Bleeding Hearts #7 Review

 

Bleeding Hearts #7 Review

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Colorist: Stef Bartolić

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Variant Cover Artist: Manny Vincent Carbonilla

Editors: Chris Conroy & Mathew Levine

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (cardstock)

Release Date: August 12, 2026

 

Poke and Mush have reached a parting of the ways. After learning that his best friend's heart had begun beating, Mush realized he should have listened to the mushrooms growing out of his neck. They kept telling him that there was something different about Poke.

 

Yet even if Mush felt betrayed by how Poke hid the changes he was going through, at least Mush didn't kill Mama. And when Mama returns, she brings a gun to the Live Ones’ hunt. Can Poke, Mama, and Rabbit begin again? And is Poke a Zombie, a Live One, or something no one has ever seen before? Let’s leap into Bleeding Hearts #7 and see!

 

Story

As they sit together, studying a painting, Rabbit tries to help Poke speak like a Live One. Yet, Poke's thoughts center on his friendship with Mush and the community he has betrayed. As she watches her daughter continue to ignore the facts and maintain her friendship with "Flower Boy," Mama's thoughts dwell on all the sacrifices she has made and what they have netted her.

 

In Bleeding Hearts #7, Deniz Camp interlaces Poke’s journey with Mama’s. With both characters stalled in contemplation, Rabbit works at her familiar occupation of bringing people together. Unlike Rabbit, both Poke and Mama believe their fellowship cannot last. Yet while Mama and Rabbit’s prospects for finding a Live Ones community seem unlikely, Poke still has a home to return to.

 

Despite rescuing her daughter from the ritual Out-Break hunt, Mama struggles with despair instead of celebrating her victory. Like everyone she has ever known, the Zombies have consumed her community and culture. Poke also struggles to know where he belongs. Since his heart began beating again, everything has changed. Poke can trust nothing, not even himself, because he is both dead and alive.

 

As Poke rises above the limitations of both communities, he yearns to help people from both cultures. While Rabbit has been gifted with overweening optimism, Poke’s efforts spring from his beating heart. Yet as opposing cultures clash, any offer of help seems likely to be misunderstood in Bleeding Hearts #7.

 

Art

As Stipan Morian's long, thin panels showcase Mush's relationship with the growing Zombie community, cartoony drawings symbolize Poke's personal journey. The mushrooms sprouting from Mush's shoulders highlight the Zombies' rapid growth. A woman's Ankh symbol suggests the community's long-term health.

 

After Stef Bartolić adorns Poke’s fight to reconcile his recent actions with a vibrant palette, Mama sits by a dying fire. The blue boxes and covered equipment turn gray as the flames struggle for life. After sepia tinges her triumph and failure, a red background highlights the violent nature of clashing cultures. Yet, when she feeds the fire, the yellow flames also seem to devour the surrounding blue. As Poke stares at a painting of white and violet flowers in a blue pot, his skin takes on the coloring of the leaves.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places Mama and Poke's black uppercase thoughts in white boxes. The letters in narrative boxes and dialogue balloons grow bold for intonation, and shift to lowercase for lowered voices. Poke and Rabbit’s attempts at communication change colors to match their skin or clothing, while raised voices accompany a fight for belonging. Yet while he struggles to accept change, the red beating of Poke’s heart suggests his desire for growth and beginning anew in Bleeding Hearts #7. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

While Mama struggles to find meaning in Human culture, the Zombies unite via their rituals and shared values. Unlike Mama and the Zombie community's leaders, Rabbit and Poke stare at the world in wonder. They may lack the certainty of the Zombie preachers' beliefs. Yet both prize life over codes of conduct, as Rabbit and Poke strive to help others in Bleeding Hearts #7.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #7.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #6.

For what happened before that, see my review of Bleeding Hearts #5. 

For what happened even before that, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4.

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

 

Bleeding Hearts #7 Preview

 

Poke and Mush have reached a parting of the ways. After Mush realized his best friend's heart had begun beating, he felt betrayed. He should have listened to the mushrooms growing out of his neck. They kept telling him that there was something different about Poke. 

Yet even if Mush felt betrayed by how Poke hid the changes he was going through, at least Mush didn't kill Mama. And when Mama returns, she brings a gun to the Live Ones hunt. Can Poke, Mama, and Rabbit begin again? And is Poke a Zombie, a Live One, or something no one has ever seen before?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #7 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp 

Artist & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artist: Manny Vincent Carbonilla

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price: $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (Card Stock)

Release Date: August 12, 2026

 

 

Can Poke be Forgiven?

 

 

After the outrageously bloody events of Out-Break, Poke is overwhelmed by guilt and the beauty of living things…but he also must reckon with the horrible choice he made. Plus: Cara and Rabbit’s final resting place!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #6.

For what happened before that, see my review of Bleeding Hearts #5. 

For what happened even before that, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4.

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

 

 

Bleeding Hearts #6 Preview

 

 

Everyone has their favorite holiday. For Poke, it's Out-Break. The annual event unites zombies as a species. As they gather in their holy shopping malls, the zombies look forward to a ritual hunt. But ever since Poke's heart started beating, he's lost his taste for Live Ones. Sadly, his best friend Mush found the mother and daughter Poke was trying to protect. 

Now, Mama is dead. And, as the zombies pursue the few Live Ones they have captured, little Rabbit runs for her life from the hungry horde. Can Poke rescue the girl from his own people? And can he continue to live among them, when their values suddenly seem foreign to him?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #6 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artist: Ariel Olivetti

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Age Rating: 17+

Price: $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

Release Date: July 8, 2026

 

 

It’s Time to Party like

You’re Never Gonna Live!

 

 

It’s the 11th Annual Outbreak! For months, hordes all over the world have been preparing to celebrate the unholy origin of our species with a week of Bone-Tower building, ritual Live One hunts, live food, undead music, and so much more! You are what you are—be proud of that and of death’s victory over life!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Bleeding Hearts #5. 

For what happened before that, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4.

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

 

Bleeding Hearts #5 Preview

 

 

It can happen without warning. Often, we don't know why. Yet one day, we want something different than we ever did before. Poke may have been an oddball. Still, he was a valued member of the zombie community, and Mush's best friend. Then, without warning, explanation, or desire, Poke started behaving oddly. Or at least, more oddly than he had before. 

So, Mush gives his friend space. He figures sooner or later, Poke will explain things, and life will revert to normal. Then, Mush discovers the worst thing imaginable. Poke has betrayed his community. What happens when Mush realizes that Poke has been feeding and protecting Live Ones? Can things ever be the same between Mush and his friend again?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #5

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artists & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artist: Chloe Brailsford

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

Release Date: June 10, 2026

 

 

Even Zombie friendships can be tested!

 

 

Can an unwitting act still count as betrayal? Poke and Mush’s friendship is at its breaking point, but can you fault someone for indulging their natural instincts? With Poke’s secret becoming increasingly hard to keep, it may end up being a question he must answer in front of his entire horde, in their most sacred of spaces…a shopping mall!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4. 

For how this series started, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1.

 

Bleeding Hearts #4 Preview

 

 

Ten years. That's how long it's taken for the zombies to eradicate ten billion living people from the planet Earth. But in those ten years, they've developed their own society, culture, and government. As supplies of the living dwindle, Poke's heart starts beating again. And when he finds a young mother and her child hiding at an old school, he hides them from his fellow zombies. 

Poke knows he's hurting his community. He fears the others discovering his betrayal. Can Poke help the woman and her child reach safety? And is Poke an aberration, or the beginning of a new phase of zombie evolution?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #4 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist: Stipan Morian

Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artists: Juni Ba

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock

Release Date: May 13, 2026

 

Will Poke’s best friend betray him?

 

How do you bond with a human when you have little humanity yourself? Poke is figuring it out firsthand, but his best friend Mush is starting to notice. Poke is disappearing all the time, and when he’s around, he’s barely interested in preparing for the joyous holiday of Out-Break. Doesn’t he want to celebrate the devouring of Live One flesh? Poke has a tough decision to make…but the collision of two worlds might end up making it for him!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #3.

 

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

Bleeding Hearts #3 Preview

 

When most people become zombies, they go all in, devouring any remaining Humans they find. But Poke is different. While the other zombies gleefully feast on a group of travelers, Poke hides a woman and her child. 

The mother was more optimistic once. She and her husband dared to bring life into a dying world. Now, she fears the zombies, and refuses to grow attached to any Humans she meets. Can she reclaim her belief of returning life and vitality to the world? And can her daughter Rabbit, and a zombie with a beating heart, show the undead community a better way?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #3 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist: Stipan Morian

Cover Artists: Stipan Morian, Nimit Malavia & Stevan Subić

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock

Release Date: April 8, 2026

 

Can a zombie have a change of heart?!

 

Poke returns to his horde after meeting Mama and Rabbit—profoundly changed and a bit confused. He’s experienced things he cannot explain…things like compassion and sadness. He’s tried his best to convince Mama that he means them no harm and that they should stay hidden, but for Mama, trust is something hard-earned. So how much of a risk is she willing to take? And can Poke keep the latest hunting party from descending upon their hiding spot?

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

Bleeding Hearts #1 Preview

 

 

Poke was like them once. But when he became a zombie, Poke left his humanity behind. Now he hunts humans for their flesh. He finds their hearts especially delicious. But he's never quite adjusted to life as a zombie. So how will Poke react when his heart starts beating again? And how will his community treat him when they realize Poke numbers among the living once again?

Here's all the info from DC Connect: 

Bleeding Hearts #1 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist: Stipan Morian

Cover Artists: Stipan Morian, Jae Lee, Nick Dragotta & Chris Bachalo

Connecting Variant Cover Artist: Álvaro Martínez Bueno

Foil Variant Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock

Issue Length: 40 Pages

Release Date: February 11, 2026

 

The red-hot writer of Absolute Martian Manhunter, Deniz Camp, re-teams with breakout artist Stipan Morian to unleash Vertigo’s first new #1!

 

The zombies won—and ten years after the fall of humanity, they’re the dominant form of life (or not-life) on Earth. They’ve developed their own cultural practices, their own language, their own society.

 

Mouse-Pokes-Golf-Ball-Through-Hole-In-Head (“Poke” for short) is a beloved member of his community, and with his brother-in-arm Mush, he’s happy to shamble along through the only world he can remember…until the day his heart mysteriously starts beating again. And in a blink, the first humans he sees have stopped looking like food and started looking like…friends…?

 

The team behind 20^th Century Men, the bold mission statement that launched writer Deniz Camp and artist Stipan Morian to the next level of the comics industry, has reunited to bring you a world ruled by ruthless kill-or-be-killed logic, pitted against the demands of a single beating, bleeding, emotional heart!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.