Comic book series published by Vertigo
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 (
nee
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
. 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]
Synopsis
[
edit
]
Various entities, some human, some not, battle various escalating threats in and around
Eugene, Oregon
.
Vampires
, parental fights, zombies, romance triangles, cabin fever, delayed apocalyptic battles and technical support are just some of the situations under-prepared, heavily manipulated, not-quite-human twenty-somethings have to deal with.
Characters
[
edit
]
- Gwendolyn
"
Gwen
"
Dylan (nee Price):
The main protagonist, a revenant or main "zombie".
- Eleanor
"
Ellie
"
Stuart (nee Roosevelt):
A ghost who died in the 1960s and had never left Oregon.
- Scott "Spot":
A were-terrier, friend to Gwen and Ellie.
- Gavin Price:
Gwen's brother and Scott's prospective boyfriend (later husband as of
iZombie #28
).
- Horatio:
A monster hunter and Gwen's boyfriend.
- Vincent Tan:
A friend and co-worker of Scott.
- Ashok Patel:
A friend and co-worker of Scott and Vincent.
- John Amon:
A mummy who was responsible for Gwen Dylan becoming a zombie.
Adaptation
[
edit
]
In November 2013, The CW ordered a pilot episode named after the comic from writer/producers
Rob Thomas
and
Diane Ruggiero-Wright
, who developed the property as a supernatural
procedural drama
for the network.
[7]
On February 25, 2014, Deadline reported that
Malcolm Goodwin
,
Aly Michalka
and
David Anders
were cast as Clive, Peyton and Blaine.
[8]
On March 7, 2014, actor
Robert Buckley
was cast as Major, the lead character's former fiance, a social worker and former college football star who is extremely likable.
[9]
On March 12, 2014, actress
Rose McIver
was cast as the lead character Olivia "Liv" Moore.
[10]
iZombie had been picked up for the 2014-2015 fall season by
The CW
on May 8, 2014, but was pushed back to air as a mid-season replacement.
[11]
It debuted on The CW on March 17, 2015 and concluded on August 1, 2019 with 71 episodes airing in total.
While the series retains the lead character's ability to absorb memories and abilities through eating brains, her backstory is substantially changed. Liv (changed from Gwen) is a medical intern in
Seattle, Washington
who is turned into a zombie after being scratched by one. The series picks up five months after the incident; Liv now works as a
King County
morgue assistant, along with Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti played by
Rahul Kohli
, which provides her with a steady supply of brains from murder victims which she must eat in order to retain her intelligence. A side effect of eating brains is that she experiences the deceased's memories in the form of visions, and temporarily absorbs their habits and abilities which she uses to assist in solving crimes.
Michael Allred, co-creator and lead artist for the comic book series, designed and drew the opening credits for the series.
[12]
Collected editions
[
edit
]
The series has been collected into a number of
trade paperbacks
:
#
|
Title
|
ISBN
|
Release date
|
Collected material
|
1
|
Dead to the World
|
ISBN
1-4012-2965-4
|
March 22, 2011
|
iZombie
#1?5, a story from
House of Mystery
Halloween Annual #1
and about 11 additional sketches and covers
|
2
|
uVampire
|
ISBN
1-4012-3296-5
|
September 7, 2011
|
iZombie
#6?12 and a story from
House of Mystery Halloween Annual #2
|
3
|
Six Feet Under and Rising
|
ISBN
1-4012-3370-8
|
February 14, 2012
|
iZombie
#13?18
|
4
|
Repossession
|
ISBN
1-4012-3697-9
|
December 11, 2012
|
iZombie
#19?28
|
As well as an
omnibus
collecting the entire run:
#
|
Title
|
ISBN
|
Release date
|
Collected material
|
1
|
The iZombieOmnibus
|
ISBN
9781401262037
|
December 8, 2015
|
the full run
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Roberson, Chris
(
w
),
Hernandez, Gilbert
(
p
), Hernandez, 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."
- ^
"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
.
- ^
Moylan, Brian (March 17, 2015).
"iZombie: comic book's TV adaptation introduces the crime-solving dead"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
May 2,
2015
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
Johnston, Richard (April 1, 2012).
"ECCC: The Vertigo New Blood Panels ? And The End Of iZombie"
.
Bleeding Cool
. Retrieved
April 1,
2012
.
- ^
Andreeva, Nellie (November 7, 2013).
"The CW Sets Drama Based On DC Comics' 'iZombie' With Rob Thomas, Diane Ruggiero"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
November 9,
2018
.
- ^
Andreeva, Nellie (February 25, 2014).
"Malcolm Goodwin To Star, Alex Krosney & David Anders To Co-Star In CW's 'iZombie'
"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
February 25,
2014
.
- ^
Goldberg, Lesley (March 7, 2014).
"
'One Tree Hill's' Robert Buckley to Co-Star in CW's 'iZombie'
"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
March 7,
2014
.
- ^
Goldberg, Lesley (March 12, 2014).
"Rose McIver to Star in Rob Thomas' 'iZombie'
"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
March 13,
2014
.
- ^
Ausiello, Michael (May 8, 2014).
"The CW New Series For Fall 2014 ? 'The Flash' and 'iZombie' - TVLine"
.
TVLine
. Retrieved
May 8,
2014
.
- ^
Armitage, Hugh (March 13, 2015).
"iZombie opening credits reveal Michael Allred art"
.
Digital Spy
. Retrieved
March 18,
2015
.
External links
[
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]
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2012?2016
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