Graphic Novel Review: 28 DAYS LATER: Vol. 6 – HOMECOMING

If you’re a fan of the film 28 Days Later (and its sequel 28 Weeks Later) and you read comic books (or the collected graphic novels) then you will be both sad and happy that 28 Days Later: Vol. 6 – Homecoming is the final volume in the ongoing series of graphic novels that collects the final four issues of the series.  I say this is a sad farewell as this was one of the better more recent comic book series inspired by a film franchise and writer Michael Alan Nelson has done a respectable job of carrying on the story from the two films.

This series takes place after the first film and follows what happened with Selena after her homeland was overrun with the infected.  Now she’s helped American reporter Clint get into London to expose the outbreak.  Clint and Selena are the only remaining survivors of their group after several misadventures to get back to the city but they now find themselves captured by American soldiers who are part of a cleanup and rehabilitation of the city.  They are soon taken back to the Green Zone, which is safe from the infected and where people have been slowly reclaiming the city to live in.   They are able to clean up and get new clothes but the world is different for Selena who has lived her life only for survival and believes that the world in the Green City is not what it seems.  Despite the fact that life for Selena has changed since meeting Clint and becoming involved with him there is unfinished business that she must attend to from her former life before she can move on.  While Selena sets out on her own personal journey Clint is finally able to get to the bottom of what happened in London during the original outbreak but before he can truly understand the gravity of the situation another outbreak threatens everything and Clint must find a way to survive in a city overrun with the infected without the help of Selena.

These final issues of the series brings Selena’s story full circle and links both the first and second films by establishing that Selena and Clint were in London during the second outbreak from the second film.  For fans of both the films and the comic book this series has been a great way to link the two films together making this one of the better.  I’m sad to see the series end but Nelson (with artists Pablo Peppino and Alejandro Aragon) has crafted a fitting end to a great story.

As usual the graphic novel collects all the covers from the individual issues but as an added treat Nelson has a few last words about working on the series which will make all of his fans happy.