Review: Under The Flesh #1
“Staring at the shapeless clouds is therapeutic, sometimes…now it reminds me of a dull screensaver…looks like it’ll be pouring soon.”
– Lt. Ruben Lobos
I am a very big fan of the Zombie genre and The Walking Dead is one of my favorite comic books. I would watch George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead as much as I could and couldn’t be happier when the sequels were released. So, when any kind of Zombie story comes out I gravitate towards the media like a kid at…well…a comic book store. One day, surfing the web, I came across some really cool art and discovered Under The Flesh, a zombie story still in its infancy with incredible characters and a great premise.
In Under The Flesh #1 creator and writer, Gilbert Deltres, introduces the characters of this bleak new world in a manner that best displays the core team of survivors being lead under Lt. Ruben Lobos. Lobos is an elite soldier injected with cell-fusing nanobots that battles viruses while enhancing physical strength and cognition. On the day he was injected, appropriately dubbed ‘Desolation Day’, the world succumbs to an unknown pathogen that only infects the male population. He flees the infected with his jealous girlfriend, Dinah, in tow. They end up with the rest of the cast at a local library for safety as the issue begins to heat up. We don’t learn much more about the Lieutenant’s superhuman abilities, but only issue #1 has been released so far with a KickStarter project already underway this month and more of the story coming out soon.
What made this comic stand out is the fantastic art by J.L. Giles. What initially caught my eye was his incredible action scenes that made me feel immersed into each panel and sequence. The expressions on each of the character’s faces are expertly drawn to give you a better understanding of their trials and misery. The tagline reads that governments crumbled, global military powers wiped out, and societies demolished and all of that is masterfully conveyed in Giles illustrations. I especially enjoyed the landscape scenes that made each page come to life with the perfect use of shades of purple and blue.
In the world of comic books it is extremely difficult to get your work noticed and seen by a large audience. Independent writers and artists have an extremely tough mountain to climb unless they create an amazing story with interesting characters and imaginative illustrations that bring life to the narrative. The creators of the comic book Under The Flesh, Gilbert Deltres and J.L. Giles, have done just that and more. The writing and art harmoniously come together to deliver a comic that you just can’t stop reading. And with Issue #1 available and a KickStarter project underway hopefully we will have plenty more of this story soon to satisfy the Zombie killer in all of us.
Story: Gilbert Deltres – Art & Letters: J.L. Giles – Cover: J.L. Giles
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy
Check out their KickStarter page at:
