Zombicide: Day One #4 - Source Point Press

ZOMBICIDE: DAY ONE No. 4, May 2023

Despite the survivors finally reaching the relative safety of Ned’s underground shelter at the very start of this twenty-four-page periodical, Luca Enoch and Stefano Vietti’s storyline still manages to contain plenty of exhilarating, flesh-chomping action. Indeed, the inclusion of a nearly unstoppable Abomination towards the comic’s end, genuinely ramps up the narrative’s already nail-biting intensity by several more notches, as well as provides fans of “Guillotine Games” collaborative board game with an appreciative nod; “There’s a big one coming from my side!”

Frustratingly however, the logic behind just why the handful of humans are still vulnerably out in the open to be brutally battered is a little lacking, especially when this mini-series’ readers look back at just how increasingly savvy the weapon-wielding quintet have become since first encountering the city-wide zombie menace. Many a bibliophile will doubtless accept the fact that the bunker’s armoured gate may well malfunction due to being bought second-hand. But, just why the heavily bearded vagrant decides to simply leave the jammed doorway wide open to any passing walking cadaver whilst he takes his comrades-in-arms on an extended tour of the facility is arguably anyone’s guess...?

Such a questionable quibble is reasonably easy to forgive though, considering that the pulse-pounding fight which resultants from so contrived an oversight once again shockingly reminds this book’s audience that none of the lead cast are actually safe from the ravages of the undead. Albeit rather disappointingly, Hobo’s bloody demise at the hands of “the Survivors’ worst nightmare” as a ravenous horde of ghouls lay siege to Ned’s rubbish dump, is blatantly telegraphed by this publication’s first few splash pages which are apparently dedicated to the character’s memory before his brutal death is even hinted at.

Illustrators Alessio Moroni and Marco Itri are also well worth a mention, in light of their prodigious pencilling throughout Issue Four of “Zomibicide: Day One”. Once the attack upon the ‘safe haven’ begins, the panels energetically flow thick and fast, with all the characters impressively contributing to their group’s last stand. Furthermore, the artists once again manage to tap directly into the murderous brain of the unliving by providing the audience with some insights into the upside-down world as seen from the viewpoint of an Abomination.

The regular cover art of "ZOMBICIDE: DAY ONE" #4 by Alfio Buscaglia & Simon Tessuto