Sci-Fi & Scary

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A book that combines vampires and zombies should not, by any stretch of the imagination, be boring. It seems it should be impossible to combine these two in any less than a fantastic way. Yet Max Brooks and Raulo Caceres managed to deliver something in The Extinction Parade so ridiculously bloated with self-important prattle that halfway through reading it, it became a sheer act of will to finish it.

The illustrations in The Extinction Parade Vol 1 are okay. The illustrator does what he can to keep the bloodbath going. Unfortunately, when the words consist of nothing more than endless repetitions of “It was awesome, and then we… Well, it was awesome, we were powerful, and then we… Did I mention it was awesome and we were powerful?” In the hands of a story that contained actual, you know, story, he might have been able to create something interesting to look at instead of “Look, here’s vampires killing humans…and more humans…and more humans…and the occasional zombie.”

There’s very little actual story development. I’ve already elucidated on my complete distaste for the prattle that passes as dialogue. There’s plenty of killing that takes place, but it’s meaningless background bokeh. It’s official, I can’t think of a single thing to recommend in The Extinction Parade. Well, I guessI liked how one of their posse told them off before offing himself, but… yeah.

Cthulhu on a cracker, who thought a book filled with this tripe was a good idea?!

As you can tell, I’m not a fan of The Extinction Parade. Even the last bit, which actually saw the two main characters deciding to take action, was so sullied by the utter immature whining of this ‘super-race’ that I couldn’t find any enjoyment. Yes, yes, I’m sure it’s only a slow start to a great series, and there’s lots of butt-kicking and gore galore to be ha…zz…zzzzz… It blows my mind that this is a collection. If I had picked up the first issue separately there’s no way I would have wasted my money buying more!

The Extinction Parade Vol 1 is not worth the time, money, or energy invested. Try ’68 instead if you want a better zombified read.