With the last issue Zombie Tramp began a new storyline and it was a breath of fresh air for the series. The concept was bath salts made out of Janey’s old bath water turned people into Zombies. It was a good start and definitely a new direction for the series. Zombie Tramp #10 is more of a transition issue than anything else. In fact there’s only two scenes in the issue. The first is on the freeway where the police are attempting to arrest the zombie who is the drug dealer’s friend. Our mega zombie which looks like something out of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, is lying in wait until the cops make a move on his friend. But then the dude catches a wiff of Janey which is just weird, but it invokes a fight between them. Janey is stuck and needs to decide if she’s going to change form in the middle of the day to stop this guy. Thankfully Vampblade makes the choice for her as she arrives and saves the day. Our zombie dude runs away threatening to track Janey down again based on her smell.
What works in this issue is that Janey tries some of her usual tricks, but they don’t work. She summons the dead and the dude beats through them. She forces him out of his body, but he’s so pissed and angry that he manages to hold on and climb back in. It was so damn refreshing to see that she doesn’t have the answer to every problem and it actually made me nervous for her.
I had some problems with the dialogue this issue. I know that they throw around certain words in this series, but they were a bit excessive this go around. I can tolerate it here and there, but the issue started and finished with them. In particular our Code Veronica zombie seemed to only use derogatory words towards Janey which really didn’t make any sense. He could have just talked to her or sweet talked her. Sure he’s pissed about his situation, but he should probably understand that he created his own problem and that Janey isn’t at fault. That and why the fuck would he want to stay the way he is? I really hope they tone this down in the future because it’s a bit much. It’s like using the f-word as a comma, its fine with your friends, but you look like an asshole to everyone else.
TMChu is a welcomed return to this series. I know I said that last time as well, but I still mean it. Again he doesn’t replace Dan Mendoza, but he’s really the only other guy I like illustrating this series. His line work is solid and the action really stands out this issue. Additionally the coloring really looked richer compared to the last issue. It could still be a bit more vibrant and shiner for my liking. It’s rather flat looking and while it’s not bad, I just think that this book could look wonderful. Right now it’s good and that’s better than a lot of titles out there.
I definitely wanted more from this issue, but it did a lot of stuff right. It’s very much a series that’s still growing and finding its voice and style at times. It’s entertaining though and I can see the growth that the series is going through. Hopefully the next issue will offer some better dialogue and a longer interaction between Janey and Vampblade.
Score: 3/5
Zombie Tramp #10 Writers: Dan Mendoza; Jason Martin Artist: TMChu Publisher: Actin Lab/Danger Zone Price: $3.99 Release Date: 4/22/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital