesn’t let that stop him from trying to finish his mission. Get back to Earth and report on this rogue colony. He soon escapes and picks up a resourceful dissident named Grace Moody, who can guide him back to his ship. Populated by an egotistical dystopian-ruling president, an army of ‘red shirt’ soldiers, and enough mutants to scare The Walking Dead, Cemetery Beach is a race through several circles of death.

The pace would seem too quick to find any context or background information, but the authors mix in some quality dialogue that grounds this story in some tight worldbuilding. And the artwork… this artwork is something to experience. Blackburn and Moody dive, crawl, and jump free of missile, grenade, and bullet. Every action drawn with big expression and extreme precision. The dark coloring is accented by some bright seeps of Moody’s fashion and the world’s native creatures.

Ellis’s storytelling is something to behold in this one. Find it and read it. Cemetery Beach is Recommended!

4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Edelweiss, Image Comics, and the authors for an advanced copy for review.