Review: Die!namite Never Dies #1

The fan favourite zombie story from Dynamite Entertainment continues, proving that ironically at least, you can try to flog an idea to death!

The tide of the plague on Earth as been turned, yet there are alternative fields to sow with the arid and vibrant deserts of Barsoom and what does the even more vibrant fauna of a lost, yet seemingly oft found jungle and its resident Lord. How are these disparate world connected and how can Evil Sonja and the Drakulon Duo of Vampirella and Pantha help?

Fred Van Lente continues his zombie masterpiece, this time bringing Tarzan and his family including Cheetah into the fold. With the landing of a UFO under investigation leading to a startling discovery. Lente has the structure down pat having written the previous runs. With the introduction of Tarzan, Lente takes a verbose stance with this Tarzan, which I have to say, I found both surprising and annoying; I know who Tarzan is, I know he is a former Lord of Greystoke. I don’t need to know (or care) what his civilised name is. Tarzan is Tarzan. Still, by taking this stance Lente gets to give new readers a handy reference point. From there things get a little prehistoric, prior to get a tad sci-fi! It will be interesting to see how Tarzan interacts with the core Die!namite characters and a possible new locale of Mars.

Art is provided by Vincenzo Carratú who re-joins Lente on this new epic. As with previous issues, Carratú’s art has a smooth look in places with edgy nuances. With the Lost Valley the major setting, Carratú gets to flex his artistic muscles. The setting also gives him the means to show Tarzan in full swing with a number of dynamic poses and movement through the panels. Carratú has fun his Tarzan’s companions. The locale also allows colorist Kike J. Diaz to create a jungle scheme that screams life, with excellent shades and mix of greens, yellows and oranges. One of the most under-rated letterers in the business, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, creates a fun font, regardless of the amount of exposition the first few ages require. Its Dynamite, so variant covers are a huge draw, I have no preference, though I do like the 50’s movie horror vibe of Tony Fleecs A cover.

When I first looked at this book, I was kind of all over the place, given the way Tarzan is shown and how he speaks. But, as they say in football, after further review I enjoyed the chaos and the art, which pretty much describes the whole Die!namite affair.

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Fred Van Lente
Art by; Vincenzo Carratú
Colors by; Kike J. Diaz
Letters by; Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover A by; Tony Fleecs
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network