Olivia ViewegBesprekingen

A moody tale of a zombie apocalypse featuring two girls on a desperate road trip from one safe haven in the German city of Weimar to another in Jena about 12 miles away. It's fairly typical stuff, with each learning about the other and herself but also about the zombies they dodge and cross paths with. The characters are engaging and the natures of the zombies are interesting if a bit vague and confusing at times.

There's a movie version I'm thinking I might check out sometime. There's also another, shorter version of this graphic novel and I wonder if it might be better without all the padding added for the film.

FOR REFERENCE:

This is an English translation of the German graphic novel Endziet, but it needs to be noted that there are two different versions of Endzeit originally published in German. The first version from 2012 is about 75 pages and was originally submitted as Olivia Vieweg's academic thesis. She adapted that graphic novel into a screenplay that became a 2018 film called Endzeit and also known as Ever After. So the second version from 2018 is a 285-page adaptation of the film's screenplay rewritten, redrawn, and eventually translated into English by Vieweg.

Adaptación

I was so excited to receive this on Net Galley for free and want to thank them and the publishers for the opportunity to read this wonderful graphic novel. Thank you so much for the ARC!
This is a haunting graphic novel that is told more through the images than the words. The art in this book is beautiful and powerful, I found that once I let go of the words and allowed myself to become more absorbed by the images the more I understood and felt impacted by the story. I love dark graphic novels and this one definitely didn't disappoint. I also loved how the zombie element was meshed with nature. It was really creepy and effective. I feel like zombies are usually seen as all dead and decay in the body but in this graphic novel she had flowers and life growing on her which I found very unique. The tone of the art reminded me a bit of the graphic novel beautiful darkness. Overall a great graphic novel! I highly recommend to anyone who is a fan of darker works of art.

*reviewed by uncorrected e-ARC through #netgalley

teen graphic novel (post-zombie apocalypse, brief touches on suicide/mental health & grief)
A fast-paced, satisfying read with a fresh take on all the zombie stuff. There's not really any romance between the girls, but Vivi seems to keep relationships with the ghosts, at least inside her head, and the ending is left up to interpretation.

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/rqgiALXqcAI

Enjoy!

Being a fan of all things zombie, I jumped at the chance to read this story by a new-to-me author/artist and the story premise sounded interesting. Vivi and Eva live in a walled city, safe from the zombies outside. Everyone has their job....including monitoring and repairing the fence. After an altercation with a zombie at the fence, Vivi and Eva escape the city on an automated cargo train. The train breaks down and they are stranded together between safe zones. They have more to face than zombies. Each girl is facing their demons. Vivi mourns the loss of her sister. And Eva comes to understand what transformation is in her future.

I enjoyed the art in this graphic novel. It's intense and perfect for the story line. But the story lost me for the most part. There was no background on the zombies, what happened, or much at all on how the town came to be set up or how it works/who is in charge, etc. And at times, I couldn't quite grasp what was happening to the two main characters, especially at the end. Not sure if something was lost in translation or if the story was meant to be secondary to the art.

I still enjoyed this graphic novel....but would have loved it with a bit more story and explanation of the situation. The cool art carried it for me though. I liked the use of color to make the girls stand out in the bleak, destroyed environment. The zombies are creepy...most looking like skeletonized ick. And the depiction of horde attacks were really cool!

This is the first graphic novel by Olivia Vieweg that I've read. I'm definitely going to check out more of her work! This one is a bit of a miss for me because I couldn't really follow the story line in places and some background is lacking....but the art is great!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this graphic novel. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

This is a cool little character driven story set in a post-zombie apocalypse Germany. It doesn't shy away from some of the sadder elements, like the ptsd the main character gets from seeing people close to her die. However, despite the things the characters go through or have gone through, it ends on a somewhat hopeful note. I liked this vision of a post-apocalyptic future, because it felt more true to life than the endlessly nihilistic zombie apocalypse narratives. The characters have conflicts within, between, and outside of themselves that felt equally as real as any "who's the real monster?" narrative, while focusing on the resiliency of the human spirit. The art definitely helped make some of the more horrifying moments a little softer, without taking away the emotional weight.

Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a post-apocalypse story that is simultaneously dark and hopeful with the focus being on the two character's psyches and relationship.

Dark and unsettling. This is the typical survival, zombie story. I usually hate dystopian/apocalyptic themes, but the artwork grabbed my attention. The story’s set in Germany, and some of the backgrounds are just beautiful. Apparently, the world went to hell in a span of two years.

There’s a clear contrast between the two leads: Eva is hardened and fights to live like a rabid dog, whereas Vivi is still naïve and wants to put her head in the sand with all that has transpired. The ending isn’t open-ended, but there are some implications. Idk how Eva teleported back to Vivi, but this can’t end well unless she becomes like Nezuko (Demon Slayer Kimetsu). Y’know someone that can withstand their cravings for humans.

An apocalyptic adventure!

The art style is vibrant and colorful, but isn't quite my taste and I had a hard time connecting to the story because of that. Unfortunately, I found it choppy and a bit confusing at times. Three stars for that reason, but just because it's not my cup of tea, doesn't mean it's not a great graphic novel.

Ever After has just enough Zombies and gore (not recommended for the feint of heart) if you're looking for a good zombie-filled story.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an e-copy to read and honestly review.

This graphic novel is translated from German, and I think a lot has been lost in translation. It is a post apocalyptic world where zombies exist. The reader follows a girl who is in a mental hospital, and tries at least once to kill herself on page. But then there are things with the nurses and other patients. Our girl escapes, and leaves town only to run in to someone who put her in danger. Eventually they both end up in a semi abandoned town where people seem to be half zombie, or maybe full zombie but nice. It is just really hard to follow and the ending doesn’t really make any sense.
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Heidi lebt an der Nordsee und ist etwas anders als die anderen in ihrer Klasse. Sie liebt das Meer und hat sich in einen griesgrämigen Hochseefischerkapitän verliebt, der mit zwei Mann Besatzung in einem nicht allzu großen Schiff regelmäßig zum Fischen auf's Meer fährt. Und natürlich von Heidi nichts wissen will. Heidis Freundinnen werden dann auch als eher oberflächlich dargestellt. Heidi will dazugehören, nur stellt sich bald die Frage, um welchen Preis.

Mit eher reduzierten Zeichnungen (neben schwarz-weiß wird nur mit einem Flaschengrün in verschiedenen Helligkeitsstufen coloriert) und knappem Text wird Heidis Entwicklung zum selbstbewussten Teenager nachvollzogen, nur dem Hochseefischer wird auch parallel noch etwas Raum gegeben.

Dieses Buch wird nicht die letzte Graphic Novel von Olivia Vieweg in meinem Bücherregal bleiben.

Ein Comic nur in Türkistönen, das ist fast schon genug, damit ich ihn mag. Aber nein, hier kommt auch noch Meer vor und ein flauschiger Hund und komische Menschen. Yay! (Ein bisschen heulen musste ich auch an mehreren Stellen. Was soll das, Außenseiter*innen-Absolut-Nicht-Kitsch.)

Außerdem, und das gefiel mir am besten, konnte ich das als aromantische Hach-Geschichte an das Meer lesen. Das Missverständnis, es ginge um den Kapitän und nicht das Meer/das Schiff, fand ich recht unschön. Aber nun sehe ich, dass der Klappentext die Kapitänsvariante nennt. Die ist dann wohl Canon?

Also. Ich finde es logischer, sich in Meere oder Schiffe zu verlieben. Aber tut was ihr wollt, ja. (Dafür den einen Stern weniger.)