about the book
In the post-apocalyptic future, America is nothing but rot and ruin, with small towns enclosed by fences to protect their citizens from roaming zombies. Ever since First Night, when his parents fell victim to the zombie plague, Benny Imura has lived with his older brother, Tom, a respected zombie hunter.
At the age of fifteen, Benny has to find work or he’ll lose half his rations. He has no choice but to follow in his brother’s footsteps. With seven billion wandering zombies and just 30,000 humans left when the zombie apocalypse began, Tom and Benny had just barely managed escaping.
But now Tom is gone and Benny struggles to survive in this world.
Reeling from the events at the end of the prose novel Dust & Decay, Benny Nix, Lilah, and Chong are on the fringes of Yosemite National Park when they spot a jet streaking through the sky! Chasing the plane takes them through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, one step ahead of the zombie hordes.
The four encounter a group of people led by Farmer John who wants to rebuild the world…his way. The question is whether the four teens can accept his ideologies and worldview. It leads Benny to discover that humans are much harder to trust than zombies. While trying to survive in the hostile wilderness, get his head around Farmer’s plans, and come to a decision that will protect his friends, Benny learns that he has been wrong about many things, including the coolness factor of zom hunting, the true nature of zombies, and the true purpose behind Tom’s work.
All four are orphans now with no one but themselves to depend on. They all carry scars and have seen horror and murder…and it will only get worse. Benny, Lilah, Nix, and Chang bicker, bitch, and fight. If they get too loud, they might as well ring the dinner bell!
For fans of the original award-winning books, don’t be nervous. This new graphic novel series offers all new stories filled with the usual zombie mythology plus plenty of newfangled bits of zombie lore.
about the author
Jonathan Maberry can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to be a writer. He claims to be born into it. He works at an insane pace, writing ten hours a day, six days a week. He even gets up in the middle of the night to hammer out ideas. He lives with his wife Sara Jo and their dog, Rosie, in Del Mar, California.
It was his grandmother who fostered his interest in all things occult and paranormal. By eight, he had learned how to read tarot cards, and she had filled his head with all sorts of monsters and other things that went bump in the night. It may surprise you to learn that his first writing projects were not fiction.
Jonathan has written more than sixteen books on martial arts and self-defense. He holds an eighth-degree black belt in Jujutsu and a fifth-degree black belt in kenjutsu. He has worked as a bodyguard in the entertainment industry and taught classes for law enforcement and in self-defense.
Jonathan has written over 900 articles, lots of comics, and two plays. He wrote his first fiction, a vampire slayer’s guide, under the pseudonym, Shane MacDougall. Most of his fiction to date has been geared for adults, but his award-winning four-book Benny Imura series, written for young adults, has become a huge success. Jonathan admits that he based the character Benny on himself as a teen…goofy, brooding, and bitter!
Jonathon is not a huge fan of straight adaptation. He’s already written the novels and the movie, so when he was approached to do a Rot and Ruin graphic novel series, he decided it had to have all new stories…dangerous stories!
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Heroic Fantasy Writers
Also by Jonathan Maberry:
Bits & Pieces (Benny Imura, Book 5). Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 2015.
Rot & Ruin (Benny Imura Graphic Novel, Book 1). Idea & Design Works. 2015.
Bad Blood. Dark Horse Comics. 2014.
Fire & Ash (Benny Imura, Book 4). Simon & Schuster. 2013.
Flesh & Bone (Benny Imura, Book 3). Simon & Schuster. 2012.
Dead of Night : A Zombie Novel. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2011.
Dust & Decay (Benny Imura, Book 2). Simon & Schuster. 2011.
about the illustrator
Illustrator Tony Vargas is the kind of artist that likes to experiment and learn new things. He dabbles in classical styles to more modern techniques, from traditional pens, inks, and paints to digital programs. He grew up passionate about turning the visions in his mind into tangible images.
After graduating from an arts high school in Chicago, Tony went on to the Pratt Institute and The Illinois Institute of Art, where he studied 3D animation. For the last nine years, he has been working freelance in the comic book and gaming industry. His clients include IDW Publishing, Ape Entertainment, Antarctic Press, and Outcast Graphics. Projects include children’s picture books, the graphic novel series Temple Run and Bad Kids Go to Hell, and the brand new six issue graphic novel series of Rot & Ruin. Tony has also done character development, storyboarding, logo design, and 3D modeling.
He says it has been great working along some amazing talented people.
Tony still makes his home in Chicago, Illinois.
Sources:
Illustrator biography: Artattacque
Illustrator resume/portfolio: LinkedIn
Also by Tony Vargas:
M.A.S.K. : Mobile Armored Strike Kommand : 1 by Brandon Easton. Idea & Design Works. July 2017.
read more!
Bad Blood by Jonathan Maberry
Trick Croft is battling leukemia, so when a vampire attacks him, it is poisoned by his polluted blood. After vampires begin slaughtering his friends, he vows to become a vampire slayer. Lolly, a heroin addict, sees vampirism as salvation for her wasted life until she actually encounters the predatory bloodsuckers. She allies herself with Trick, and together they find a mentor, an ageless vampire hunter.
Daybreak by Brian Ralph
You, the reader, wake in post-apocalyptic rubble to find a cheery, one-armed man bending over you. He fills you in on what is going on. Seems the zombies have taken over. Better get moving man, the zombie horde is closing in. This grizzled old guy is your only life line. What are you going to do now? I suggest RUN!