An ex-ballerina turned sniper, a toddler, a German intelligence officer who looks a little twitchy, and a german shepherd who got caught in the middle. Our band of survivors have made it to relative safety without dying or killing each other and now are faced with the decision of what to do next.
The second installment of Mother Russia fills in a little background on the mysterious German Wehrmacht officer who rescues Svetlana and her new charge from certain death at the gnashing teeth of the living dead. HIs name is Otto Steiner, a former intelligence officer, who gives Mother a little detail into how the Germans perceived the zombie occupation of Stalingrad. There is little here that the reader doesn’t expect, it pretty much follows the normal zombie apocalypse formula. We do, however, get the impression that Otto doesn’t hold human life in high regard, and is all too willing to “sever” ties with anyone he doesn’t believe is helping him. Foreshadowing alert. His dog’s name is Brunhilde, who according to him, doesn’t appear to have much in the way of National Socialist leanings.
As a reader, I was a little disappointed that Otto wasn’t a little more interesting, outside of his machiavellian humor. He is not nearly as interesting as Svetlana, and it’s clear from the outset that he is just using Mother to get what he can out of her. He makes it plain that he didn’t save Svetlana and the child, the dog did, and he saved her. The good news, is that they are safe in Otto’s refuge, the bad news is that he is out of food. Together, they hatch a tenuous plan, to make their way back to Svetlana’s supplies in the tower. This issue is mostly filler, and doesn’t show the same kind of panache, as the first installment of Mother Russia, mainly just setting the mood for the next issue. I would have liked to merge issue one and two, and have more of the backstory interspersed with the action, but backstory is somewhat necessary for any zombie apocalypse story. Take it or leave it at that. This issue also features a sneak peak into Fubar’s new project Fubar Declassified which features zombie stories in other military engagements. This one, is a short piece showing a zombie outbreak in the Viet Cong, dealt with by a well timed airstrike, that yielded much zombie flambe.
This issue could certainly have been fleshed out a little more, mind the groan worthy pun. Mother is still interesting, and remains in character, the dialogue is well played, I just would have preferred a bit more plot complication. The bonus story lacked the human element of Mother Russia. It was sufficient for an anthology, but certainly not as involving as Mother Russia. That being said, Fubar is still young and we look forward to seeing how it develops. Stay tuned for issue three, the last installment in this mini-series, it promises to have some shocks, thrills, and most important ZOMBIE HEADSHOTS!
One final note, this is an independent creation, so if you enjoy it, please show your support in every way that you can. Creating independents is tough for creators and publishers both. They don’t have the same resources of Disney and Time Warner. Buy the comics. Share them with your friends. Keep an eye out for kickstarters and fundraisers from your favorite publishers and creators. Finally, let your favorite retailers know that you want MORE of this kind of comic in their shops.
For more information about Mother Russia, please visit Fubar Press and Alterna Comics.
Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.
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