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iZombie Omnibus by Mike Allred, Chris Roberson
5.0

I reviewed the volume collecting the first few issues of this series a few years ago, and I remember leaning heavily on the Buffy comparisons. Then they went and made it into an ensemble TV show, which I like quite a lot, but now that I've read the whole thing, I rather regret the Buffy comparison. It's nothing like Buffy at all. It doesn't even engage that much with its own premise of zombie-girl-detective, it's way more about Gwen trying to come to terms with her condition and make friends and live her new life surrounded by ghosts and monsters and monster-hunters. The book is packed with classic horror tropes and characters out of cartoon television and old-time comics, and Mike Allred's glorious pop-horror art immerses you in this crazy, colourful world of mummies and were-terriers and vampire paint-ballers. I loved it, though I think it's a pity some of the ideas weren't given a chance to expand a little. In the end though, it feels gloriously packed and thronging with ideas and stories and plots. Never mind either Buffy or its own TV adaptation, this is very much its own thing.