Review – Memetic #1 (of 3) (BOOM! Studios)

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Story: James Tynion IV
Art: Eryk Donovan
Release Date: 22nd October 2015

At last. What we have all been waiting for. A truly fresh, modern and prescient addition to the zombie tradition. Memetic opens on Day 3 when the world has been turned upside down. Dead people and violence litters the streets, the few untouched wander aimlessly amongst voicemails, Facebook messages and texts. Then in true zombie fashion we go back to Day 1.

And so the first issue of Memetic begins to lay out its cast of survivors, each one specially disabled in such a way that the ‘virus’ will be unable to affect them. Aaron, a teenage misfit who is deaf and truly colour blind. Marcus, an ex-Military Intelligence office who is blind. But what is the modern virus that being blind and deaf offers such protection?

A meme. The creators of Memetic have taken the notion of something going ‘viral’ on the internet and weaponised it. And spookily, I got a headache reading this comic. The meme is some twisted, psychedelic, hypnotic, mind-scrambling…sloth. Yup, a sloth. Does it turn us all into one?

People are unable to look away – hooked to their social media. Imagine (!) They become internet zombies. Until…well, let’s not spoil the fun. Donovan’s art is gritty, dark and foreboding. A few frames show Aaron in bed while his laptop with the meme grows in power and importance – Donovan makes it truly ominous and I could almost hear the macabre persuasion.

Memetic is fantastic and I am genuinely excited to see where Memetic goes. Or takes me. Now hand me a Ibuprofen.

Rating: 5/5.

The Writer of this piece was: Hazel Hay