Writer: Tate Brombal
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Colorist: Pip Martin
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Cover Artists: Jacob Phillips, Joshua Hixson, Sean Phillips & Charlie Adlard
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 3, 2025
Every night before Jack ushers his daughter off to Dreamland, he tells her a story. As their dog lies at Daisy’s feet, Jack shares his life story. His daughter enjoys hearing about how Jack grew up, met the love of his life, and adopted her. But why does Jack repeat this bedtime ritual? And how does it propel him through his everyday life? Let’s leap into Everything Dead & Dying #1 and see!
Story
Jack has a good life now. Or at least that’s what he tells himself. It’s one he had to work hard to achieve. As with anything in life, luck had to shine on him. Many people still shun Jack because of his differences. Still, he inherited his father's farm, nurtured a loving family, and befriended people like postal carrier Stuart, whom he sees every morning. And then there's Elizabeth. Jack owes her a debt of gratitude he can never repay.
Despite all that is good in his life, Jack suffers from a recurring nightmare in Everything Dead & Dying #1. He fights relentlessly to banish it. Still, it remains. While sharing Jack’s story and his daily routine, Tate Brombal intersperses the horror Jack endures with the idyllic life he cherishes.
In Everything Dead & Dying #1, we glimpse Jack's life out of sequence. What we gradually realize is how desperately Jack is clutching onto what he values. As he works on his farm and cares for his family, Jack also visits and feeds the other residents of his community. Trapped by disease, they repeat their daily routine. Still, Jack cares for them all, even those who scorned him because he seemed so different from them.
Art
Jack's spouse and their adoptive daughter glow whenever Jack is near. He cradles Daisy as he kisses her good night. Winding a clockwork duck becomes a morning ritual between them. Family photographs fight for space along the crowded stairway wall. Jack's spouse cooks flapjacks for breakfast, and they eat seated on wooden stools around a kitchen island.
Pip Martin adorns Jacob Phillips’ art with a pleasing mix of watercolors. Blue tones paint memories of scorn. Yet red, pink, and purple fight against the black infesting Jack's present. Vibrant green trees frame Jack as he steers his tractor across a gray stone bridge outside his historic hometown. Yet yellow paint drips down tall gray gates, as Jack brakes before towering, barbed-wire-topped brick walls.
Aditya Bidikar fills dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with uppercase black letters. Paper scraps contain Jack's narration, while smaller letters float in balloons with slithering arrows. Sounds rock Jack's routine in Everything Dead & Dying #1. Stuart bangs on the door when he brings the mail. The gates creak as Jack enters his farm. A shovel thunks into unforgiving soil. Yet most disturbing are the large words in jagged clouds that are not words at all. Thanks to Image Comics and Tiny Onion for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Jack worked hard for the life he wanted. He practiced patience until society changed to accommodate his needs. Life has proved a mercurial mistress in Everything Dead & Dying #1. Still, Jack gives all he has, all the while knowing he may never reclaim what he's lost.
Rating 9.6/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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