Throwback Thursday: A Bite of Brain with iZombie
Oct 07, 2021
iZombie, originally titled I, Zombie, is a supernatural horror comic about Gwen Dylan (a revenant gravedigger), and her friends Ellie (a ghost from the 1960s) and Scott (a were-terrier). Created by writer Chris Roberson and artist Michael Allred, it was published under DC’s Vertigo imprint.
Gwen looks normal enough to pass as a regular human, but she must eat a brain once a month to continue functioning properly as an intelligent person. Being a gravedigger gives her access to plenty of fresh brains, and by eating them, she is flooded with the dead person’s thoughts.
The series explains characters like revenants, ghosts, and other supernatural beings by way of oversouls and undersouls. The oversoul is housed in the brain, containing personality, thoughts, and memories, while the undersoul is in the heart and houses emotions, appetites, and fears. Because of this, zombies are bodies without oversouls, vampires are bodies without undersouls, ghosts are bodiless oversouls, and poltergeists are bodiless undersouls. Souls can infiltrate the living, which accounts for things like were-creatures and possession. Being a revenant makes Gwen a unique supernatural being with both oversoul and undersoul.
The series ran for 28 issues from 2010 to 2012, written by Roberson with art by Allred, Jay Stephens, Jason Bone, and James Rugg.
A TV series based on the comic premiered on The CW in 2015, starring Rose McIver as a medical examiner/zombie Liv Moore who helps solve murders by eating the brains of victims to learn what happened to them. The show ran for five seasons through 2019.
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The first five issues of this smart detective series that mixes urban fantasy and romantic dramedy is collected, with a story from the HOUSE OF MYSTERY HALLOWEEN ANNUAL #1.
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Dylan is a 20-something gravedigger in an eco-friendly cemetery. Once a month she must eat a human brain to keep from losing her own memories, but in the process she becomes consumed with the thoughts and personality of the dead person - until she eats her next brain. Gwen sets out to fulfill the dead person's last request, solve a crime or right a wrong. Our zombie girl detective is joined by her best friend, Eleanor, who happens to be a swinging '60s ghost, a posse of paintball-blasting vampires, a smitten were-dog and a hot but demented mummy.
On sale MARCH 16 • 144 pg, FC
Art and cover by MICHAEL ALLRED
In uVAMPIRE, Gwen Dylan dines on the grey matter of a person who knew her as a child - and things quickly get complicated. Meanwhile, ghost-girl Ellie learns a few tricks from Amon the mummy; Spot the were-terrier meets someone from Gwen's past, Galatea engages in some grave-robbing; and monster-hunters tackle the town's vampire problem. Collecting issues #6-12 of the Eisner Award-nominated series, plus a story from the HOUSE OF MYSTERY ANNUAL #2.
On sale SEPTEMBER 7
Glass SRP: $10.99
This article originally appeared in Gemstone Publishing’s e-newsletter Scoop.
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Amanda Sheriff is Gemstone Publishing’s Associate Editor, serving as the writer/editor of the e-newsletter, Scoop. She is the author of The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Movie Posters, The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Concert Posters, and The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Horror, and co-author of The Overstreet Price Guide to Star Wars Collectibles and The Overstreet Price Guide to Batman.