Graphic Novel Review: HADRIAN’S WALL

A hundred years in the future there will be a new type of Civil War in space between those on Earth and those on the off-world planet Theta.  When an astronaut mysteriously dies on the survey ship Hadrian’s Wall an uneasy conspiracy may unravel the peace between these two different worlds.  Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel’s Hadrian’s Wall is a murder mystery thriller about a group of characters trapped on a space station.  Simon Moore is sent to the ship to investigate the death and apparent suicide of Edward Madigan, who just so happens to be with his ex-wife (both of which work on the ship).  When Simon starts to believe that Edwards death may not have been a suicide his investigation into the crew of Hadrian’s Wall leads him to some horrifying discoveries that threaten his and everyone else’s life on the ship.

Simon soon doesn’t know who to trust when anyone on the ship can be the murderer and things just get more complicated when other members of the crew start showing up dead.   Hadrian’s Wall is a tense murder mystery thriller that puts the reader in the same shoes as Simon. 

Art is by Rod Reis and Eduardo Ferigato and the style perfectly compliments Higgins & Siegel’s words.  This is a visually tense thriller that also set up a complex and exciting world in which characters can have many different allegiances.  Higgins, Siegel, and Reis all worked together on C.O.W.L. so if you enjoyed that book then you will love this one.

Movie Review: ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS. ZOMBIES (2012)

Coming off of the heels of the Hollywood film adaptation of the very popular novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) is the low budget indie film Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies (2012).  With a story by Karl T. Hirsch and J. Lauren Proctor and directed by Richard Schenkman (who wrote the screenplay) this is a horror film that plays loosely with the facts of Lincoln’s life while looking for the same audience that would enjoy Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

 

In this story Lincoln (played by Bill Oberst, Jr.) becomes the man that he is by having watched his mother become a victim of the zombie plague and his father a man torn by that knowledge.  His world is turned upside down when as the President of the United States during the Civil War he realizes that the zombie plague has returned and threatens the success of his campaign to win the war.  Knowing more about the zombie plague than anyone else it is his duty to head the team of soldiers that will help irradiate the threat.

Surprisingly, the film is not as bad as it sounds and Oberst as the President is one of the best aspects of the film as much of the rest of the cast is entertaining but quite forgettable.  The action is plentiful and the death gratuitous as should be for any indie zombie film.  Lincoln dispatches zombies as if he was born to it.  The zombies are plentiful and well done and there are plenty to go around.  A lot of low budget films either have too many or too few but this film has just the right amount because Lincoln and his cast of soldiers dispatch the zombies in a variety of different ways that never becomes repetitive or boring.  For those looking to be entertained this is one of those films.

If there is one thing negative I can say about the film it’s that the limitation of locations is felt during the midpoint of the film in which the characters seem to be treading the same ground over and over again.  It’s not until the third act of the film that the fun is truly had as Lincoln continues to achieve one crazy feat after another leading to one hell of an entertaining climax that had me forgetting just how much the middle section dragged.  

One of the reasons why the film works is because the film-makers realize early on what a ridiculous idea the film is but they pour their heart and soul into presenting an entertaining and gory film that is made even more entertaining because it’s a period film.  All the actors give their all and it has zombies, which is a hundred times more entertaining than vampires.  You can certainly do much worse than this film.