Kidz Vol. 1 Review

 

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis: The first volume of the new Ablaze series KidZ focuses on a ragtag group of pre/young teens trying to survive a zombie post-apocalypse.

 

My Thoughts: This debut trade paperback definitely shows promise despite some uneven edges and whatnot. While zombie post-apocalypse stories aren’t by any means uncharted territory, depicting form the point of view of kids without the presence of adults (excluding one who turns out to be a shady personality in one intense showdown sequence) is a pretty original and genius idea. To begin, I do agree with the Stranger Things and The Walking Dead analogy in the note from the publisher. KidZ contains the interpersonal drama survival element seen in the latter, albeit with less gratuitous blood and gore, and the excitement, nostalgia-inducing wonder, and emotion present in the latter. For all the traumatic hell the cast perseveres, the plot manages to avoid falling prey to the old endlessly bleak, depressing future trope common throughout these types of stories without being too idyllic either because, at the end of the day, they’re still just kids trying to get by and make the best out of their sordid plight. So of course, they’re not going to spend pages profoundly ruminating over existential threats and I don’t expect them to. Like most individuals in their age group, they have those pubescent moments where they goof around, make sophomoric remarks, and engage in such behavior, particularly the male characters. The simple character designs and parts of the background also evoke a childlike wonder and expressiveness reminding me of those in a Raina Telgemeier or Noelle Stevenson comic but with an uncanny element to it when infused in this much darker setting where even one main character in the team dies at the end who happens to be one of my favorite ones.

    Not surprisingly with my 3.5 rating, for all my laudatory words, I have critical ones too. Though I have complimented the energetic art, by some later parts, it could become too confusing to the point it was difficult to discern who is doing what and what is taking place. The occasionally choppy dialogue doesn’t help with that either. Another issue I have with the book was how the artist depicted the oldest female cast member Polly who at best is probably 13-14 years old in cleavage which is weirdly sexual (nothing explicit is shown though). I understand the point it came up in scenes that were clearly meant to display the boys’ hormonal perversion but at times it felt like they were putting too much focus on it.

 

Final Thoughts: It might not be perfect but KidZ does leave out a good first impression giving me hope that it will improve over time into something really special. I look forward to coming installments and recommend it if you stories featuring ragtag misfits and post-apocalypse. I think I might look further into Ablaze Publishing’s other oeuvre to see what else they have to offer for my insatiable literary tastes.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with my first advance ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.