With a setting reminiscent of Deadwood (or for you fans of vintage tv, the old steampunk-before-it-had-a-name Wild, Wild West), Rotten already has a promising headstart. Throw in hordes of flesh-eating, blood-spattered zombies and some clever nods to modern-day events, and you've got a book that will keep you coming back for more.

Recommended!

Faceted characters with more than the usual two dimensions inhabit a darkly textured world, playing out a storyline that promises complex and layered possibilities. Whether it plays out into tangled chaos or into a transcendent weave remains to be seen in the rest of the series — and it’s definitely worth a look to find out.

This story fits comfortably into the category of timeless tales, with characters that seem immediately familiar and real — like old friends, well met — to children and adults alike. Colin Throm brings them further to life with artwork imbued with a warmth and texture that clearly reflect a love of the source material.

The origin story for Contract’s Jessie Garrett makes a good entre into this nicely drawn SF-western mashup universe — sort of like Joss Whedon’s Firefly with a bit of tech-amped superheroism thrown in for good measure.

Despite being penned in the final years of the nineteenth century, this is a story so powerful, it was (and remains) the model and the high standard for all of the alien invasion tales that followed. It captures the essence of invasion and the resulting piece-by-piece evisceration of human civilization. The unfolding events hum in resonance with some deep and primal fear.

Even after numerous repeat readings, the narrative feels fresh and modern, despite the setting, and I find myself flipping back as I read to savor favorite scenes. If there’s any weakness, the few moments of Victorian-style sentiment — especially at the end — do feel dated to modern eyes, but it’s understandable in context… and nothing can diminish the devastating shriek of the Martian heat ray.