Rot & Ruin #3 Review

Rot & Ruin #3

 

Written by: Jonathan Maberry
Art by: Tony Vargas
Coloured by: Oliver Lee Arce
Published by: IDW Publishing
 

Following the arrival of Benny, Nix, Chong, and Lilah at the seemingly wholesome farm of Farmer John, the quartet take some time out from their journey to test the waters of the farm. The issue is a 70/30 split in terms of the story, the final third is where all the action is, the first segment is the set up. In terms of pace, Jonathan has the story clipping along sedately, drawing out the characters and setting the scene for the big reveal that is the turning point for Benny and company at the farm.RNR

The change of pace is well handled and really sets the book off nicely in the final portion. Since the reader has already been given an insight as to the big reveal, we view the charm and rationale of Farmer John with all the contempt and suspicion that it deserves. There is a minor false step in the character of Lilah here; she is a feral character, one not prone to trust, yet her reaction to her surroundings and the people at the farm is decidedly muted. If anything, she should have been screaming with distrust. Still, considering the age of the group, maybe some lingering youthful naivety is at play. That one minor issue does not detract from what is quite a nice, flowing story. Like the better zombie stories out there, one of the main unifying concepts, is the inherent evil of humans. Maberry uses this to good effect in this book; okay, it is far from a new concept, but what is?

In terms of where the story will go from here, we have characters ripe with righteous indignation, of the threat to their lives and the repercussions of violence. With a perilous situation enveloping our heroes, of an unfolding evil all around them, the next instalment should be a very fun book. This is an improving series, one that started tamely, but is developing into quite an entertaining story. Maberry is working well with the pace, and the character dynamics come across well. The story is amply supported by Vargas on art and Arce on colors. With any luck, issue 4 should be a further expansion on the good work in issues 2 & 3.

Overall Score: 8/10