Daybreak

Drawn & Quarterly’s hardcover edition collecting Brian Ralph’s “Daybreak” is gorgeous from a production standpoint, as expected. The content itself manages to be a completely engrossing zombie tale even though it doesn’t have the “all-new” spin that these stories often feel like they need. While “Daybreak” doesn’t have a new spin on zombie stories the way stories like “28 Days Later” or “The New Deadwardians” did, what it does have is an exceptional take on the execution of its story. Ralph ignores the fourth wall, treating the reader as a character within his book. His characters speak directly to readers and all the art is drawn to be consistent with the reader’s POV. Ralph doesn’t stop there. Not only are readers drawn into the story via their own POV, but the story actually engages the reader as a real character, giving them things to do that have huge ramifications on the story. The idea is bold, and more than a little bit risky, but the risk pays off huge dividends. It’s