Chaos Campus 5

Chaos Campus #5
Created, Written & Lettered by B. Alex Thompson
Illustrated by Eduardo Bazan
Coloured by Schimerys Baal
Post-Scripting & Polish by John Ward
Published by Approbation Comics

Another great cover by Quinton Bedwell, and issue five of Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls Vs. Zombies (or, part one of the two-part "Haunted Hell House") opens with the girls (Jaime, Brittany and Paige) on the run in the aftermath of the suicide of their friend JK in the previous issue. And as expected, a pack of bloodthirsty zombies are maybe three steps behind them.

Breaking into a seemingly random house desperately seeking shelter from both the undead and the gathering storm, the collegiate femme fatales shockingly run into a group of fellow survivors from the initial zombie uprising at the partnered sorority volleyball tournament from the start of this eternally epic night (or iss one, for those who've been following along). A comical debate on race relations is interrupted by the brutish Kurtis Kasey (created by the mysterious artist known only as "Phantom Avri") and his even more brutish chainsaw. Yes, this zombie story has been hijacked by a slasher badass. But before the doom and gloom looming threat of the growing legion of zombies outside can make a return appearance, an entirely new evil is thrown into the lives of the poor, exhausted, scantily clad trio of non-superpowered heroines.
And as is becoming expected with the narrative of B. Alex Thompson's Chaos Campus series the movie homages and pop culture references are peppered in like a cajun free for all. I am starting to think that Thompson is a much stronger scripter than plotter, as the stories just surge forward like a runaway train. This is not a bad thing mind you- in fact it works well for a high energy action-heavy horror tale like this. The true character, however, shows itself in the dialogue of the story's players. The witticisms can be very sharp, very dry, and very very naughty.

Bazan's crisp art continues the feel of a house style for the series, though his own claiming of the issue seems to progress as gradually as the story itself progresses, dealing adequately enough with the problems of defining acceptable layouts for the many characters in this issue's story (though I will admit the Evil Dead parody/spoof looked damn nice). I do think that if this complaint might easily apply to any of the issues I've reviewed thus far, it is still only a small one to consider. On a better note, the end effect here reminds me of the works of some of the old Cranial Implant Studios guys, artists such as Chuck Wojtkiewicz and Chris Wozniak.

This issue finishes on a harsher note than any previous of the Chaos Campus series, with multiple threats and fewer and fewer places to run and hide left. The way things are looking, readers should probably start placing bets as to who will die next in the book, panty shots or no panty shots. My own reviews for Hallow's eve week will continue regardless.

www.chaoscampus.com