RECOMMENDED: "Revival" by Seeley and Norton

- by Señor Editor, 19 April 2013

Weird things are happening in Wausau, Wisconsin. The town hasn’t been the same ever since early January, when over 20 of the recently deceased residents suddenly came back to life, on what is now called Revival Day. Don’t expect this to be a zombie book, though. Any similarities to Image’s other title about the dead coming back to life end here, and Tim Seeley’s and Mike Norton’s “Revival” is unlike anything else currently on the stands.

Described by its authors as “rural noir”, “Revival” is a title I heard about before, but only started reading recently. I got instantly hooked and made sure I get all the issues that are currently out (the series started last July, #9 was just released this week). So why is it so good?

"Revival" #1 cover (all images © Image Comics)

Let’s start from the beginning. The series starts some time after said Revival Day. We’re not shown the actual event, we’re pulled right into the action. The dead coming back to life are not mindless zombies, moaning and wanting to eat brains. They’re the people they were before death, although not all of them deal with coming back to life equally well, and there's a little more to them than meets the eye (they're not Transformers, though, but I won't spoil what's different about them).

Some of them died from disease, some of them died from old age, some of them were murdered. Most of them have been returned to their families, some of them try getting back to their old life (no pun intended). Why are they back? How do their families deal with them? It’s different for each of them, but let me tell you this: this book gets more creepy than anything I’ve read in the past few months.

Also, there’s something in the woods.

Our protagonist, and the person who will have to deal with much of the mystery surrounding the Revivers (yes, that’s what they’re commonly called here) is a young Rothschild Police officer called Dana Cypress, the daughter of the local sheriff. Dana is a young single mother and has something of a troubled relationship with her dad and her younger sister, Martha (called “Em”) – a character who is one of the book’s biggest question marks. Dana’s partner in taking care of the revival matters will be CDC liaison Ibrahaim Ramin, who was sent to Wausau to examine the Revivers situation.

Dana, sent to the first Reviver we see. Art by Mike Norton.

Since Revival Day, Wausau has been sealed off from the rest of the country. There are cops making sure nobody gets in or out (at least not without papers allowing it), religious radicals wanting to get within the city limits because they’re expecting the rapture; conspiracy nutjobs, media, politicians and all sorts of people wanting to build upon the worldwide phenomenon that only occurred in that small region in Wisconsin. Wausau is the center of a situation that suddenly figured into the interests of many different groups and people.

This is as much a horror book as it is a crime one. You didn’t think all of these dead people that suddenly got better, died from natural causes, did you? What do you think happens when they come back to life? Actually, you'll probably still be very surprised, no matter what you think. It’s really impressive, the way the book's multiple plot threads surrounding the Revivers play out.

The way people deal with their family members suddenly coming back to life is something that's very interesting and that's never been explored like this before. It's not the typical "Would you shoot your beloved favorite uncle if he came back from the dead and wanted to bite off your leg?!?!?!" dealing with the once-dead that zombie books made popular, it's something entirely different, much more complex and personal, very fresh and very interesting. And since the Revivers are not mindless zombies, it's not only their families that have to deal with them coming back to life - it's also the Revivers themselves.

A picture of general "Revival" weirdness (it's hard to choose something that won't appear spoilery).

Seeley, a Wisconsin native himself, uses the setting of the comic to the fullest. This is a small town, where everybody knows each other, most likely has some kind of shared past, and it’s sealed off from the rest of the country, in the middle of what’s probably the weirdest event to ever happen. The setting here is one of the most important elements of the book, and it feels very real.

The people populating the town are a cast that would make any work of fiction jealous. Other than plenty of regular folks, with their good and bad qualities, there are the local celebrities: an aging health and fitness guru who works out to rap music, and a Hmong news personality, who was the first to cover the revivers in national media. There’s a redneck “expert” on supernatural matters who listens to Limp Bizkit, there’s Dana’s ex-boyfriend and “baby daddy”, who’s something of a slacker and a colorful personality himself. There are young people who want to escape the small town and go on to live a greater life, and older people who spent their entire lives there. There’s plenty of memorable characters. Not unlike real life, they all have their own views and opinions concerning the Revivers. Some think it’s a miracle, some think they’re some sort of abomination, some become religious nut jobs and expect the end of the world. You get the idea. Most of them also have their own secrets.

One thing about “Revival” that I’ve noticed, is that it’s been nine issues since the book started and each issue keeps surprising me. There’s no such thing as a “typical ‘Revival’ issue” yet. That’s not something that’s all that common. Usually after you read a few issues of a comic, you get the gist of what you can expect from it. Not so much here. Each issue is full of surprises, and they all make sense in the context of the plot, and they will all make you want to pick up the next issue immediately.

Are there TV execs lining up wanting to make a show out of “Revival”? There should be. Is it raining Eisner Awards on everybody involved in this book yet? It's about time. What I’m saying is it’s really good, folks. It's hard to talk about it without spoiling anything, and you don't want anything spoiled. You want to sit with it, read it and forget about the whole wide world. So trust me on this: check out Seeley's and Norton's "Revival" if you haven't already.  It's one of the best new series in years.

Cover to #7, by the awesome Jenny Frison

Are you in the "reading REVIVAL and loving it" or the "I have yet to read REVIVAL, I am actually on my way to buy it!" group? It's really cool, isn't it? Of course it is! Sound off in the comments! Also: check out REVIVAL's official website for more info on the series.

Tagged: comics, Reviews, RECOMMENDED.

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