The Abandoned

by Ross Campbell

Ross Campbell is a pretty unique comics creator. His interest appears to be telling stories about curvy tattooed, pierced teenage girls of poly-amorous sexuality. This time out, he's giving us a zombie story set in the deep south, where the apparent only survivors are a group of teen orphans more or less led by Rylie, a spiky-haired dynamo who shares her name with the hurricane that has just devastated the community, perhaps causing the zombie invasion. Or perhaps not, it's hard to tell.

The strength of Campbell's story lies in the friendships between Rylie and her motley crowd. They quickly settle into the apartment of Naomi, a newcomer into their circle, and the target of Rylie's affections, and they basically hang out. They have no real planning skills; not really thinking about how to wait out a large zombie siege, and act like a bunch of teenagers at a slumber party.

It's a fun read, if you can overlook the ridiculous of the situations and the lack of internal logic in the story. Campbell's art is beautiful, and he draws women that appear very realistic while still stylized. He represents a greater diversity in womens' shapes than one ever sees anywhere else in comics, and that makes this a notable book.