IZombie (comic book)

Not to be confused with I, Zombie.
For the live-action series, see iZombie (TV series).

iZombie
Cover page of #1
Publication information
PublisherVertigo
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing series
GenreHorror
Publication date2010–2012
No. of issues28
Main character(s)Gwen Dylan
Ellie Stuart
Scott "Spot"
Horatio
Creative team
Created byRoberson & Allred
Written byChris Roberson
Artist(s)Michael Allred
Jay Stephens
Jason Bone
James Rugg
Letterer(s)Todd Klein
Colourist(s)Laura Allred
Editor(s)Shelly Bond
Collected editions
Dead to the WorldISBN 1-4012-2965-4
uVampireISBN 1-4012-3296-5
Six Feet Under & RisingISBN 1-4012-3370-8
RepossessionISBN 1-4012-3697-9

iZombie,[1] originally titled I, Zombie, is a comic book series created by writer Chris Roberson and artist Michael Allred, published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint beginning in 2010. The series deals with Gwen Dylan (née Gwendolyn Price), a revenant gravedigger in Eugene, Oregon and her friends Ellie, a 1960s ghost, and Scott, a were-terrier. iZombie was nominated for the 2011 Eisner Award for Best New Series.[2]

Gwen Dylan can pass for a regular girl, but she needs to eat a brain once a month to keep from losing her memories and intelligence. As a gravedigger,[3] she has plenty of access to recently deceased people; when she consumes their brains she "inherits" part of the deceased's thoughts.

The "monsters" in iZombie are explained via the concepts of over- and undersoul. The oversoul (as in Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The Over-Soul") is "seated in the brain, contains the thoughts, memories, and personality",[4] while the undersoul (as in Michael McClure's poem "Dark Brown") is "seated in the heart, contains the appetites, emotions and fears".[4] Ghosts are thus bodiless oversouls; poltergeists, bodiless undersouls; vampires bodies without undersouls (thirsting for emotions); and zombies, bodies without oversouls. Revenants, like Gwen, are unique in that they possess both oversouls and undersouls. Souls can also "infect" the living, which accounts for the possessed, werewolves and the like.[5] The characters of iZombie first appeared in a short story in the first House of Mystery Halloween Annual (2009). An iZombie story was also included in the second House of Mystery Halloween Annual (2010).

The comic is notable for its use of real Eugene-area locations as settings, including the University of Oregon campus, the Shelton McMurphey Johnson House, the McDonald Theater, Eugene City Hall, and Ya-Po-Ah Terrace, as well as Portland's Oregon Convention Center and Oregon Zoo, and Devils Lake in Lincoln City. The primary hangout spot, "Dixie's Firehouse", is also known as "Fins" and is located in Springfield, Oregon.

On April 1, 2012, at the Emerald City Comicon, Allred announced that iZombie would end as of #28 in August.[6]

  1. ^ Roberson, Chris (w), Hernàndez, Gilbert (p), Hernàndez, Gilbert (i), Allred, Laura (col), Klein, Todd (let), Lockard, Gregory, Bond, Shelly (ed). "Ghost Stories" iZombie, vol. 1, no. 12, p. 18 (June 2011). Vertigo. "The correct spelling of the title of our esteemed series is: (...) a lower case "i", sans comma, and the "ZOMBIE" in caps. In other words: iZombie."
  2. ^ "Nominees Announced for 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards". San Diego Comic-Con. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  3. ^ Moylan, Brian (March 17, 2015). "iZombie: comic book's TV adaptation introduces the crime-solving dead". The Guardian. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Roberson, Chris (w), Allred, Michael (p), Allred, Michael (i), Allred, Laura (col), Klein, Todd (let), Rufino, Angelo, Bond, Shelly (ed). "The Magical Memory Tour" iZombie, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 11 (October 2010). Vertigo.
  5. ^ Roberson, Chris (w), Allred, Michael (p), Allred, Michael (i), Allred, Laura (col), Klein, Todd (let), Rufino, Angelo, Bond, Shelly (ed). "The Magical Memory Tour" iZombie, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 12-13 (October 2010). Vertigo.
  6. ^ Johnston, Richard (April 1, 2012). "ECCC: The Vertigo New Blood Panels – And The End Of iZombie". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved April 1, 2012.