The PopCult Bookshelf

fatima-the-blood-spinners-hcFatima: The Blood Spinners
by Gilbert Hernandez
Dark Horse
ISBN-13: 978-1616553401
$19.99

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Gilbert Hernandez, one of “Los Bros Hernandez,” of “Love and Rockets” fame. He’s spent years telling engrossing stories with strong female characters, realistic relationships and plenty of twists and turns and fantastic situations.

So when he decided to take on zombies. I was already on board. “Fatima: The Blood Spinners” collects the 2012 mini-series that blends zombies with futuristic science fiction, government conspiracies and drugs. It’s a solid book that tells more story in its eighty pages than most comic books do in a four-year arc.

untitled-1-1336761349Fatima is a member of “Operations,” the government agency charged with cleaning up a drug-fueled zombie outbreak. This is the same agency that created the outbreak by developing the drug that caused the zombie outbreak, “Spin,” and is harboring even more terrifying secrets. Of course, their own members aren’t privvy to all of those secrets.

This is not one of the bloodiest scenes in the book

This is not one of the bloodiest scenes in the book

“Fatima: The Blood Spinners” is an intensely violent story, with elements beyond the simple shooting of zombies in the head. Squeamish readers may not be able to handle some of the excesses of the story, but the more grotesque scenes are necessary to tell the story of a deeply ugly future, and how love may bloom in even the most dire of times. It’s probably for the best that this book is not in color, though.

This isn't the goriest thing in the book, either

This isn’t the goriest thing in the book, either

ftbs2Hernandez has crafted a tightly-woven story with plenty of action, romance, gore and twists. As with much of his work, it would make for one hell of a cult movie from the 1970s.

This collection includes the complete series from 2012, plus a cover gallery and four pages of sketches and layouts. It’s a must-have for any fan of Gilbert Hernandez, and I highly recommend it for any fan of dark science fiction or quality graphic story-telling.

“Fatima: The Blood Spinners” is definitely not for the squeamish, but it is a rock-solid graphic novel.