There is no way for them to know whether this plague is affecting the village, the kingdom, or the entire world. The characters of Dead Kingdom are kept in the dark. The absence of modern communication technology is also a powerful driver of tension in the story. The living are largely unable to outmaneuver the dead, and so are unable to prevent their spreading out of control. This languid pace not only engages with the implacable energy of the zombies themselves but also intensifies the threat being faced by the world. Dead Kingdom furthers its sense of dread and danger by forcing its characters to trudge along on foot, only able to narrowly keep ahead of their tireless pursuers or risk the attention drawn by horses.

Access to vehicles like cars and trucks, and even bicycles in some instances, has an enormous effect on how zombie stories play out. The influence of other non-combative technology is likewise underappreciated in modern zombie fiction. It gives them a sense of culmination that uplifts them from the position of mindless lackeys and turns them into something enigmatic and significant.

By revealing that the dead were only one part of a larger plan, Dead Kingdom adds a narrative depth to the zombies that can be lacking in other media. In Dead Kingdom #5 (Etienne Derepentigny, Jerome Gagnon, and Kurt Belcher), the lead sorcerer enters the ruins of a city overrun by his zombies to reveal the presence of a mysterious demonic creature.

But Dead Kingdom makes use of its supernatural element to raise the stakes further.

This makes perfect sense for creatures grounded in virology. Romero's classics, as well as The Walking Dead series, see the dead rising as the paramount threat. Swapping terms like 'outbreak' for 'plague' synthesizes these historical perceptions with modern understandings, ultimately heightening the sense of scale and the fear that comes with it.Īs monsters of modern mythology, zombies are usually used as a narrative's main event. By reaching back to the zombie's mystical roots, Dead Kingdom effectively builds up a palpable sense of superstition, something that adds to the story's air of historical authenticity. Because zombies have become so closely associated with modernity, many of their traditional elements have fallen by the wayside.

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