Comics
[TV Review] “iZombie” Episode 1.05: ‘Flight of the Living Dead’
iZombie came back swinging this week with a great episode that featured the murder of one of Liv’s former sorority sisters. We didn’t get any Blaine this week, but Major is slowly starting to be brought into the fold. For once, the case of the week wasn’t the weakest part of iZombie. In fact, the case took center stage for once!
A common complaint in my reviews for iZombie has been that the cases haven’t exactly been the most interesting parts of the show (last week’s was a real snooze). This episode did something different, though. For once, the case was someone Liv knew, and the episode was all the better for it. Liv’s ex-sorority sister Holly went skydiving and was unfortunately skewered on a tree branch upon landing. Ultimately, the mystery of who murdered her (she was given GHB right before she jumped out of the plane) wasn’t that interesting, but it was unexpected that she got away in the end.
The case did give us two awesome things: a potential zombie romance for Liv and a guest role for Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars fans all squeal in unison). One of the suspects was Lowell (pronounced like “lole”), who turned out to be a zombie! The way he was revealed (by making insanely spicy cocktails for himself and Liv), was insanely clever. The zombie mythology on this show is refreshingly different. Since Live can’t be with Major (because apparently zombieism is basically an STD), it looks like Liv may have a potential love interest on her hands.
I’ve touched on this before but I feel like it needs to be said again: Clive is one of the best cops on TV. In any other show that has a vigilante-ish character, the cop would always be a thorn in the protagonist’s side. Not so with iZombie. Clive, while still out of the loop with Liv’s zombieism, works with all of the main characters and actually isn’t annoying. It’s a refreshing change for network television.
Anyway, Major goes to Clive to help look for his friend Jerome (whom we saw Blaine slice in half at the end of last week’s episode). This ultimately leads to Major getting the crap kicked out of him by Blaine’s henchman (was anyone else worried that Major was going to be in the body bag at the end of the episode?) and the reveal that Clive’s boss is actually a zombie! It’s pretty clever how the use of hot sauce is the giveaway as to whether or not a person is a zombie or not, but it was a little weird that the two zombie reveals in this episode were both made via hot sauce.
Overall this was one of the better episodes iZombie has had since it began last month. Here’s hoping it keeps delivering quality episodes like this one!
Random Notes
- Chapter Titles: Terminal Velocity, The Mourning After, Friends With Death Benefits, The Buddy Holly Story, Pale in Comparison, Live Til You Die. My favorite was “Friends With Death Benefits.” What was yours?
- Zombie Power of the Week: Daredevil-ism! Sort of appropriate given the release of Netflix’s new adaptation of the Marvel superhero.
- So Clive just leaves Liv in the interrogation room alone with Lowell? I don’t think that’s standard police protocol…
- Kind of bummed we didn’t get any more Ravi/Major scenes this week. Given the last we saw of Major, I’m not sure if we will any time soon.
- Why is Aly Michalka still a Guest Star? Promote her!
- Make sure all of your big problems in red on the board!
- I’m assuming all of you will constantly be watching out for the use of hot sauce in this show, right?
- “Holly, why? It’s so out of character for you to be dead.” -Peyton got a good line!
- “Shut up or I’ll eat you!” -On paper, this line sounds dumb. But McIver’s delivery of it was perfection.
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
You must be logged in to post a comment.