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Revival #7
Revival, Vol. 7: Forward
For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it's up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them.
Now, with Dana and her Reviver sister on the run from the law and an Amish assassin, acting Military Governor, General Cale unleashes her plan for the citizens of Wausau. The hit series created by NYT Bestselling author TIM SEELEY and Eisner winning artist MIKE NORTON is collected with bonus material!
Collects REVIVAL #36-41
Now, with Dana and her Reviver sister on the run from the law and an Amish assassin, acting Military Governor, General Cale unleashes her plan for the citizens of Wausau. The hit series created by NYT Bestselling author TIM SEELEY and Eisner winning artist MIKE NORTON is collected with bonus material!
Collects REVIVAL #36-41
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2016
About the author
Tim Seeley
1,455 books556 followersTim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
April 23, 2024
(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: Tonally bipolar, beginning with character stories, second-tier players, soap territory, picks up with action, retaliatory.
Notes: Tonally bipolar, beginning with character stories, second-tier players, soap territory, picks up with action, retaliatory.
August 27, 2020
Things have definitely headed in a different direction than I expected. I felt like we got sidetracked in this next to last volume with the whole drug angle and focus on these military people who didn't really figure into the story. While Amish ninjas are very cool, I'm leery of them entering the story at this late point. I'd rather it focus on the Cypress family. I hope Seeley and Norton are able to give us a satisfied conclusion in this next volume.
May 6, 2017
This one dragged a lot, with nothing new on the revivers' side, but a lot of stuff happening around the army. I found the chapter dedicated to what the characters wanted for their lives to what they really had quite boring. The soldiers were all living clichés (racists, sexists, whatever) and the time spent with the strippers didn't really add to the story so both things annoyed me and decreased the little pleasure I had while reading. Thumbs up for Cooper's comics and Jordan's involvement, they were my light in the darkness. It seems we reached the final turn in the series, with everything moving forward all of the sudden near the end, so it'll be interesting to read the last volume.
July 11, 2019
Ah the penultimate book - personally the most difficult book in any series - as here you start to see the expectations of the readers grow. Here you are laying out and often setting in motion the events you will see the final book come to witness and end.
And for me this book certainly starts to ramp up those events. Lots of answers are presented here to several of the questions made throughout the series - however there are many still left unanswered and in fact a number new ones added in to the mix.
This is a book that I think makes a lot of big promises the final instalment will be left to answer - then answer to whether it succeeds is for another book. However I think it is brave of the books creators to set up such a grandiose challenge.
So as is often the case there is a limit to what can be said about this book - not only for spoiling the series but also for second guessing what will happen in the next and final instalment - luckily though I bought all these books together making reading them one after the other so much easier.
And for me this book certainly starts to ramp up those events. Lots of answers are presented here to several of the questions made throughout the series - however there are many still left unanswered and in fact a number new ones added in to the mix.
This is a book that I think makes a lot of big promises the final instalment will be left to answer - then answer to whether it succeeds is for another book. However I think it is brave of the books creators to set up such a grandiose challenge.
So as is often the case there is a limit to what can be said about this book - not only for spoiling the series but also for second guessing what will happen in the next and final instalment - luckily though I bought all these books together making reading them one after the other so much easier.
November 27, 2016
Seven volumes in and still good. I'm just hoping Seeley can bring it to a close sometime sooner rather than later.
November 29, 2016
There are entirely too many plot threads and characters in this second to last volume for me to imagine them adequately wrapped up in the upcoming last volume. Not only that, we were introduced to a few more...an Amish assassin and her daughter. What???
Now, I really enjoyed the what he/she wanted in life vs what they got storylines. Reality can end up being very different than what you envisioned, so this was great character development for some of the Wausau residents.
General Cale has rounded up the ghosts and continues to keep the revivers in a holding facility, and it is unclear as to how much she really knows, and her motivations for her villainy. The ending of this volume throws everything into chaos, with many characters on the run. Not many puzzle pieces have fallen into place for me yet, so the ending of this series is anybody's guess. I look forward to seeing how Seeley and Norton plan on wrapping up this intriguing series and hope that my favorite characters have a worthy conclusion to this mystery.
Now, I really enjoyed the what he/she wanted in life vs what they got storylines. Reality can end up being very different than what you envisioned, so this was great character development for some of the Wausau residents.
General Cale has rounded up the ghosts and continues to keep the revivers in a holding facility, and it is unclear as to how much she really knows, and her motivations for her villainy. The ending of this volume throws everything into chaos, with many characters on the run. Not many puzzle pieces have fallen into place for me yet, so the ending of this series is anybody's guess. I look forward to seeing how Seeley and Norton plan on wrapping up this intriguing series and hope that my favorite characters have a worthy conclusion to this mystery.
October 18, 2017
The next chapter moves the story along nicely. I do see this as the type of story with a beginning, middle and end and from what I understand the story wraps up in the next volume. There's a lot of plot threads to tie up, so that last volume should be a doozy. Not a bad read, and I'm still looking forward to finding out exactly what's being on in this one. A very different type of "zombie" tale for sure.
UPDATE: The prior review still stands, I just hope the conclusion is satisfying!
UPDATE: The prior review still stands, I just hope the conclusion is satisfying!
December 10, 2018
As the book before didn't bring anything actually shocking, this one went nuts. As if someone waiting on a bus and telling you a story finds out the bus is about the corner and he speeds up to finish the story. It didn't feel wrong, but it didn't feel right either. Maybe the problem, for me, is that "movie narrative" I mentioned with a note on the previous book. But there is more to that - I've accustomed that the comics series are like a movie (one complete series up to twelve issues) or like TV shows (continuing main story and closed story arcs). And Revival feels like it was written like the first, but actually created as the latter one. And I realized my luck here - if I started reading the Revival at the beginning, the waiting eventually would shatter any will to continue reading it. But I waited until Revival finished (and then I waited some more...) and I was able just to read it whole at one row and that helped me. But I'm still disappointed how Revival turned out (even this book was actually better fun than previous two).
August 29, 2017
An Amish ninja assassin? Wow!
General Cale's true agenda is revealed.
Oh, how I want her to die so badly.
General Cale's true agenda is revealed.
Oh, how I want her to die so badly.
April 30, 2018
As if this whole series wasn’t awesome enough, there are now Amish assassins. Because of course there are.
April 11, 2017
Sidetracked.
World: The art is great, wonderful emotions. The world building is solid but at this moment it has sidetracked and dealt with town stuff instead of the core mystery and creating pieces which honestly are not needed.
Story: Sidetracked by other tales of other people. Sure we care for Nikki but the drug stuff was a waste of precious pages. We are heading towards the end and this was not needed. The farm stuff was good but also not the full focus. We now have only six issues to get to the core and with all the side stories and threads still here and being created...I'm worried if this series will stick the landing.
Characters: Flawed and deep. Existing characters are great but there are so many moving pieces that I don't care about. Drugs, stupid. Amish ninja assassin, stupid...yeah.
Lost focus.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is great, wonderful emotions. The world building is solid but at this moment it has sidetracked and dealt with town stuff instead of the core mystery and creating pieces which honestly are not needed.
Story: Sidetracked by other tales of other people. Sure we care for Nikki but the drug stuff was a waste of precious pages. We are heading towards the end and this was not needed. The farm stuff was good but also not the full focus. We now have only six issues to get to the core and with all the side stories and threads still here and being created...I'm worried if this series will stick the landing.
Characters: Flawed and deep. Existing characters are great but there are so many moving pieces that I don't care about. Drugs, stupid. Amish ninja assassin, stupid...yeah.
Lost focus.
Onward to the next book!
August 28, 2016
This odd series looks to be coming to an end. Much like Chew, this series is one of the strongest in the Image Comics arsenal and issue after issue it has delivered something dark and unique. There is no shortage of blood and guts in this chapter and we finally get that one step closer to learning the truth of the revival. Some of the support characters fall to the side as the township falls into chaos, they either mean nothing to the overall plot or are going to be unleashed in what I feel will be the final issue. I've grown to really enjoy this series but it does need to end to ensure it doesn't grow weak like most TV shows. The final shot of the glowing from the stomach was epic and I can't wait to see what the creators have installed for us.
September 14, 2016
This series is drawing to a close – it's getting very good!
If you've not read the six previous volumes of this comic series, this will be a bit of a mystery to the reader. It's a very good series which had improved as it goes along, dealing with a phenomenon where various dead people are “revived” to live amongst the locals in a small US town. The characters are well-developed and sometimes it is hard to keep track of who they all are, especially if there's a sizeable gap between volumes being published.
It is clearly-illustrated and this volume has plenty of gore and blood. It's a series which I recommend and hopefully there will be one more volume – and one only.
If you've not read the six previous volumes of this comic series, this will be a bit of a mystery to the reader. It's a very good series which had improved as it goes along, dealing with a phenomenon where various dead people are “revived” to live amongst the locals in a small US town. The characters are well-developed and sometimes it is hard to keep track of who they all are, especially if there's a sizeable gap between volumes being published.
It is clearly-illustrated and this volume has plenty of gore and blood. It's a series which I recommend and hopefully there will be one more volume – and one only.
October 2, 2020
This volume felt like it took a wrong path and we got sidetracked from the plot. It's the second to last volume, and it feels like we are dragging on at this point instead of wrapping up. The characters are still good and the overall story arch has been good, just wish this volume was more streamlined. I hope all loose ends get tied up and the ending is satisfying.
Read
November 26, 2016I was fine with the revenant cheeseheads. If we assume this is a slightly less grim near future than the one in which we find ourselves, I can maybe even buy the black lesbian general at the head of martial law in a pretty white area. But at the Amish ninja, I draw the line.
Shelved as 'read-in-a-different-collection'
April 10, 2018Read as part of the Revival Deluxe Collection, Volume 4
April 26, 2017
Tim Seely does it again. The thrill and excitment in the revival community is sustained.
July 19, 2017
I'm impressed that the story can keep me involved and engaged for this long in the story!
May 8, 2020
Time to tie loose ends.
The motive as to why revivers are being kept locked up has finally come to surface. It makes perfect sense. The big question now is : Do we grant them citizen rights, or do we keep trying to kill them (once more) ?
The motive as to why revivers are being kept locked up has finally come to surface. It makes perfect sense. The big question now is : Do we grant them citizen rights, or do we keep trying to kill them (once more) ?
March 2, 2020
Eine gelungene Fortsetzung, die allerdings ein wenig Tempo missen lässt. Ich mag die Geschichte - aber ich finde, es könnte langsam ein wenig voran gehen...
May 8, 2022
(Zero spoiler review - best read my previous reviews for context) 3.5/5
I knew it! I just knew it! I could smell the book I had fallen for over the previous three hardcover collections coming apart at the seams towards the end of the third volume. I delved into this somewhat in my previous reviews, although maybe I was a little starry eyed, maybe I was in denial just a pinch. Maybe I was just hoping this book would skip the landing. And while I wouldn't say it fell flat on its face, it certainly tripped and stumbled, or landed on its ass even? OK, so a little spoiler free context to go with this disappointment I'm feeling, whilst its still fresh.
As soon as I finished this series, I toddled over to my computer and started this review, not exactly sure whether I was more angry or disappointed. I wasn't sure whether I could do justice to my feelings without doing spoilers. I would really enjoy being able to disseminate exactly what went wrong with this final arc, as it would definitely help to get a little of this pent up frustration out. It certainly would be cathartic in some way. But I'll stick with the spoiler free and do my best without spoiling what this book becomes, though if you have read up to this point, I would imagine you would be committed to the series and aren't worrying so much what others say about it now.
So, where did this go wrong in my opinion. The strength of the story, at least in my opinion, was the small town character study it started out as. It reminded me of my favourite Stephen King story, Under the Dome. Now, I know many will disagree with that choice, but what it started out as a brilliant examination of a small town, with a small town mentality caught in the middle of an unprecedented crisis. Now, the characters in Revival, now the narrative flow were not as good as King when he was really cooking, but it appealed to me for the same reasons. From the outset, you could tell Revival was building to something. amidst the supernatural tones, there was something grounded and human keeping it centered. It was a character study of people when confronted by a revelatory event. But towards the end of the third run, and absolutely in the fourth, that more grounded, more simple aspect was well and truly thrown to the wayside, replaced by what can only be described as a ridiculous, uninteresting and poorly executed B movie plot, littered with plot contrivances, numerous plot conveniences and characters decision which were either nonsensical or downright degrading to what they had become (a few in particular). What was previously a well paced slow burn became a rushed and muddled mess. Yes, there needs to be an inevitable ratcheting up in pace as the story draws to a conclusion, but this here is not how you do it. It was jumbled and jumpy, which only added to the disaffection I felt with where the story was heading. If it took its time and sold it a little more, I'd be more inclined to get onboard. I won't belabor these points, although I really can't stress enough how I feel the author really shat the bed with where he ultimate went with this, particularly in the final six issues, though the opening six issues weren't exactly stellar either. I also felt a bit of wokeness creeping in here and there as well, but I'll simply mention it, and leave it there.
A positive I should mention before wrapping this up is Mike Norton's artwork. The man kept improving throughout the series, and this final arc had some gorgeous art to accompany a lackluster story, which is always a shame. if the words improved like the man's drawing did, then we would have been in for something special.
So, I was right, although I take no joy in that admission. If I'm honest, I kind of thought it might have gone to pot a little sooner than this, so I got a good thirty plus issues of solidly strong content, before it came unstuck. The sad thing was, if Seeley had simply stuck to his guns and kept things going as they were, and reigned in a few of is more outlandish choices in this final arc, it could have been oh so different. We could have been looking at one of my favourite series, for its length and consistency if nothing else. But heavy lies the crown, and after such a long run, people remember the finish far more than they remember the beginning. Just look at Game of Thrones. This series didn't screw things up as badly as what that abortion turned into. But nor was Revival as good as Thrones was in its heyday. So, should you read this series, should you happen to be reading this without having started it. Yes, I would ultimately say so. Would I reread it. Hmmm, maybe. I'd likely skip the last book though. I'll give it a few years between reads though. Right now, the taste of shit is still just a little too fresh. 3.5/5
OmniBen
I knew it! I just knew it! I could smell the book I had fallen for over the previous three hardcover collections coming apart at the seams towards the end of the third volume. I delved into this somewhat in my previous reviews, although maybe I was a little starry eyed, maybe I was in denial just a pinch. Maybe I was just hoping this book would skip the landing. And while I wouldn't say it fell flat on its face, it certainly tripped and stumbled, or landed on its ass even? OK, so a little spoiler free context to go with this disappointment I'm feeling, whilst its still fresh.
As soon as I finished this series, I toddled over to my computer and started this review, not exactly sure whether I was more angry or disappointed. I wasn't sure whether I could do justice to my feelings without doing spoilers. I would really enjoy being able to disseminate exactly what went wrong with this final arc, as it would definitely help to get a little of this pent up frustration out. It certainly would be cathartic in some way. But I'll stick with the spoiler free and do my best without spoiling what this book becomes, though if you have read up to this point, I would imagine you would be committed to the series and aren't worrying so much what others say about it now.
So, where did this go wrong in my opinion. The strength of the story, at least in my opinion, was the small town character study it started out as. It reminded me of my favourite Stephen King story, Under the Dome. Now, I know many will disagree with that choice, but what it started out as a brilliant examination of a small town, with a small town mentality caught in the middle of an unprecedented crisis. Now, the characters in Revival, now the narrative flow were not as good as King when he was really cooking, but it appealed to me for the same reasons. From the outset, you could tell Revival was building to something. amidst the supernatural tones, there was something grounded and human keeping it centered. It was a character study of people when confronted by a revelatory event. But towards the end of the third run, and absolutely in the fourth, that more grounded, more simple aspect was well and truly thrown to the wayside, replaced by what can only be described as a ridiculous, uninteresting and poorly executed B movie plot, littered with plot contrivances, numerous plot conveniences and characters decision which were either nonsensical or downright degrading to what they had become (a few in particular). What was previously a well paced slow burn became a rushed and muddled mess. Yes, there needs to be an inevitable ratcheting up in pace as the story draws to a conclusion, but this here is not how you do it. It was jumbled and jumpy, which only added to the disaffection I felt with where the story was heading. If it took its time and sold it a little more, I'd be more inclined to get onboard. I won't belabor these points, although I really can't stress enough how I feel the author really shat the bed with where he ultimate went with this, particularly in the final six issues, though the opening six issues weren't exactly stellar either. I also felt a bit of wokeness creeping in here and there as well, but I'll simply mention it, and leave it there.
A positive I should mention before wrapping this up is Mike Norton's artwork. The man kept improving throughout the series, and this final arc had some gorgeous art to accompany a lackluster story, which is always a shame. if the words improved like the man's drawing did, then we would have been in for something special.
So, I was right, although I take no joy in that admission. If I'm honest, I kind of thought it might have gone to pot a little sooner than this, so I got a good thirty plus issues of solidly strong content, before it came unstuck. The sad thing was, if Seeley had simply stuck to his guns and kept things going as they were, and reigned in a few of is more outlandish choices in this final arc, it could have been oh so different. We could have been looking at one of my favourite series, for its length and consistency if nothing else. But heavy lies the crown, and after such a long run, people remember the finish far more than they remember the beginning. Just look at Game of Thrones. This series didn't screw things up as badly as what that abortion turned into. But nor was Revival as good as Thrones was in its heyday. So, should you read this series, should you happen to be reading this without having started it. Yes, I would ultimately say so. Would I reread it. Hmmm, maybe. I'd likely skip the last book though. I'll give it a few years between reads though. Right now, the taste of shit is still just a little too fresh. 3.5/5
OmniBen
December 29, 2019
See review for Vol. 1
September 29, 2018
Things are tumbling towards the end...seems a bit late to bring in a new character, especially one that clearly has a TON of backstory. Now the real question - can this have a satisfying ending?
February 14, 2017
For some reason, I thought this was the final volume of Revival. That may have colored my opinion a bit as I read, because I was pretty disappointed this was the last "hurrah."
Definitely not as good as previous entries in the series. We're introduced to an Amish ninja lady and her daughter; should be badass, no? Well, the series is coming to a close, and there's really no time to devote to her, so she ends up as a dangling participle.
However, there was one issue that really made the whole arc worth it: it introduces each character as what they wanted, vs. their reality. A stripper who wanted to be an astronaut, a burnout who just wanted to love his high school girlfriend. Pretty touching stuff in a series about life not turning out the way you expected it to.
Definitely not as good as previous entries in the series. We're introduced to an Amish ninja lady and her daughter; should be badass, no? Well, the series is coming to a close, and there's really no time to devote to her, so she ends up as a dangling participle.
However, there was one issue that really made the whole arc worth it: it introduces each character as what they wanted, vs. their reality. A stripper who wanted to be an astronaut, a burnout who just wanted to love his high school girlfriend. Pretty touching stuff in a series about life not turning out the way you expected it to.
January 29, 2017
Excellent! The main storyline remains the same as established in Vol.1, but in the last couple volumes some of the subplots have been resolved & new ones have taken their place. For a short time I got worried, I didn't know if liked the new direction things were going & I didn't know if I liked the new characters. However the new characters & subplots turned out to be just as good as the first & maybe even better! I just can't say enough good things about this series,...great writing & artwork, very compelling & entertaining story. This is without a doubt my favorite comic series of all time & its a bummer that Vol.7, (which unfortunately hasn't been released yet) is the final volume. I can't wait for the final volume so I'm just gonna finish this series by reading the individual issues, 5 of the 6 final issues are now available & the final issue comes out in a few weeks. I highly recommend this to anyone that wants to read a great story.
September 8, 2016
I still can't fault the series even this far in. It still requires a cursory flick through of previous volumes to refresh my memory but it all comes back pretty quick and I'll be very glad to reread the whole thing when it's done. It still has some of the most interesting, well developed characters around, and for the most part you're interested in what happens with all of them. This might be a problem in the long run as the series is beginning to wrap up but hopefully they'll be able to pull off a satisfying conclusion. This volume slows the pace a little, catches up with a few people, introduces others, and then erupts at the end with a few points of no return that make me even more excited for the final push. I'll be sad when it's finished but I also cannot wait.
March 1, 2017
Back in the beginning, I remember saying that I wondered if Seeley and Norton would manage to keep the high wire act going all the way to the end. Well...they didn't. They seem to have gone for the Lost school of storytelling (throw shit out there and see what sticks), and the ever-increasing number of subplots, secondary characters, and ludicrous groups only served to bury the leads and lose supporting characters like Ramin. The less said about the sword-carrying Amish Ninja (who gets around on a pedal trike) and her Hit-Girl daughter, the better...unfortunately, those two do figure into the end of this mess.
It started out with such promise, too.
It started out with such promise, too.
February 6, 2017
I think Volume 7 did a much better job of moving the story forward than the previous volume did. It was easier to tell the two sisters apart. But the best and most surprising part was . . .
[spoiler space]
[a little more]
[spoiler ahoy]
AAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSHHHHH NIIIIIIIIIIINNNJAAAAAAAA
[spoiler space]
[a little more]
[spoiler ahoy]
AAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSHHHHH NIIIIIIIIIIINNNJAAAAAAAA
August 29, 2017
Weird, jacked up and just plain creepy. This book defies easy classification. Another interesting addition to this series, and I am super excited for the next trade!
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