I Am A Hero Omnibus 4

As I pick up each new volume of I Am A Hero, I ask myself: Is this where it starts to suck?

As I finished reading I Am A Hero Omnibus 4, I sighed and thought ''No, not yet."

One of the themes that runs through this zombie apocalypse saga is how people become unexpected heroes, in the process surprising themselves moreso than anyone else. The first volume centered on mentally ill manga artist Hideo Suzuki, but as the story progressed more and more instances of small heroism became evident.  From an elderly woman giving a teenage girl proper boots as chaos rages around them to those infected with the zombie virus struggling to save their loved ones, I Am A Hero casts a wide narrative net to express this theme.

The story also has shown the worst that humanity can offer, especially in times of crisis. This volume centres around Hideo and struggling Hiromi taking refuge with a group living on the roof of an open air mall. Hideo's relief at finding some sort of sanctuary is shattered as he discovers the truth: a cruel dictatorship has arisen among the young men ruling the terrified refugees, demanding complete obedience or face being thrown down to the zombie hordes below.

It is among these refugees that we are introduced to Tsugumi Oda.  She is suffering especially hard underneath the mall roof tyranny, yet still retains enough anger to survive. Much of the focus of this volume is on Oda, and how she still retains her humanity, especially when it comes to Hiromi and Hideo.

This volume highlights the monsters that people can become moreso than the threat of the zombies. But the odd zombies--or ZDQs, as they are called in the story--are given more light, as we see just how cruel this virus can be. These are not the shuffling, mindless hordes we see in Romero movies or The Walking Dead. They are just as deadly, but far more heartbreaking.

The volume also has some great action scenes, especially around an attempt by the roof crew to get supplies from the mall food court. At this point, the pages tended to fly by as I wanted to see just how in hell things would end.

I Am A Hero continues to be the best zombie comic I've read in a very, very long time.

Another Bad Day: I Am A Hero Volume 2

Remember when The Walking Dead was a must read? Seeing how Rick and his family could survive in the zombie apocalypse was something I couldn't get enough of. And then, somewhere, it stopped being good, or I'd just had enough. And I haven't watched the show or read the book in years.

This is my fear with I Am A Hero. I don't want it to not be good. But at least I can say the second omnibus volume is even better than the first one. Where the first volume spent a fair amount of pages giving us an idea of just who Hideo Suzuki was, there wasn't much in the way of zombie horror...until there was, and it just didn't stop. With the second volume, that horror becomes relentless.

This second volume continues with Hideo's first day, his horrifying first night, and the beginnings of his second day of Everything Going To Hell. We see his perilous escape from Tokyo on public transit, culminating in his collapsing at night in the Suicide Forest beneath Mount Fuji. As with the first volume, Hideo must also deal with his own mental illness as well as the horrific violence surrounding him.

This volume also introduces a new companion for Hideo. Her introduction is a masterclass in unsettling. Hiromi Hayakari is a teenage schoolgirl with an old soul. Her intense degree of empathy is one of her  strongest characteristics, one which may not be the best key for survival in this new world she and Hideo find themselves in. As the attacks continue, the two of them form an odd bond--Hiromi looks to Hideo as an adult with all the assumptions of wisdom and self control that term brings, even if Hideo is clearly not that person. Hideo finds himself uneasy with Hiromi, both because she's an attractive (much younger) woman and because he's still barely holding it together himself.  The growth of their relationship under fire is well done, as they both discover who the person is whose hand they're holding while being pursued by monsters.

I Am A Hero Volume 2 continues to be a terrifying horror story. Long may it continue.