Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I love zombie stuff so I was super excited when I saw this. I tried to like this and push through but I couldn’t. I had to DNF this which was unfortunate,I also didn’t really care for the art style. I definitely still think people should give this a shot,it just wasn’t for me.

'Life Zero' has everything that makes a great graphic novel—terrific writing, fast pacing, realistic dialogue, compelling characters, and beautiful art. While the storyline itself may be a bit derivative of earlier zombie narratives, Vietti throws in more than enough to make this story stand out from your typical zombie fare, and you’ll quickly be consumed within the opening pages from the hard-driving narrative.

The story is pretty simple—it follows a group of military commandos who have to enter a city that’s ground zero for a new kind of outbreak/plague that turns human beings into zombie-like creatures. This all happened when a cloud leaked from a government facility and settled over the city, with anyone who was outside at the time falling prey to the lab-made contagion. One of the most interesting things about the graphic novel was following along as the different ‘zombie rules’ and realities of Vietti’s world were revealed, and there are some twists here that are missing from other zombie stories, which added a nice layer of freshness to the whole endeavor. The group of commandos have to break their captain out of prison and then escape back to safe ground at a military base just outside the city limits, but not before the captain’s daughter is rescued from a nearby high-rise. As you might imagine in a story like this, things quickly go haywire, and there’s gory action from almost the first set of pages. Betrayal, revenge, cowardice, and pure brutality are splashed throughout the storyline, and it’s an engaging look at human behavior when faced with an adverse environment.

While the storyline itself is engrossing and highly readable, it’s also Checchetto’s unique artistry that brings the action to life. The design is clean and crisp, and the colors pop off the page. Some of the ways that Checchetto drew backgrounds, smoke, and the weather elements reminded me of ’30 Days of Night’ in a good way, and it helped give the graphic novel an entire atmosphere and mood unto itself, something that can be extremely difficult to create in just 160 pages or so.

Overall, this was a great story, accompanied with gorgeous art and set pieces. If you’re looking for a quick but satisfying zombie action tale, look no further than this graphic novel.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ablaze, Stefano Vietti, and Marco Checchetto for the digital ARC of 'Life Zero' in exchange for an honest review.

Life Zero by Steffano Vietti
Horror graphic novel

Where were you when the clouds arrived? Where were you when people started dying - and coming back from the dead? Where were you when the world changed forever?

It's rare in graphic novels for both the graphics and the story to work together and complement each other, and this one just delivered. The artwork is great, just perfect imo, gloomy and yet with enough splash of colours to fit the zombie theme.

The story is great too, surely had me hooked from the first page, and the twists, although done before, actually got me. There's nothing to not like here. But why does the lead character look so like zayn malik 😅

This was vol 1-3 and I'll surely be keeping an eye out for what's coming next. Thank you @netgalley @diamondbookdist for the eARC.

While I didn't love the artwork, this was still a very fast paced and exciting read!

When I started the book, I couldn't quite tell if I was reading the first in the series, or if I had been dropped halfway through. But in the end, it really didn't matter and everything almost comes together pretty nicely.

I say "almost" only because it ends on a cliffhanger - but since this is a series and the standard zombie formula must be followed, you see that coming from the start. It's still enjoyable though!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this one!

Mid grade zombie comic. Looks nice but other than that it's not really anything new. If you like zombies give it a go but there are better options.

Life Zero follows a Special Ops team as they enter a town that has been passed over by a mysterious cloud that has turned nearly everybody into a zombie-like creature. They don't understand the zombies, or how they came to be, but they know they have to reach their captain who is in prison in the town. Once they shoot their way to him, their escape route collapses and they have to make their way through the town without reliable transport, this is when we find out that the captain's ex-wife has organised for the team to be here. Laura needs Derek to help her find their daughter, Anna, who is being taken care of by a social worker in the city. While they rest before making their way to Anna, one of their team gets bitten, leading to the captain having to shoot him, and soon after the team begins to crumble from the inside out. When they reach Anna, the captain is betrayed by one of his own but eventually, those who are left make their way to the army base where they are met by their superior officer who tells them the bites don't actually mean anything. This means that the scientist who created the cloud is the only one who can help, so Derek heads back into the city with Laura and one remaining team member.

Sometimes though, things don't stay dead and soon the captain is facing more challenges than just the zombies.

This book was actually really enjoyable. I haven't read a lot of Ablaze comics, but I am yet to be truly disappointed. I'm not usually a big fan of zombie stories, I find it quite hard to imagine how they are going to make it unique but this one was good. Similar to the Walking Dead, this book actually isn't really that much of a zombie book. They're the cause, not the focus. In fact, the focus is pretty much on the humans and how they react, their history with one another and how some wounds just won't close no matter how much you treat them. This book has themes of betrayal, chosen family, deception and revenge.

While it sounds very dark, it's fast-paced enough that you don't necessarily feel how depressing this book is until the very end. Not going to lie, I didn't know how it would end but I'm glad it ended in the way it did. It felt less forced than if they all get out alive and well or if they magically find the cure or whatever.

I enjoyed this one.

I don’t generally read zombie stories but I did enjoy reading this one. It wasn’t just about running and screaming, there was murder, revenge, betrayal and conspiracy in addition to the zombies and that made the story quite gripping.

The artwork was just right, dark, and edgy. Quite a good read for fans of zombie graphic novels with twists and turns. Copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

4.0 out of 5.0
Life Zero by Stefano Vietti is a collection of the first three comics in the Life Zero Series. Set in a major city during a zombie outbreak, a small group of military special forces attempt a series of rescue missions.
Life Zero is a brutal examination of the choices within the type of living displayed. The storyline is very captivating, matched by the beautifully wicked art that keeps you drawn into this world of horror and chaos.
If you like the Walking Dead but want something a bit more intense then I would give Life Zero a read. Highly Recommended.

The artwork in this one is pretty wicked. A lot of action and gory scenes.
I like the pace set in the story. The narration is great, too. This is one of the better apocalypse happening graphic novels I have read.
When a dark cloud appears over a city, people become infected and a terrible outcome happens. This first book in the series starts within the early days of this outbreak.
I look forward to reading more of this story.

Thank you #NetGalley and Diamond Back Distributors, Ablaze for sending me the ebook for #LifeZero to read and review!