1st Impressions: THE FINAL PLAGUE # 5

THE FINAL PLAGUE # 5
Written by JD Arnold
Art by Tony Guaraldi-Brown & Manuel Martinez
Action Lab: Danger Zone

FLIPPING THROUGH:

                We get a very powerful finale to this first arc of The Final Plague as we get the final fates of the people within the Maguire Base and the fate of the family from Iowa.

ART:

                This last issue was a tour de force by Guaraldi-Brown. From the man getting his face ripped off by a monkey, to an infected man biting into another man to the final panel, Guaraldi-Brown delivers powerful visuals that are horrific, disturbing and emotionally heavy. Between all the gore, Guaraldi-Brown does a great job giving more of the human element in his work. The backgrounds and colors are just amazing thoughout the entire issue. Martinez gives a great assist to Guaraldi-Brown’s work with solid inking.
                From the horrific panels opening the book to the powerful last page, this book is a masterful piece of macabe and terror with great emotion. A stellar job by Guaraldi-Brown & Martinez.

WRITING:

                Arnold ends this series with two very powerful and frightening endings to characters we have followed since the first issue.  With the military and doctors at the Maguire Base, things end on a gruesome note that definitely feels like a natural progression of the story.  Our good captain moves forward as a soldier, knowing the “Armageddon” situation that the virus has put all the people within the lab in. Carol and Jeremy, on the other hand, do their best to survive and Arnold does a fantastic job with their characterizations. With the dangers that have come about because of the plague, each of our characters have been forced to a very dismal destiny.

                Yet, while the impact of that plotline will be far reaching, Arnold saves the most emotional powerful scene for the end.  As we go back to Iowa one last time to go along with the Michaels family in their town. Arnold sets up a tragic and gripping end as we see the Michaels family together for the final time.
                The dialogue felt authentic. The pacing of the issue was perfect. I love that Arnold made sure to close the two main storylines, making sure you want more. There was great emotion. There was horror. There was a striking ending that will make you want more. Arnold writes one hell of a comic.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                This issue was amazing. It was disgusting. It made me feel things. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

RATING:

                I give The Final Plague # 5 a solid 10 … out of 10. Grab it on April 2, 2014.

Preview: THE FINAL PLAGUE # 5

 
THE FINAL PLAGUE #5
Writer(s): JD Arnold
Artist Name(s): Tony Guaraldi-Brown
Cover Artist(s): Tony Guaraldi-Brown

 As the opening arc comes to close, can Drs Stohr and Friedman escape the overrun
facility at Lakehurst? Will the Michaels be forced from their family farm? And a major character
falls! The end is just the beginning for this zombie animal epic!
Features the series’ first variant "Ugly Love" cover by John (Super Ugly) Williams.Hits stores on April 2nd, 2014.

1st Impressions: The Final Plague # 4

THE FINAL PLAGUE # 4
Written by JD Arnold
Art by Tony  Guaraldi-Brown & Manuel  Martinez
Action Lab Danger Zone

FLIPPING THROUGH:

                Holy $#iT!! Yeah … plague zombie animals killing people and people going crazy … understandably. 

ART:

                Guaraldi-Brown once again gives us a macabre picture of the world, dealing with a plague in this twisted zombie story. Guaraldi-Brown gives us a good amount of detail in his rougher, sketchy style as he gives us dead people, ravenous animals and humanity showing some of its worst quality in style.  Guaraldi-Brown and Martinez set up some great, graphic panels with a good sense of color that helps fit the mood of the story and really sucks you in to the bleakness of the chapter. The animals battling were quite epic to see as our artists render it well.

                The overall composition of panels with everything from animals attacking to people running were also set up well to display the faster pace of the story as it reaches its climax. There as a decent amount of gore but not overly splashed everywhere which helped the balance of the book. The people were drawn with some decent detail and really looked as it fit the story of the book. Once again, a supremely well done job by Guaraldi-Brown and Martinez.

WRITING:

                As we close in on the finale next issue, Arnold starts making sure we steamroll to the end of the story with some very interest scenes and powerful dialogue. Aforementioned, we see the very worse of humanity a couple of times in this issue to help express the dire straits the characters are in. Arnold gives us chilling dialogue in several scenes while also continue to develop the characters from the lab in New Jersey and the family out in Iowa.

                The fact that people were thinking this was an end of the world event was made believable through the strong dialogue to go along with the art this issue. It ran the gambit of people in natural disasters: from people who are scared that it’s the end of the world, to people stepping up to help others to people abandoning what they own or other people in other to survive to just people who have no idea what’s going on.

                Arnold shows all these very well throughout the issue. He also does a great job with pacing the issue so that little by little, things change and work out. The story continued to climb towards a pulse pounding cliffhanger which really sets up the final issue and builds on what came before.  A superb job by Arnold this issue.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                All of the story and work done by Arnold, Guaraldi-Brown and Martinez start leading to a grand climax and this issue sets things up for the end beautifully.  The plots are lining up for a big finale and the characterization is top notch. This is horror and comics at its best.

RATING:

                I give The Final Plague # 4 a 10 … out of 10! Buy it now!!

Comics News: The Final Plague Attacks The Horror Comic Awards

For immediate release THE FINAL PLAGUE ATTACKS THE HORROR COMIC AWARDS Action Lab: Danger Zone miniseries nominated for three awards Pittsburgh, P.A.-The Final Plague, Action Lab’s story of a rural Iowan family attempting to survive the initial onslaught of crazed, rabid animals, presumably the product of a mutated super-virus, has taken the world by storm. The series, written by J.D.Arnold (Top Shelf’s BB Wolf and the 3 LPs) and artist Tony Guaraldi-Brown (Tales of Red Hot Horror) has been nominated in three categories, Best Mini Series and Best Scene, while series letterer Chris Fenoglio  was also nominated for Best Letterer  in the 2013 Horror Comic Awards. "A huge THANK YOU to everyone on the nominating board, all the great people at Action Lab, and to my fellow creators Tony Guaraldi-Brown and Chris Fenoglio! We are very honored to be nominated alongside so many fantastic books and top notch creators.” Said writer/creator J.D. Arnold “ And a special big thanks to all the fans out there. We hope you are enjoying the book, and we hope you stay along for the ride. It's about to get crazy!” The staff of the Horror News Network has selected the nominees, and voting is currently open and will remain open until December 30, 2013. The 2013 Horror Comic Awards will be determined by fan voting via the following link: http://www.comicmonsters.com/horror-comic-awards.html To see the full list of nominees at: http://www.comicmonsters.com/item-8165-2013_Horror_Comics_Awards_Are_Here.html. For more information, retailers can contact Kelly Dale at kdale@actionlabcomics.com. For press and conventions you can reach Jamal Igle at jigle@actionlabcomics.com. ABOUT ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT- Formed in 2010 with the purpose of pooling their collective talents into a single, powerful entity, the members of Action Lab Entertainment have countless years in multimedia publishing, design, and business.  Their first release, Fracture, was successfully funded through Kickstarter and since then they have continued their mission to produce high quality, genre-spanning entertainment.  Since its formation, the accolades for A.L.E continue to build on a daily basis.  Among its more popular titles are all ages material like the Eisner, Glyph, Shel Dorf Award nominated series PRINCLESS, NFL RUSHZONE (based on the Nickelodeon Television series), Jamal Igle's MOLLY DANGER, Artist/ Writer Jeremy Dale’s hit series SKYWARD, and Gale Middleton’s (My Little Pony, The Littlest Pet Shop) monstrously adorable VAMPLETS. Action Lab’s Mature Readers imprint ACTION LAB DANGER ZONE continues to push the envelope of comics entertainment with titles as varied as EHMM THEORY and Dan Mendoza’s over the top horror-comedy ZOMBIE TRAMP, THE FINAL PLAGUE and BO, PLUSHY GANGSTA.

1st Impression: THE FINAL PLAGUE # 3 Review

THE FINAL PLAGUE # 3

Written by JD Arnold
Art by Tony Guaraldi-Brown

Action Lab: Danger Zone

FLIPPING THROUGH:

                We open back in Jersey as Captain Stroeman gets into interesting developments in the lab as Francine, who was bitten last issue, ends up eating part of a dead doctor. This causes the captain, Dr. Friedman and the others to subdue and study her. Things get overly insane as Robert and his family go to the hospital to check out his wounds from the earlier attacks. This leads to a shocking announcement by the CDC … that 11 people were infected by the diseased animals.
                Another duo of characters go into the woods only to find something they were not looking for and finally, Friedman’s research ends up giving some shocking results.

ART:

                Guaraldi-Brown really does a spectacular job this issue with giving the right mood and horrifying visuals of the book. The opening pages are lightly gruesome and only get worse as it goes on ahead. The panel work is amazing as each picture conveys the right amount of story without Arnolds words; as well as looking wonderful with its watercolor like palette. The water colors and whites give a great texture to the work.

                The people in the book are of all shapes and sizes and convey emotion well; even though this is not your normal comic book style. Guaraldi-Brown leaves a stunning impact with his work in each page with a good amount of detail, texture and flair.

WRITING:

                Arnold continues to raise the stakes. The characters are now knee deep in some really disturbing territory as the diseased is announced by the CDC. Arnold gives us some great narrative at the beginning of the book from Captain Stroeman. What I love about this is that while the animals seem zombie-like … the humans infected look more … enraged. Yes, there are zombie elements but there is a time limit it on that, supposedly.

                Arnold also takes the time to pull the heart strings this issue with the focus back on Robert and his family. The scenes in the hospital with not only Robert’s family but also the policemen felt very authentic. There was a lot of tension with those scenes as well as a good amount of paranoia. Kudos to Arnold for capturing the human condition in such a situation so well. It added even more layers to this wonderfully constructed story.  While this issue may look very wordy, it does fit the need of the story and adds to the ambiance of the book.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                This book continues to make me feel unclean and now … a bit paranoid. This book is ever gripping with captivating art and entrancing story.

RATING:

                I give The Final Plague # 3 a 10 out of 10. HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL. BUY IT NOW!!

1st Impressions: The Final Plague # 2 Review

THE FINAL PLAGUE # 2
Written by Johnnie “JD” Arnold
Art by Tony Guaraldi-Brown
Action Lab Entertainment

FLIPPING THROUGH:

                We continue off where we left last issue … the exterminator being eaten alive by flesh eating, zombie rats. Yes. I want you to read that sentence again. Read it. Done? Okay. Flesh eating zombie rats. Dozens of them.  As the exterminator yells at Bob to get them off, Bob gets bitten by the zombie rats. . . multiple rats And that is not all. Bob’s family is stalked with the family cat becoming a casualty to the zombie rats.

                We hit California where we get two police officers who check on one of their normal callers only to find an unwanted surprise await them.

                And finally, in Jersey, we find out doctors (Dr. Friedman & Dr. Stohr) experiment some more on some of the rats only to find that the Captain has called in the CDC and that they will be under arrest. As an argument ensues, the two doctors find out how bad things are becoming.


ART:

                Guaraldi-Brown gives us some truly chilling, graphic and powerful images and panel work this issue. From Frank dying a horrible death from being eaten alive (By the Matrix, that was Gross) to the experimentation of the rats to the dogs that appear. The book is dark. There is very little light and hopeful about the book yet it fits the story perfectly. The art in this book gives you truly gripping and horrific pages. The people look distinct. The animals look down right terrifying. The panel work mesmerize you and makes you hauntingly sick at the same time.

                Guaraldi-Brown tempers the darkness with just enough light to make things feel authentic while still adding to the mood. The emotions on the characters was rendered well. And once again, this books visuals are both haunting and disgusting. Only adding to the brilliance of the book.

WRITING:

                Arnold continues to up the ante on a chilling and gripping tale. The touch of watching Bob and his family deal with the infestation of rats added personal stakes … not only for Bob but for the reader. Arnold allows us to feel and go through the terror with Bob, Helen and their family, which only heightens the experience alongside the visuals.

                Arnold adds that the plague is spreading with a quick yet very efficient stop in California while we get some chilling details about the virus from the lab in New Jersey. The issue’s pacing was excellent. Arnold balances the two main plots perfectly this issue. Friedman and Stohr’s actions felt very authentic when faced with the mutiny and the threat of arrest. Bob really shined this issue with being very multifaceted … a protector to his family while still be scared; mourning his friend who died in front of him while trying to make sense of it all.  Interesting characters that definitely feel relatable.

                The overall story made me feel dirty and disgusted and horrified … which I am sure that is what Arnold had planned. Truly a well written, well paced and wonderful horror story.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                I can honestly say that this book makes me feel terrified and dirty. I want to wash myself every time I read this issue. I am scared of animals at the moment. And that is the power of Guaraldi-Brown and Arnold. Really exquisite work from both.


RATING:

                This is bar none, one of the greatest horror/suspense comics in history. Order & Buy this today. I give The Final Plague # 2 a 10 … out of 10. Now excuse me while I wash myself and set up traps for animals.