CLEMENTINE

Clem, her girlfriend, Ricca, and their friend Olivia are doing their best to survive the plague of killer zombies in this second series entry.

Fresh off a plane crash, the girls figure themselves to be in Canada and head toward the coast in search of somewhere livable. Beset by frequent hordes of zombies (Clementine is a spin-off character from Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic book series), these teens rarely catch a break. Clem’s prosthetic leg bothers her, Ol’s lost in grief, Ric’s vision is fading, and all three are constantly hungry and grimy. Haunting, expressive art renders both gruesome horror and relatable vulnerability. A few sweet moments, like the girls’ triple bat mitzvah, provide some precarious comfort. While the trio briefly finds support in a small island community with Mi’kmaq and Taiwanese survivors, its leader’s grim obsession with cataloging the endless dead overshadows their relief, as does the terror-filled revelation that Ol is pregnant. Plus, of course, the walkers find the trio again and kill almost everyone they know in front of them in a frenzy of action panels expertly evoking shards of broken glass. Weeks later, they find another tentative peace as the ragtag crew aboard a ship, with Clem and Ric tiptoeing toward physical intimacy. But it won’t be easy to continue in this unforgiving world. Clem has medium-toned skin; her companions read white.

Thrillingly escapist in a disturbing-as-hell kind of way.