IZOMBIE

An ongoing^[when?] Vertigo Comics series about Gwen Dylan, a woman brought back from the dead for mysterious reasons. The series started in July, 2010. Set in Eugene, Oregon, Gwen has to face a preponderance of supernatural threats alongside her twentysomething life. Drawn by Mad Man author Mike Allred and written by Chris Roberson.

The iZOMBIE mythology classifies supernatural creatures using the Egyptian concept of an oversoul (memories, rational thought) and an undersoul (passion, animalistic). Central character John Amon lays it out thusly:

• Ghosts: A roaming oversoul.
• Poltergeists: A roaming undersoul.
• Zombies: A revived body with only an oversoul, with little emotion or drive.
• Vampires: A revived body with only an undersoul, with an animal hunger for blood.
• Revenants: A revived body with both undersoul and oversoul intact (but requiring human flesh to sustain itself).
• Werewolves: A person sharing their body with an animal undersoul.
• Possessed: A person sharing their body with (or controlled by) a human oversoul.

Tropes used in IZOMBIE include:

• Adorkable: Scott.
• Cute Ghost Girl: Ellie, who was killed in the 60s and still retains the fashion even as a ghost.
• Even Evil Has Standards: The Paintball girls use their business to lure in customers and feed on them but only enough to keep them going and never fully draining their victims so they become vampires. They also try to keep a low profile as best as they can.
  • Does that make them evil or neutral?
• Frankenstein's Monster
• Knight Templar: The Fossor Corporation drifts into this trope with its methodology and approach to hunting monsters.
• Monster Mash
• Our Werewolves Are Different: Gwen's nerd friend, Scott, was bitten by a terrier, and transforms on a full moon, but has no significant personality change or bloodlust during the transformation.
• Our Zombies Are Different: Gwen is different from the usual zombies in that she retains her personality and looks (if not a little pale). She still does have the hunger for brains and has to eat some every so often, though only eats those of the recently deceased (gaining their memories in the process). If she doesn't do so, however, she will turn into a typical zombie.
• Too Dumb to Live: Claire who not only got herself bitten and became a vampire, but could never keep a low profile and just attacked whomever she felt like, getting herself staked in the first few opening issues She get better via a mad scientist.
• Tragic Monster: The Paintball girls who, according to the leader, were just college students making their way through school. However one of their own, Claire, a very impulsive and immature girl, went out with the wrong guy who happened to be a vampire. She was turned and then returned back to the dorm where the girls were studying, attacking them and transforming them all into vampires.
• The Undead: Comes in many flavors here.
• Zombie Apocalypse: A story arc saw zombies suddenly rise up and attack the city.