The Living and the Dead

After a couple of downright chatty full-color books (Why Are You Doing This? and The Left Bank Gang) the Norwegian cartoonist Jason returns, for his ninth Fantagraphics graphic novel, to his two-tone mute roots with The Living and the Dead, a George A. Romero-esque zombie comedy that he intends to be the middle installment of his "horror trilogy" begun with the Frankenstein monster love triangle of You Can't Get There From Here. Jason's elegant deadpan style somehow manages to make the gruesome gore and splatter effects almost... charming — and yes, it is a sweet love story at heart. If you read only one book in which a zombie devours a baby this year (even Romero never quite summoned up the nerve for that), read this one!