In this review of Everything Dead & Dying #3, as Jack is dealing with the loss of his husband, he has to focus on protecting Daisy. Can he succeed?
Everything Dead & Dying #3
Writer: Tate Brombal
Art and Main Cover: Jacob Phillips
Variant Covers: Jacob Phillips, Michael Walsh
Page Count: 40 pages
Release Date: November 19, 2025
This review contains spoilers
As Everything Dead & Dying #2 closed, Jack’s zombie husband, Luke, was shot in the head, leaving zombie Daisy as his only remaining family. This issue opens with flashbacks to when Daisy was still alive, learning about death and not wanting Jack to die. The story quickly cuts back to the action at Jack’s house, where he has taken a hostage, Zeke, the kid who shot Luke. After a shoot out with the other strangers, Jack is able to escape with Daisy and Zeke.
Jack brings Zeke to his meat storage locker to interrogate the boy, who we find out is only 16. Zeke doesn’t care if he lives or dies and would actually rather that Jack put him out of his misery, as the world doesn’t have a future. He and the other strangers are a scout party, one of many, sent from a walled city of living people that has outgrown its resources.
While this the discussion between Jack and Zeke is taking place, the remaining strangers come into town and see all of the undead just shambling around. The group is at odds with each other over these zombies and the fact that Jack is taking care of them. They end up finding where Jack is holding Zeke and strike a deal for his release. Jack just has to bring Zeke to a nearby bridge and the group will leave.
With the agreement made, Jack heads out later that night with Zeke and Daisy. Just as things look like they’ll be okay, Daisy bites Zeke’s arm. In a flurry of action, Colette shoots Daisy in the arm, Zeke steals Jack’s gun and shoots himself so that he doesn’t turn into a zombie, and Jack trips trying to protect Daisy from further attack, knocking her into the river.
Everything Dead & Dying #3 closes with two other members of the group, who had set off in a different direction earlier, arriving at the front gates of Caverton Farm, wondering what’s inside.
Analysis
Now more than halfway through the five-issue run, this title continues to excel. Tate Brombal continues to write an incredible story, mixing past and present perfectly. He starts one idea, such as Jack telling zombie Daisy that he’ll always keep her safe, and seamlessly blends it into a flashback where a bigot is telling Luke that the town isn’t safe with people like them in it. These flashbacks have been a key part of the storytelling and Brombal makes such great use of them. You get the full emotional impact because they don’t just highlight the happy times from the past. Brombal also employs them to show how the world was screwed up, even before the zombie apocalypse.
When Daisy gets shot and later falls into the river, you feel Jack’s pain because Brombal has been able to build a connection between the characters and the reader in such a short amount of time. This efficient storytelling is what drives the book.
Jacob Phillips and Pip Martin maintain their consistent style from the previous two issues with Everything Dead & Dying #3. They manage to pack a tremendous amount of story into each panel, especially in the action sequences. During the early gun fight at Jack’s house, there’s a lot going on from one panel to the next and you do have to fill in the spaces between, but Phillips is drawing in enough detail to make it pretty easy to imagine what’s missing. The color palettes that Martin uses have become familiar, making the transition from past to present day even easier to follow. The panels for the flashbacks are so bright and clean in comparison to the present.
In the final sequence where Jack is bringing Zeke to the bridge, it’s raining. This adds to the visual flare of the action. There are several panels on these pages, along with one splash page, that are especially visceral and violent, so readers should be prepared. If you’re three issues into a book about zombies, you probably are, though.
Final Thoughts
While Everything Dead & Dying #3 focuses a little less on the dead and more on the living, there’s still plenty for gore lovers to enjoy. It explores a wide range of emotions, as well as the lengths we’ll go to for those we love. Have fun, comic lovers!
