Key of Z

"In stories, miracles are reserved for heroes. But in real life, heroes and miracles die as unexpectedly as they appear. The only thing truly reliable, truly consistent is hurt."When New York City is crippled by the zombie uprising, the five boroughs divide into factions to provide safe haven to survivors from a world gone mad, giving them shelter within some of the city's most recognizable landmarks. Two men emerge in the struggle for power- Yankee LaVoe and Jackson Met- and their quest for control over the Big Apple leaves very real, very human consequences in its wake- protagonist Nick Ewing's wife, Mina, and son, Henry, among them. After Yankee Lavoe catches his rival unaware and levels the Garden, Nick sets out on a quest to avenge their deaths by pitting the two men who backed the wholesale slaughter of the residents of the Garden against one another through an impressively complex scheme to get their attention and making sure the man who has earned his ire doesn't walk out alive, that his wife and son's memories are done justice. What's more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose, am I right? A man with nothing to lose AND a companion with insider knowledge that walks him right into the living room of the guy whose guts he hates the most.Eddie's story had a lovely coming-of-age tint to it- a young man who grew up under the thumb of Yankee LaVoe and his older brother finally finding the courage to stand on his own feet and be his own person and defy the expectations placed on him and FINALLY step out of his older brother's cruel shadow. Justice being served was one thing but it was impossible for me to not root for the kid watching Eddie Alvarez step into his own power.I loved that the harmonica alluded to on the cover in between the teeth of the red zombie skull played a central role, a common thread from start to finish in how Nick uses the zombies in his master plan to plunge the two biggest players in the game into war with each other. The pitch Nick used to command the zombies' attention was fascinating and not being one for zombie stories myself, it was a twist I cherished in the story. How Nick's grief was crafted into a driving force for revenge tempered by the relationship he was forming with Eddie- an almost father and son vibe he never got with Henry, mentoring a young man on how to survive the world falling down around their ears- kept me hooked on this graphic novel until the very end, just hoping for another glimpse of this character's grit.Like any seasoned reader, we all run into cliffhangers we don't like and this story was no exception for me. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it. We all want a happy ending or whatever I'm trying to get at but the more I think about it, this was the best place to end the story and keep you guessing. Who makes it? Who doesn't? What happens to the rest of the Big Apple? Not all cliffhangers are bad, this one wasn't but God if I don't have all these questions to let my imagination run wild with now.Aaron Kuder's illustrations were top notch. The colors popped, the emotions in each character's face were tangible and real... not everything was balls-to-the-wall dark and damp in this post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled stage. Call me biased because I'm a Coheed fan but I loved seeing Claudio and Chondra's vision mingle with Kuder's art. I can't wait to find more work from this illustrator because I enjoyed his style.Five out of five boroughs, highly recommended for any zombie lover.

I am going to review more so the product rather than the story content itself. In short, I absolutely love the story of Key Of Z. It's an action packed zombie invasion with a straight forward story (unlike some of Claudio's other works). Attention grabbing and emotional, if you like zombies or enjoy Claudio Sanchez's other works, you'll love this series. Basic plot revolves around Nick Ewing and essentially gang rivalry amongst the zombie horde in New York, post apocalypse. I will not spoil anymore than the basic setting.I own all the comics for this series but I wanted the paperback to tag along with the collection. The cover is actually a yellow backdrop with a red zombie head holding a harmonica in it's mouth. I knew this going in but the image provided by amazon is misleading as its a cover from issue #2. (I may upload a photo of the paperback myself). Sturdy construction, a nice difference from comics and is identical in story to issues 1-4.Aaron's artwork is very detailed and unique at once. You will find yourself just staring at pages at the detail he has put into it (and there won't be a single speech bubble in sight). He really does a good job at capturing what a post-apocalypse zombie infection would feel like. He adds a nice twist of actual visual horror to match the theme of the story - cannot hype his work anymore. The paperback also comes with some bonus content. Such as the cover work from issues 1-4, the alternate issue #1 and the New York Comic Con cover variant of issue #1. It has images of rough sketches before any color etc and rough scripts of the work as well. My personal favorite of the bonus content was the "Nick Ewing" journal. It's basically the character Nick doing diary entries of some specific events. It wasn't super relative to the story but was a cool addition and more insight to the character Ewing.Overall a great addition if you want to complete a Key Of Z catalog or if you want to partake in the story but don't like comic books or would rather a compilation book than individual comics. Highly recommend to give this story a shot.Thanks for reading,Update: I added a photo under this product that display's the actual cover of the paperback.

This essentially has everything a zombie fan could want. Rivaling factions holding up in different sports stadiums, brutal zombie deaths, strong characters that you actually care about.It's an extremely well done story. I wasn't expecting to feel sad at character deaths in this story but there were a couple near the beginning that I got caught off guard with. You'll have to read this, I won't spoil it, but it's really good stuff.The artwork is great too, very easy to follow. Great scenes played out in colorful fashion.Overall it's great. The ending left a tiny bit to be desired but it looks like there may be a sequel so who knows. I know I'd read it!

good

I've read many of the comic series that Claudio Sanchez has written or co-written. This one is typical of his slow starting style. Nor worries it picks up quickly and has a great twist! Loved the art as well.

Maybe I'm biased in that I love all of Claudio Sanchez's work, but Key of Z was cool and different, and the illustration style is awesome. I'd recommend this not only to Claudio fans, but to comic fans in general.

Another excellent offering from Sanchez and Echert. It has a compelling, fast-paced story line with well-built characters. I just wish it were longer - I want more Key of Z!

Another great story line by master story teller Claudio Sanchez. The Key of Z takes on a whole new approach to the Zombie apocalypse. Also recommended are Sanchez's other stories (Amory Wars and Kill Audio)

Walking Dead has kind of turned zombie stories into cliches, this was quite a good story of revenge and hope.

I can't comment on the content but I can tell you that my son had his nose in this book on Christmas morning rather than opening more gifts!

Cool zombie comic, with a strong use of music & a basic revenge story. I wish is was more than just 4 issues though.

It looks really awesome, i gave it as a present for christmas and it was well loved!Very good illustrations

Bought book for my son, he enjoyed as he is a Coheed fan.