iZombie, Vol. 3: Six Feet Under and Rising (iZombie #3) by Chris Roberson, Gilbert Hernández, Mike Allred
The veil in Eugene is thinner than anyplace else in the world. That allows creatures from other worlds and dimensions to slip through. These creatures can be accessed by those who seek power. Amon knows that things are coming to a head but thus far he has been unable to convince Gwen that she has an important role to play. Gwen however is only interested in hanging out with her friends and her new boyfriend Horatio, the monster hunter who still doesn't know that she's a zombie. Gwen won't be allowed to to be passive for much longer though, the shambling zombies have made an escape from a secret underground labyrinth thus forcing her to confront the supernatural world on terms that simply aren't her own.
iZombie is at its best when it's doing the scooby thing. Six Feet Under and Rising opened up with having the group fulfilling and the wishes of a recently departed soul and sending if off, it quickly shifted to dealing with: Galatea, the government zombie killing group the Dead Presidents and Spot's disappearance. Six Feet Under and Rising is action packed but all of the action also made it seem so very cluttered. Where the hell did the Dead Presidents come from all of a sudden? If that were not enough, we also have zombie Russian cold war era spies and the brain of a mad scientist in a jar. It's all too much too soon and without enough context to make it feel anything other than chaotic.
The Dead Presidents did give us some added diversity in the form of a take no nonsense Madison the zombie. Madison answers to Lincoln but while out in the field, she's the undisputed boss. Madison like all of the other zombie agents pay a price in that it costs them their original meat. I get the sense that there's so much more to her character and cannot help but wonder if she's actually the original Madison but placed in a black female body. I must admit to laughing at the idea that Nixon is the president that seems to get on everyone's nerves.
We didn't actually get to see much of the scooby gang together this volume. Spot spent a lot of time trapped in the catacombs with the zombies. I love that Gwen jumped right in there to save him though Horatio suggested she should just wait on the sidelines. From the moment Gwen entered the catacombs there was no chance that it would end well for her in terms of keeping her secret. I love that she was willing to jump in front of Horatio to save Spot should Spot be discovered in his full were form.
Speaking of Spot, perhaps the most interesting revelation about him thus far is not that he is so virginal that he's never kissed a girl but that when the thought of kissing a girl occurred to him, he suddenly thought of Gavin, Gwen's brother. What does this mean? We know that in UVampire (volume two), there was a lot of taunting of Scott because he is perceived as gay by his friends but there was nothing overt in the story to suggest Scott actually being gay or bisexual. Scott's instantly confused by his thoughts of Gavin but it's enough to make me wonder if iZombie is going to make Scott canonically gay? Given the homophobic taunting that iZombie's engaged in so far and the absolute erasure, it would go along way to improving this series. I for one am sick of Scott mooning over Gwen; however, if Scott should in fact be gay, things won't run smooth with Gavin because it seems that Gavin is possessed.
