"Zombie Kisses is a short story series about two brothers who are living in a zombie apocalypse. It is written like a diary by one of the brothers, who does not have a name. We learn that the writer has lost part of his leg, that he and his brother live in an apartment building with others, and that they are running out of food, electricity, and ammo. Towards the end of this chapter, some militia have invaded the building and the brother attempts to shoot his way out.
This is one of the most unusual things I've ever read. The subject of the story, a zombie apocalypse, is very familiar to me. What I found unusual is the format. It feels very much like a book with chapters, but it comes out like a comic book, with issues and comic-like cover page. The cover page was rather unappealing to me, but the words of the story were not.
I very much enjoyed the story. Despite the situation, the writer grabbed me emotionally from almost the first sentence and never let go. I found the nameless brother a very compelling and I was seriously invested him as a character and invested in the story. I could easily imagine the scenes, the people and the settings in my head and the ending of the chapter surprised me very much.
While zombie apocalypses seem to be an old hat these days, and this felt like a mash-up of Walking Dead and Supernatural, I was nevertheless completely captivated by Zombie Kisses."
~ Patti Martinson, Sequential Tart

"This is all about one person's life after the zombie apocalypse. How they live and survive. The conditions are not the best and it is hard just living. You have to be watchful all the time.
The man has a brother and they do work together in this world to survive. His brother will do what he has to to protect his brother.
The silhouettes of human and zombie are a nice touch in this comic.
This is a well told and interesting story that will have you wanting more."
~ Richard Vasseur, Jazma Online

"Zombie Kisses relates the strange chronicles of life after zombies overtake society.  The story is told in fragments of experience from one young man's perspective, & the events which unfold in this sort of post-apocalyptic setting hint at a larger narration yet to fully emerge.  I like it!"
~ not dead but dreaming...

"First off, I must apologize to Brian John Mitchell and his three cover artists.  Zombie Kisses is presented in a unique form.  So unique in fact that the three issues ended up read and tucked away with my special things before I  quite knew that I hadn't done up a review.  Each issue can fit in the palm of your hand.  I love it!  I've been carrying them around all day just because I like the way that they feel.  Well, that and to remind myself to write the review. Remember " Night of the Living Dead" & it's many sequels?  Well, Zombie Kisses is the story of, what I assume to be our world after a zombie virus has broken down our society and turned the dead into animated nightmares.  Issue #1 with it's eerily ambiguous cover sets up the story  of two brothers who've lost all the family they held dear.  It describes for you their current living situation and their necessary steps for survival.  The last page climaxes with a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting more.  Yet I was a bit afraid of what would come next.  Zombie Kisses 2 strikes you first with it's lonely cover art, portraiture of a soul afraid to go on.  The portrait then continue's with it's close look of what the one brother feels and his loss of self.  The third issue takes a look into the head of the other brother as he tries to organize survivors for carrying on.  You, the reader can not be sure of his ultimate fate though he seems convinced that he will not last long.  The accompanying art is macabre.  This series is a whole lot of fun.  The powers that be just have to do up a film adaptation.  My only criticism is that at times the story and cover art seemed like something dreamed up by my nephew when he was thirteen.  Not necessarily being a bad thing.  It conveys a feeling of doomsday prophecy. You want to know how much I like Zombie Kisses?  I read it three times.  How many times will you read it?"
~ Buzz Reviews

"3 3/4 inchx 2 1/4 inch minizines.
No, that's not a misprint - these little devils aren't just small enough to fit in your pocket.  One can easily disappear without a trace into the palm of an average adult reader's hand!
It seems that Brian John Mitchell, like many a horror film fan, was fascinated by George Romero's Zombie Trilogy (beginning so famously with Night of the Living Dead).  He felt compelled to make his own zombie fiction - set in those films' milieu but featuring characters of his own creation.
The results so far are these three minis - the episodic, serialized story of two brothers confronting gruesome death & perhaps equally gruesome survival amid the ruins of our familiar world.
The brothers have joined a paramilitary militia type outfitas the story opens.  They're fighting a losing battle against both zombies & lawless human marauders.  Some of the latter capture, the nuse chained & mutilated zombies as a grotesque sort of attack dog - an idea Mitchell puts to effectively warped uses for his story telling purposes.  The surviving militia soon pulls out, leaving the brothers & a handful of civilians they've rescued to hold their fortified building.
The brother narrating the first two installments (if he's ever named, I don't recall it) is left maimed & briefly suicidal when they rescue a girl from a pack of hungry zombies.  Then the marauders & their "zombie dogs" attack.  By the end of the second issue, their strongfold has fallen & the first brother is dying.
Barry, the older (or so I gather from the spare description) brother, takes up the narrative with issue #3.  He saves what he can from the carnage, gets survivors to relative safety & buries his brother with the rest of their already slaughtered family.  Then as #3 ends, Barry gathers up his weapons & heads back to their formal stronghold to take revenge on the marauder band.
As grim & desparate tales of survival go, this one has some intriguing elements.  It's written in first person & told in present tense, adding a degree of cinematic immediacy to the storyline.  Unfortunately, there are several occasions where Mitchell merely tells the reader about the aftermath of an important development, rather than showing the event - this saps drama from the piece.  There are also a couple puzzling lapses in continuity - the girl they save in #1 simply drops from the narrative for a while.  She reappears, we find out her story & she plays a part in the later plot, but the way she & other minor characters are handled creates an unduly choppy feeling.  Granted, the brothers are the main characters & they're more concerned with each other than the others - but it still felt wrong.
Overall, Zombie Kisses is moderately interesting media-inspired horror/adventure.  If you're into Romero's brand of inexplicable Living Dead carnage, give it a look."
~ Jim Lee, Scavenger's Newsletter
 

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