Year Zero Vol.2 #2

Year Zero Vol.2 #2

AWA Upshot Studios 2020

Written by Benjamin Percy

Illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp

Coloured by Frank Martin Jr.

Lettered by AndWorld Design

Cover by Kaare Andrews

Upshot's hit series Year Zero returns with four new harrowing tales of survival from around a post apocalyptic world, set several months after the events on Volume One: A grizzled Norwegian sea captain and her two young grandchildren navigate an ocean teeming with undead while eluding the relentless pirates on their trail. A Colombian cartel boss indulges all of his most sadistic whims unaware that a threat far greater than zombies is headed toward his jungle fortress. A Rwandan doctor must overcome the crippling fear that has plagued him all his life as he stumbles through the African bush. And a pregnant woman barricaded in an American big box store discovers that the greatest threat to her life – and her unborn child's – might not be undead.

This is an amazing series because it takes the zombie genre in a direction we really haven’t seen before anywhere else. These creators all would be inductees to a Comics Hall of Fame for the quality and level of work that they do and to have them all working on this book is so exciting for me as a fan. I have to admit that while we are seeing four different stories there are those that stand out above the others and whether that is because of the way that Benjamin is able to convey some different forms of human ingenuity does play a factor in that. Then there’s how JJR is able to bring that to life visually and the total effect in what we see is beyond any and all expectations one might have.

I am enamoured with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. I am such a fan of how each story is able to reveal more and more about the characters and how they’ve gotten to the point where they are. The character development has been utterly amazing to see and that it happens within such limited space it is truly impressive to see how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter. The pacing here is amazing and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way we are treated to a really interesting journey.

Juan Jose Ryp is a god among men in the art world. This is my humble opinion but what the man is able to do with strength of his linework and through the different techniques and varying weights makes what we see truly astonishing. The detail he can bring out is of such quality and at such a level that it is truly mindbogglingly magnificent. I’m always chuffed to see his name associated with a title and to see his interiors here makes me shiver and gives me gooseflesh. The way that backgrounds are incorporated into the composition of the panels not only enhance the moments but really provide some wonderful depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we se the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work that we see is mesmerising. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows such skill and talent. It also demonstrates this masterful understanding of how colour works and that sometimes colours you don’t expect actually do belong.

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The way that this book is structured and how we see the layers within the story coming to life makes the whole thing that much stronger. The way everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is sensational. AWA Studios has the right mindset when it comes to finding stories from such a huge talent pool available today. They may be a newer publishing house but the experience they’ve got and the high quality of storytelling they bring to us makes them stand out like a beacon or a lighthouse guiding readers to their stories.