Alice Matheson #1

The opening volume of this French zombie thriller from Soleil's Anticipation line sets a striking tone: against a fog-shrouded London skyline, a composed young woman in a lab coat holds up a glowing green syringe while a vast horde of bloodied, snarling undead closes in behind her. Writer Jean-Luc Istin and artist Philippe Vandaële launch "Jour Z" with a cover that immediately frames Alice Matheson as someone facing the apocalypse with science rather than a weapon. It's a compelling introduction to a series that puts a medically-minded protagonist front and center in one of genre fiction's most relentless scenarios.