Fatima: The Blood Spinners, Issue #1

The Walking Dead. Shaun of the Dead. Day of the Dead. Dawn of the Dead. 28 Days Later. We may not have a zombie Apocalypse, but we obviously have a zombie story uprising.

In this undead crowd it’s getting harder and harder to be unique.

Fatima: The Blood Spinners, a new mini-series from Dark Horse Comics, succeeds on the strength of Gilberto Hernández’s (creator of Love and Rockets) visionary approach. Rather than zombies from disease or government conspiracy, the flesh eaters in his world become undead by choice. A new drug called Spin gives the ultimate high…followed shortly by death then becoming a zombie.

So why do they take the drug, if it is a death sentence? Hernández tries to answer it by saying that people think they will be the exception or there will be a cure. It doesn’t completely make sense, considering Spin kills the first time every time.

Hopefully this open question is resolved, even to illustrate that he is satirizing our self-obsessed society that expects instant gratification without consequences.

Fatima’s story in the first issue is just emerging, with a flashback to people and loves she lost during the outbreak still to come. It’s hard to gauge her as a protagonist this early, as much of this issue focuses on building the world and momentum. So far she’s at turns Wonder Woman strong, Wolverine jaded, and Batman haunted. I’m hoping she’ll put it all together and evolve into a completely original heroine, like Alan Moore’s Promethea.

The artwork is gorgeous, combining classic silver age bold shapes with an anxious energy, reflective of modern comics. That alone is worth giving this new series a recommend. It’s worth the price, just to see strong, modern women like Fatima rendered in a unique ’50s-style.

Fatima: The Blood Spinners

Art and Story by Gilberto Hernández

Available from Dark Horse Comics