28 Days Later 6: Homecoming

Comic Info

28 Days Later #21

Reprints 28 Days Later #21-24 (March 2011-June 2011).  Selina and Clint have reached “civilization”.  Quarantined in London’s Green Zone, Selina and Clint question if they are safe or if they are really the prisoners.  Selina sets out to say goodbye to her past, and Clint tries to get his story to editors in America…but a danger is lurking on the streets of London and the Infected might live again!

Written by Michael Alan Nelson, 28 Days Later Volume 6:  Homecoming is the final volume in the series which bridges the gap between the film 28 Days Later (2002) and the sequel 28 Weeks Later (2007).  Following 28 Days Later Volume 5:  Ghost Town, the collection features art by Pablo Preppino on 28 Days Later #21, and Alejandro Aragon completing the series.  The issues were also collected in the 28 Days Later Omnibus.

I really enjoyed 28 Days Later when the movie was released in 2007.  It was edgy and inventive, and zombies were just “on the rise” then.  As the years have passed, zombies became second nature again with shows like The Walking Dead and the failure of 28 Weeks Later didn’t help impress.  This series however was a fun connection because it kept the best parts of 28 Days Later and sculpted it into a story to show what 28 Weeks Later was missing.

28 Days Later #22

The series really is a bookend series.  The action in the volume relates to events in 28 Weeks Later.  The Green Zone prison that Clint and Selina are trapped in is the same prison that the characters are trying to escape in the sequel.  The book also smartly ends with the exact moment where 28 Weeks Later ends…the Infected have spread to France with the crash of the military helicopter.  Fortunately, the characters smartly didn’t end on a down note by allowing Selina and Clint to escape “happily ever after”.

The story also did a nice job developing Selina’s “pre-Infected” life as a pharmacist.  It is a great contrast to show how her happy life was destroyed by the Infected and this volume gives Selina some hope.  She is able to put her past behind her and move on with Clint…and since they share a past of horror they can work together.

The art for the comic is good.  It is tough to recreate real characters in comic book form and hold true to the original look.  The story feels both in the art and composition like it could be storyboards for a 28 Days Later film and that is a great way to work for this type of comic.

28 Days Later was a decent comic.  It was great, but it also was much more highly developed than a lot of tie-in comics.  I like that the characters got a happy ending, but it does leave you wondering what happened after the infection spread again.  There has been talk of a 28 Months Later film and it wouldn’t shock me if it happened.  I’m sure if it does another 28 Days Later comic might surface…I just hope Selina gets to keep her peace.

Related Links:

28 Days Later 1:  London Calling

28 Days Later 2:  Bend in the Road

28 Days Later 3:  Hot Zone

28 Days Later 4:  Gangwar

28 Days Later 5:  Ghost Town

28 Days Later:  The Aftermath

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Weeks Later (2007)