Crossed # 7 Holy Shit it's intense!

Holy crap is this series depressing, gross and engaging all at the same time. If you haven't heard of this comic book, well you're missing out. The print run on this book is very tiny, so it's not like there's likely to be a huge stack at your LCS. But let me tell you, Garth Ennis hasn't slowed down in his shocking ways as he's gotten older, it seems like he's only ramped it up a few notches.

The story behind crossed is pretty simple. The world has spun into a nightmare, with insane, psychopathic zombies running around killing, raping and eating the "normal" humans. If this sounds like a bad world to live in, well you're right, these people are being torn apart mentally and physically as they try to survive this apocalypse. Stan, who is the narrator of the comic book is telling the story of his band of survivors as they travel across the country running from a group of crossed individuals. He is accompanied by his crush, Cindy, who is the pseudo leader of the group. She has taken it upon herself to keep the group safe, since she is traveling with her young son, Patrick. It's not expressed how old his is, but he looks to be about 9 or so.

I am not going to go into too many spoilers, but these people go through some serious levels of hell in this comic book series. It's not for the faint of heart and I wouldn't suggest this to anyone who doesn't like harsh language. Some of the things written and shown in this book, cause my stomach to turn a little and my mind to need cleaning. If any of you know me, this is not an easy feat, but it manages none the less. I read this book and feel like a shower afterwards. Does this automatically make it a great comic book, just because I feel like vomiting after reading it? Well that's part of it, but I also love how much we start to care for these people after a while. I will agree on one thing, it needs to come out more often, so my compassion for these people, can keep some momentum, but once this reaches TPB format, I would say RUN out and get it. It's fucking scary and gross in all the good ways.

Garth Ennis is a great storyteller and Jacen Burrows artwork is graphic enough to pull the whole thing together. If you like a good zombie type story, then this is your baby. It's not going to win any awards, but it's definitely going to stretch the boundaries of what is acceptable in mainstream comic books. Avatar isn't mainstream, but Garth Ennis is. Read this book and get on the crazy train with the rest of us. It's a great ride.

Michael