The Pull List – DIE!NAMITE #1
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Writer: Declan Shalvey & Fred Van Lente
Art: Justin Mason & Vincenzo Carratu
Color: Kike J. Diaz
An undead evil threatens to cover the world with hordes of rotting flesh, turning the living into savage fiends. But a few brave heroes from across time and space will find themselves on the path to fight this dark force. Leaving his earthly form, John Carter returns to Mars and discovers a ghastly greeting at his arrival. Aboard a Drakulon spaceship, Vampirella finds a suspicious vessel with no crew. On a hunt for lost treasure, Red Sonja encounters more than just riches in the jungle. And Peter Cannon completes his training to embrace his powers as the heroic Thunderbolt to make a stand against the rising supernatural plague.
DIE!NAMITE is a cross-over event that brings Dynamite’s fan-favorite characters to battle against a menacing dark force. Following multiple perspectives, heroes like John Carter and Red Sonja discover the early arrival of the undead. Companions quickly fall and become zombified creatures, seeking out fresh bodies to consume. It comes to a head when these heroes realize it will take more than individual strength to survive this chaos.
Declan Shalvey and Fred Van Lente stylishly set up an interesting plot that will merge the different characters together. This issue spends time focusing on the major characters’ separate adventures and how they will get tied together. The pacing takes it time in this issue to build up more of the world than jumping straight into the undead fray, but it does have a few juicy bits of action in between.
The artwork of Justin Mason and Vincenzo Carratu gives the character perspectives that give their introduction a different look and feel. Vampirella has more of a sci-fi environment aboard a retro design spaceship. Sonja has a classic fantasy adventure setting while trekking thru a jungle. Kike Diaz’s colorwork keeps a consistent tone of clear and nicely muted colors. Pages are never too cheerful when trouble is around every corner.
DIE!NAMITE has a good start that draws in the readers with a familiar concept, but the twist and turns up ahead are what’s going to make the readers stay glued to the pages.