Everything Dead & Dying #2 Review

 

Everything Dead & Dying #2 Review

Writer: Tate Brombal

Artist: Jacob Phillips

Colorist: Pip Martin

Letterer: Aditya Bidikar

Cover Artists: Jacob Phillips; Dani & Jordie Bellaire

Designers: Dylan Todd & Courtney Menard

Editor: Eric Harburn

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: October 8, 2025

 

Jack struggled with relationships in his youth. He took friends for granted while most of his peers shunned him. When his parents separated, his mother gave him a chance at a different life. But Jack felt lost in the city and returned to the farm his father loved. Jack’s father didn’t love him, and the town he loved didn’t return his affection either. So, Jack devoted himself to becoming the best farmer he could be until Luke came along.

 

When their friend Elizabeth brings Daisy into their lives, the town he loves finally returns Jack’s affection. So, when sickness descends on Caverton, Jack cares for the inhabitants. Jack doesn't know why fate selected him to be their caregiver. Still, he spends each day assisting them. But like the story Jack reads to Daisy every night, each phase of life reaches its end. What happens when strangers visit his town and see Jack tending to zombies? Let’s leap into Everything Dead & Dying #2 and see!

 

Story

Jack's life only works because the zombies adhere to routine. But this morning, Luke and Daisy are disturbed. Jack gets them settled as Stuart arrives, delivering the phantom mail that never arrives since the world went quiet. One moment, Jack is talking with Stuart Jones and imagining his responses. Then, Jack is staring down at the headless corpse of his longtime friend. One of the newcomers, Sam, apologizes for frightening Jack. But Jack senses what's coming. Even though he knows this phase of his life can't continue indefinitely, Jack hides inside his house and shields his undead spouse and child with his body.

 

While Sam Jeffries shepherds his group, not everyone emulates his compassion in Everything Dead & Dying #2. Some seem more interested in what they can get than caring for any survivors they meet. Others view shooting zombies as a game or sport. Colette, who acknowledges Sam’s leadership while ordering the others around, views Jack’s actions from a religious perspective. While Jack feels a duty to the zombies clinging to their last day of life, Colette feels a duty to kill the walking dead. Sam shares Jack’s concerns that the plague is gradually ending life on Earth. But instead of caring for the undead, Sam seeks to build a community to preserve the living.

 

Jack found the strength to carry on by remembering the good times. When a member of Sam’s band shoots his friend in Everything Dead & Dying #2, the thought of losing everyone he loves overwhelms Jack. While remembering why he was drawn to Luke, all the ways he failed Luke come roaring back. Tate Brombal's story reminds us of the difficulties of caregiving and how our insecurities can endanger the relationships we cherish.

 

Art

Sam gestures to calm Jack, but hangs his head as Jack withdraws into the house. Behind him, Zeke, Colette, Ross, Georgia, and Mags mobilize, while Sam keeps his rifle hung on his back. Jacob Phillips' art shows how Stuart's death disturbs the tranquility Jack needs. He struggles to restrain Luke and Daisy. Luke’s former exuberance for society shows as he struggles to reach the newcomers. Or perhaps, the part of Luke that remembers who he was craves an end to his suffering.

 

Pip Martin adorns glimpses of Luke's former vibrancy with pink, yellow, and orange. Blue and purple descend when Jack remembers Luke's sadness and his life force ebbing away. Jack wears a green coat in his memories. As blood and bone splatter his windows, brickwork, and white T-shirt, gray and red fill the inside of Jack's unhappy home in Everything Dead & Dying #2. Yet some of the newcomers who killed his friend and disturbed his family wear green, like the farm Jack loves.

 

Aditya Bidikar places uppercase black letters in beige balloons amid memories and white balloons during Jack's altercation with Sam's people. Jack's narration fills pink narrative boxes with uppercase black letters. Letters shrink for lowered voices and grow bold for intonation. Loud voices swell letters and deform balloons. Slams haunt Jack’s memories and his present, while bangs threaten to end his dreams. Thanks to Image Comics and Tiny Onion for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Whether through atonement or love, Jack has cared for the people in his town for twelve years. As he spoke with them like coma patients, he imagined a spark of life still burned inside each of them. Jack nurtured that spark in the hope their consciousness would return.

 

Sam Jeffries' band of survivors comes from the city Jack disdains. All they know of zombies is violence. So, when Sam and his people visit Jack’s home in Everything Dead & Dying #2, they unleash a war of the worldviews. Both sides cherish life. But their definitions of life couldn’t be more different.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.