During San Diego Comic-Con International 2015, as I walk around the Convention Center along with several tens of thousands of people, I decide to make my way outside to get some fresh air and meet up with Jason Kimble. Jason is a person who has been coming to SDCCI for the past 10 years, a man who loves the comics, arts and everything about SDCC. Prior to meet with Jason, we had a chat about what Jason was bringing, a comic book, a graphic novel that he himself created, call The Fatal Photographs of Philip Frowley.
Once I opened to the first page, I was greeted with a quote:
“…it was a bluejay and it was alive! I watched for all of thirty seconds before it flew off. I remembered thinking it was beautiful just before the murder of Crows screamed into the sky above me, and the bluejay transformed into a few tufts of bloody feathers.”
“That bird had survived for years until…today! Is that all that we are now, undead or going to be?”
That quote was from Philip Frowley, the main character you follow on this story of survival in a world full flesh eating undead. The story starts off in Denver Colorado where we meet Philip for the first time where his faithful truck has given out on him in the middle of Mile High City. Armed with a camera, Philip takes pictures of what he sees around him weather it’s the beauty of nature or the horror of what the walking corpse has left behind. His survival is always put to the test out running the undead and the animals of the undead!
As Philip makes his way through the story, there are flash back moments in between to catch us the readers up on what took place prior to meeting Philip. A single one to two page, small but full detailed on what that clue is about but not too much information is shown to the reader. Now as a comic book fan I really enjoy this type of time jumping, it keeps me interested on what is next to come on the nature and the cause of deadly outbreak named Dust.
As the story progresses Philip comes across or more to say saved by an older gentleman who calls himself Pop Weller. Pop Weller has built a place called “The Town” where people can live a normal life in a not-so normal surrounding. Philip also meets a woman named Shasta a survivor like others in town, but Pop Weller doesn’t get along well with but Philip will have a history with her!
As a reader and as a person writing this article up, I don’t want to unfold more of the story of Philip and Shasta. The story telling gets better and better and really pulled me in even more when I reached the half way point of the graphic novel. Now I can tell you something is that the likeness of Shasta was based on Jason’s real life wife!
Now the interior art and cover color was done by Jason, he did a wonderful job on blending in the colors using traditional style and using computers. The cover was penciled in by Mark Sparacio who took his imagination and ran with it on the cover and by the looks of it Mark did not hold back at all!
Now when I finished reading this wonderful graphic novel, I remember Jason stating during our interview is that this going to be a standalone and that’s my only gripe because I want to read more of his creations. But I am hoping that Jason will write another graphic novel and if does, I’ll be willing to wait!
”This book was a labor of love, and a testament to my love of visual storytelling and the medium of the Graphic Novel.” – Jason Kimble.