In this review of Bleeding Hearts #1, we get a tale of a zombie apocalypse…from the perspective of the zombies. But one of them has a secret he’s keeping very close to his chest…
BLEEDING HEARTS #1
Written by DENIZ CAMP
Art and Main Cover: STIPAN MORIAN
Variant Covers: JAE LEE, NICK DRAGOTTA, CHRIS BACHALO, ÁLVARO MARTÍNEZ BUENO, STIPAN MORIAN
Page Count: 40 pages
Release Date: 2/11/26
This review contains spoilers
Bleeding Hearts #1 starts off with a classic visual: a group of survivors as they run from a horde of the undead. One of the group isn’t lucky enough to get away, and finds themselves on the menu.
But this story’s not about these survivors, exactly. Nope, instead, we’re introduced to Poke (short for “Mouse-Pokes-Golf-Ball-Out-Of-Head-Hole”), a young zombie whose heart still seems to be beating. But because the heart is considered particularly delicious, he keeps that hidden. But at the same time, he’s not quite able to get the same joy as the others when it comes to ripping apart the living.
We also meet his buddy Mush, and get an overview of zombie society. They’re generally nomadic, people come and go… It’s mentioned that they don’t hate the living…it’s just that the zombies love life so much that they keep on seeking it out.
Poke and Mush, at one point, go out on a hunt, and Poke thinks back on how the two had first met: Poke had helped put Mush out when he was on fire, and the two had traded right arms as a sign of friendship (as one does).
Their trek leads to the suburbs, which they gleefully explore. As Mush plays around with an axe, Poke remembers when his heart had started beating again. He wonders aloud if the zombies are the bad guys, much to Mush’s confusion.
More poking around, and Poke comes to a bedroom where a couple of the other survivors from the beginning are hiding out, greeting him with a gun.
It’s hard to pinpoint what I love most about this comic, to be honest. But I’ll start off with the artwork this time around.
The artwork is really expressive, particularly in the faces. And I love the diversity of body types for every character, living and undead. There’s no way someone’s going to mistake Poke for, say, that trio of zombies that had clearly gotten into a car accident, or Mush, and especially not “Legs-Without-Top-Part-But-Doesn’t-Let-That-Stop-Him” at a distance.
The worldbuilding is pretty great, as well. These zombies may be undead, and they may not stick around one place for too long, but they do have their rules. If someone finds, say, a whole family, it’s considered rude (and a shunnable offense) if they don’t share.
Zombie hunters are cited as a thing of the past, because they’d allegedly all been eaten. There’s a conversation about the merits of breeding the living (on the one hand, ready food supply, but on the other, it takes the challenge out of things).
And then we get to Poke as a main character. His narration flows nicely, feeling natural to the character. Between that and his reactions to things, it’s shown that he’s got some level of compassion (that heart’ll do it).
Of course, the fact that he’s got this beating heart in his chest that he has to keep hidden is going to lead to some complications down the road. He’s pretty sure that Mush already suspects something’s up with him. And if that heart starts to pound audibly enough, someone’s going to put two and two together.
The fact that Poke and Mush had swapped right arms is also a great way to explain part of their designs. I actually hadn’t noticed that both had different-sized arms until that part of the story came up, but now that I know that, it makes me love the designs even more.
This story holds a lot of promise, and I’m eager as hell to see what comes next. So on that note, I’m giving this one a 5/5 star rating.
Final Thoughts
Bleeding Hearts #1 is an entertaining (and possibly even thought-provoking) perspective flip on the ever-classic zombie apocalypse, “Bleeding Hearts #1” is already looking to be a fun story with a lot of heart.
