28 Days Later: The Aftermath by Steve Niles

28 Days Later: The Aftermath Reviews

• 
  Alexander Peterhans

  What was I thinking, Steve Niles could write a proper 28 Days Later book? Of course he can't! He can barely write his own vampire series.
  
  This has the same problem as the Boom series - it fundamentally misunderstands what makes the first film work so well (we will pretend the sequel doesn't exist). Small stories, about normal people, encountering the most frightening thing possible: the collapse of society and loved ones turning against you.
  
  Niles goes for the regular Hollywood bullshit, with bad faux-British dialogue. So now the Rage virus isn't just a science project by short-sighted scientists, no, there's a conspiracy, and the lead scientist is a psychopath.
  
  The characters all pop up in eachother's stories, which isn't helped by using different artists, which makes those characters unrecognisable from story to story.
  
  The collapse of society moves at breakspeed, there is no subtle creep of doom.
  
  We finish with survivors in a quarantine camp, who then decide to violently escape, with absolutely no plan what to do next.
  
  Ugh, stop doing 28 Days Later wrongggg!!
  
  (Read this yet again with the raging
  Kadi P Virus..)
• 
  Kadi P

  (Buddy read with
  Pclauint)
  
  I am woman of many words but I can only find one that truly encapsulates the essence of this comic and that is: dumb.
  
  If you came here from the
  28 Days Later comic series (like me and my wayward buddy reader) thinking that it couldn’t get any worse, then think again, people! It can get worse! And it did! So, so much worse.
  
  The plot was horrendous. The first two stories defied the definition of “Aftermath” by being set before the events of the movie this was based on. All of the stories required you to suspend your belief to the point that you just had to accept it when someone’s ear jumped off their body when they were shot in the forehead.
  
  The characters were just plain stupid. There was no logic. Every male character had an unwarranted amount of rage. The few female characters there were were so forgettable it was like they weren’t even there at all.
  
  Also, the art was abysmal. Half of the story took place entirely in shadows and the other half was drawn by a different artist who seemed to be an amateur drawing from his basement bedroom in the early 2000s. There was never any point throughout reading this comic where I could recognise a character because everyone’s faces looked different in every panel, even when they were drawn by the same artist. And that wouldn’t have been such a huge problem, except the story relied a lot on the reader being able to recognise characters and make connections between characters from the four different stories.
  
  Above all, this was yet another example of a creator who didn’t truly understand what made the 28 Days Later movie so good. It wasn’t about the zombies. It wasn’t about the post apocalyptic backdrop. It was about the character relationships, the heartfelt emotions, and the character progressions that you wanted to invest yourself in. None of that was present here. This may have taken the name of the movie, but it didn’t take an ounce of its charm.
• 
  Dan

  Don't know why it's called Aftermath...this is a prequel story to 28 Days Later.
• 
  Mirnes Alispahić

  They should've hired some of these artists for the main series, especially Dennis Calero. Niles wrote some cool stories and weaved them together. Stage 3 is the worst, others vary. In general, read only as a fan of Niles or movie franchise, otherwise read main series.
• 
  Colona Public Library

  According to the back page: 28 Days Later: The Aftermath begins before the hot movie - and ends with a shocking revelation that leads into the events of the sequel, 28 Weeks Later.
  
  I loved the movie and was excited to read this graphic novel. The Story was good and the illustrations were awesome. If you liked the movie, you will enjoy this graphic novel.
  
  ~April
• 
  Stephen the Librarian

  Like most of the readers of this graphic novel, I purchased this thin tome as an admirer of the film franchise. 18 Bucks Later...I found myself tottering on the proverbial fence, exclaiming "Ghaaagh!"
  
  Scripted by horror comic maestro Steve Niles and brought to life by three talented illustrators, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath is a collection of four short stories centered around the initial outbreak from the first film. Stage 1: Development reveals the origins of the Rage Virus in which two unhinged scientists, Clive and Warren, attempt to create an anti-aggression inhibitor via experimentation on the criminally insane. But when that proves problematic, they switch to using chimps as test subjects. In Stage 2: Outbreak, a British family is picnicking in a park near Cambridge University when an escaped monkey attacks and infects the youngest son, Liam. While en route to the hospital, grim mayhem ensues. Stage 3: Decimation follows a lone survivor, Hugh Baker, as he exterminates the infected amidst a now devastated London. However, when some bloke in a hockey mask takes potshots at Baker immediately after saving him from a swarm of zombies, Baker is determined to reclaim his turf by any means necessary. Lastly, Stage 4: Quarantinesees the survivors of the three previous stories confined to an armed camp. Unsure of the soldiers' motivations, whether they're protecting the civilians or preserving them for further experimentation, the survivors vilify them and stage a poorly botched escape attempt.
  
  The Pros: This book's primary saving grace is its impeccable artwork, which runs the gamut from efficacious to strikingly superb. The first and final stories aptly blend masses of dark shadows with glimpses of light to create a moody effect. Even better is the remarkable artwork found in the third story, comprising a ready-mix of scratchy, agitated line-work with a subdued wash. There's plenty of gore, the pacing is solid (though the stories themselves felt rushed), and generally-speaking, the book contributes to the undeveloped 28...Later mythos. What's more compelling is the juxtaposition of mankind's propensity for violence versus the insatiable blood-lust of rage-filled zombies. The uninfected humans behaved as violently as the infected, if not more so—and that's even before the rules of society are quashed by the chaos of the outbreak. Deplorable human nature is on full display, both before and after society has crumbled; the only difference is that in the wake of devastation, humans are better able to act out their primal aggression and twisted desires, thus attacking and ultimately destroying one other.
  
  The Cons: "The Aftermath" subtitle is rather misleading, since the stories here occur either just prior to or concurrent to the events of the first film. Another troubling aspect of the story is that Niles never really presents an opening to care about any of the characters. A gross lack of character development makes the reader feel little to no sympathy for them or their fates. Ambiguous motivations are another pitfall, and it seems that Niles relies too much on the audience to just accept what the characters are doing without any such rationale. For instance, Clive's sudden suicide attempt seems a bit heavy-handed and a naked attempt to end the chapter on a dire note. Each of the four stories would've benefited from even a few extra pages of solid characterization.
  
  While both riveting and flawed, this book will cater to lovers of blood-spewing zombies or any diehard franchise fans wishing to learn more about the Rage Virus. In one sense, this feels like an obvious endeavor to capitalize on a successful franchise and provide promotional filler for the sequel, as opposed to simply making an outstanding graphic novel. Even so, the artwork is damned impressive...if only it had a better batch of stories and characters to go with it.
• 
  Edward Taylor

  Steven Niles does his best to fill in all of the gaps in the 28 Days Later saga, including what led up to the creation of the rage virus (it is like the PAX from Firefly) and how it got out of control quickly. It skips over the movie and gives you a timeframe around the time before the second movie came out with the "rage zombies" and how they were still alive and well in London (and other places) around the world.
  
  Good story, answers more questions than it creates but the ones that it does add to are still a little hard for me to deal with. How does the sense of smell drive the enraged? What happened to those that did escape the camps? I also would have loved if he were to have also added to the storyline what happened to the government in the UK and maybe some of what came up around the globe due to the infection.
• 
  Terry Mcginnis

  A quick, chapter-based and self-contained graphic novel chronicling events before, during, and after 28 Days, leading into 28 Weeks. It is fun how the first 3 chapters all tie together in the finale. This is certainly a fun and brisk read, but if you're looking for a deeper and longer storyline, check out the 28 Days Later Omnibus, following the Selena character from the first movie.
• 
  Sam

  Fast 'n' furious zombie style action sure is here to stay! 28 Days Later is an instant classic, if ya ask me, TBH. Ya know, the one with all the infected dudes running around London trying to chow down on any folks who wander past. The same can be said for
  The Day of the Triffids, which served as inspiration. Steve Niles did an outstanding job breathing new life into the Zombie-esque sci-fi genre. But then what else would you expect from a mutated monkey virus? It did well round the world, so it was always going to have a sequel. Yes, those're really the rules. But the sequel is being handled by someone else. Now we have the first Fox Atomic comic, The Aftermath, released as a tie-in related to both 28 Days Later and its even more stupendous sequel, 28 Weeks Later. It's still set in London, which is cool, and the second film still has some cool English, Welsh, and Irish actors in it, although I'm a little baffled as to why Robert Carlisle would choose to play a role which is pretty much just head zombie. Anyway, about the book: this thing is nastier, gorier, and bloodier than the first, but it's less scary. It's going for the more usual scares than the more tricky style of the former. This is just a full on zombie assault that transitions into the second film immediately. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but the only thing is it just doesn't have the same effect as the original where you were wondering what was lurking in the shadows, or about to nibble on your ear from behind. Anyway, this is just another disposable thriller, as so many sequels are, which is just nothing like the instant classic the first was. Maybe the next 3 sequels will be better? It's kinda like other horror sequels that don't live up to the first. Well worth looking into for yourself.
• 
  Sean Duffy

  I'd like to choose 2.5 stars. It's nothing earthshattering, nor is it original, nor does it tell us much of interest at all. The book does demonstrate why it's a bad idea to switch from artist to artist in the middle of a comic. The appearance of one of the main characters changes so drastically that he doesn't even look like he's related to himself--if that makes any sense. Also, I'm not a big fan of the illustration style that resembles colorized photographs.
• 
  Robert

  A tie-in piece for the movies, but zombie lore is so prevalent now that it works just fine as a stand-alone.
• 
  David

  28 Days Later The Aftermath is a slightly misleading title since this book starts as a prequel too, then runs concurrently to the first movie. There are 4 chapters with the final one acting as a sort of prequel to the second film. The great writing of Steve Niles alone should please most readers, but the 3 wonderful artist Calero, Olmos, and Jones also did a great job on this. Some reviewers seemed put off by this being a graphic novel which is weird since it's pretty obviously what it is. My only complaint and another sore point with some reviewers is the climactic conclusion that is supposed the be revelation that leads into 28 Weeks Later. While not a bad ending by any means it totally deserved a 5th chapter to flesh things out a little more.
• 
  Peacegal

  A nauseating stench fills the air as the soulless creatures burst through the door. As I sit, helpless, they shamble closer and closer, their unspeakable faces twisted into hideous grins, their withered hands groping the air for their next victim. With mounting horror, I feel my own blood boiling with rage, the madness having taken over my own nervous system. Should I toss myself off the nearest precipice for the good of humanity, or should I join in the depravity?
  
  “28 Days Later”? Nope, just another day at work.
  
• 
  Alison

  Decent vignettes and story development, but rushed ending. Incredibly rushed. Also the storytelling feels disjointed, there were times I thought entire panels or pages were missing within one vignette.
• 
  Paolo Macri

  2.5 our of 5.
  
  Although it touches upon and explains why and how the virus from the film series even got started, which I thought was interesting and well done, the rest of the book its self bas very little self awareness seemingly.
  
  The first 3 sections of the book are 3 different stories: the first about the scientists that created he virus and why, the second about a family who feel the effects of the virus in the early stages of the outbreak, and the third about a guy who is surviving in london by himself killing as many infected as possible, yet for some reason killing the only no infected person he came across, just because he was in his territory.
  
  The fourth and final chapter of he series tries to bring these first 3 stories together in a way that feels sort of mashed. There is instances of people dying in this section that are characters from yhe 3 previous stories and we are supposed to care. But we don't as readers because these characters are barely ( and in most cases not at all) fleshed out to a point where you can develop any sort of connection towards them.
  
  If you are a fan of the movies, I would suggest only reading the first two parts of this book, as the rest is pretty pointless.
• 
  Malcolm Cox

  This is a companion piece to the film 28 Days Later that gives a little bit more backstory to the origin and intention behind the disease and then follows a family as the plague hits.
  It's more a collection of stories that loosely follows this one family and those they encounter but doesn't really give anything that hasn't already been covered countless times by other zombie tales. It does take different directions than you think it might, but not necessarily for the better.
  The artwork fit the theme nicely and I did like the transcript at the back of the book for one of the stories.
• 
  Jennifer Juffer

  After reading the other 28 Day comics, the ending on this one literally made me scream in frustration.
  It was interesting and filled in gaps, however, by the time I was done reading the last word, I thought "How utterly pointless in a nihilistic sense. Almost like reading a Crossed story.".
  
  It is worth reading if you're into the whole series, though. The art is good. The writing is good. In my opinion, it just didn't hold a candle to the rest of the series with Selena.
• 
  Red

  1.5 stars rounded down. Could have gone without reading this. At least it was short.
  
  It's just some prequel and filler material for the movies. Wouldn't even call it a companion piece as it followed characters that weren't from the movies. Wasn't "bad" bad, but it wasn't just "okay" either. None of the characters or plot mattered and it didn't improve upon existing characters or plots from the movies.
• 
  Rubén

  Like most people I think that the "Aftermath" title is a bit misleading since this is more paralell to the 28 Days Later movie.
  
  It's a great light read for anyone quarintined during an outbreak and as it takes us through the journey of 3 different people dealing with the Rage Virus that converge in the end.
• 
  Tara

  After it had sat on my Amazon Wish List for several years I really should have realised this was a comic strip book! The story was OK as I love 28 Days Later but I found the animations rather dark and difficult to make out.
• 
  Germano Dalcielo

  perdibilissimo. Disegni e storia anche confusi talvolta, poco fruibili
• 
  Katie Y.

  Read this when I was 11 years old. It was in the children's section. I was scarred for life.
• 
  Mikey James

  Quite a pointless link that's supposed to connect the two films (28 Days and 28 Weeks Later )
• 
  David

  The art isn't good and the writing is mediocre. I loved the 28 days movies. The comic is much less impressive. That's unfortunate because the comic has fewer constraints on imagination.
• 
  Cash

  Why are they always kissing random strangers for no reason
• 
  Ms. Boe

  I need more.