Zombicide: Day One #3 - Source Point Press

ZOMBICIDE: DAY ONE No. 3, March 2023

For those readers utterly oblivious to Source Point Press’s spoiler-filled solicitation synopsis, Issue Three of “Zombicide: Day One” probably took them on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as “the group of survivors take a shortcut through the sewer on their way to save Ned’s friend” and end up losing one of their number in the most tragic manner possible. True, Luca Enoch and Stefano Vietti’s narrative seemingly starts out using its customary combination of ‘quiet before the storm’ wanderings and pulse-pounding flashbacks. But once one of the group gets a little too close to a fast-flowing underground stream full of floating undead, the entire tone of this thirty-two-page publication changes to something much more serious.

Furthermore, the writers adopt the quite novel approach of subsequently telling their tale of terror through the eyes of the now partially-chomped and sadly deceased protagonist as they unwillingly join the horde in its frenzied desire for living flesh. This perspective is both fascinating and a little depressing, especially when the constantly moving cadaver turns a corner, spies their former comrades-in-arms battling away in a zed-filled car park and hungrily assails them; “I’m glad you found us, my friend… This way I can give you a proper death and free you from the horror you’ve become.”

Also well worth noting is this comic’s aforementioned recollection of Keiko’s first encounter with the zombie infection and her tour party’s bloody massacre amongst the relics of the municipal’s museum. Intriguing in its ability to also depict the good-natured Hobo’s daily routine of helping locals in order to obtain the funds for food, this lengthy sequence quickly heats up once the Asian guide grabs an ancient double-handed blade from a display mannequin, and starts slicing apart any grisly ghoul unwise enough to view her as their next meal.

Likewise, the artists Alessio Moroni and Marco Itri are worthy of a standing ovation for all the well-pencilled gratuitous violence they manage to imbue each and every panel with. Indeed, even the most sedentary of scenes, such as Wanda reminiscing about serving her restaurant’s customers apple pie, are laced with palpable tension as the group slowly progress through a world where a rabid pack of teeth and claws is potentially waiting around every corner.

The regular cover art of "ZOMBICIDE: DAY ONE" #3 by Fabio Babich & Tarek Moutran