Comic Review: I Am A Hero Omnibus Vol.7 (Dark Horse)

Dark Horse Comics releases a Japanese version of The Walking Dead in I Am A Hero on its seventh volume.

Now I literary said that this manga is like The Walking Dead series, but yeah it is, it’s like that where every city is surrounded by zombies. The first thing when I read the first volume of this manga on Barnes and Nobles, I wouldn’t notice if this manga is shit or not, just until it portrays as in real life or a TV show like The Walking Dead, but what I’ve gone so far, it’s just some lame manga artist assistant in his 30s living his life in his poverty way, however during his life as a manga artist, he encountered that anyone has ever seen from the movies or video games, a fuckin’ zombie. So the story is like killing zombies and surviving, but the series is actually published in Japan for a decade, but whenever I saw that book, it was sitting on the bookshelf of Barnes and Nobles, and to be real honest, I got curious and read it. However, this manga the plot takes a different toll because this work of art is too realistic, to begin with.

First of all, after all the trouble with the horde of zombies roaming around in Japan, the story took up in another place that there is also a horde of zombie in France. There’s no one around the streets, just only a French man looking for his family, just until he entered the church to hide from the zombies. And then it’s back to Japan when some lame manga artist is trying to survive the horrors of the zombies until he met with Hiromi, who’s gotten taller like an ordinary woman does. Then he reunited with another woman in the car, and they actually get along with each other. And everything else on the scene of the comic is loading guns and killing zombies. But by any chance, they seemed to find a way to escape and find shelter, but they actually find one which is some hotel with some hot springs. Everyone is excited but will they be able to survive?

To some point, there are many stories that involve zombie attacks or whatsoever, but it almost feels like watching a drama show besides The Walking Dead. If I could remember, there was a Japanese drama show that I watched where Japan has infested with zombies, and there’s some group who dressed like the Ghostbusters to capture zombies or something, I’m not making this up, it just occurred to me that kind of story is related or so. But on this manga, it’s nothing different from the TV show, but it just makes it more realistic to this comic to have something about humans and zombies. Kengo Hanazawa’s story and art make something more realistic for having a hero sets out to survive from zombies, but the art is almost portrayed like real life in Japan and the Japanese people. I can’t say why, but manga artists tend to have a story that is interesting that would probably make the story and art realistic. Some of it thought that this comic is a cliffhanger, but the point is that some mangas have to produce the story and art to be more interesting.

Kengo once said on the interview when that manga series was first made, he just thought what he wanted to start the series, depending how much time he went on the meetings to discuss the publisher about the story and the layouts. But he wanted to include the manga with themes of fear and destruction. He also said that the main character that he made resembles himself because it’s not just the resemblance of the character and the manga artist, he has troubles communicating and living in the real world just like everyone else.

Well anyway, I am a Hero is something that you discover in real life, but going to his imagination, the series has to turn into another world of The Walking Dead, but somehow it’s more than that. The manga represents as in realistic form. It’s just only a matter of time when manga artist has an idea to write a comic that is much more interesting to the publishers. If you rather want to read another zombie survival graphic novel like this one, then this is for you.