49 pages • 1 hour read
Max BrallierThe Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade
Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Genre Context: Postapocalyptic and Zombie Fiction
The post-apocalyptic genre is typically a sub-genre of fantasy or science fiction. Post-apocalyptic stories explore worlds in which society has collapsed due to some catastrophic event. In many cases, humans cause these events, which include things like climate change or resource depletion, nuclear holocaust, or a technological singularity. They can also be natural disasters, including an astronomical impact or a geological disaster. The stories navigate how the characters either try to prevent or reverse the apocalyptic event, or how they endure and survive in their new, post-apocalyptic world.
A zombie outbreak is another example of an apocalyptic event. In the late 2000s and 2010s, there were many instances where zombies were humanized and depicted as friends. Zombies employed in this fashion are sometimes used as a stand in for marginalize, isolated, or discriminated-against groups. In a similar vein, Jack insists that his friends do not kill zombies since they used to be humans. In The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade, he even goes so far as to name a zombie that they capture and risks his own life to save it. Moreover, there are other non-evil monsters in the novel that Jack connects with; he is able to empathize with them given his own history of isolation and exclusion.
Series Context: The Last Kids on Earth
The Last Kids on Earth series follows a group of adolescents attempting to survive a “Monster Apocalypse” in their hometown of Wakefield, Massachusetts. Despite its genre ties to zombie and post-apocalyptic fiction, the book maintains a light-hearted, comedic tone and frequently makes pop cultural references. The cause of the Monster Apocalypse is initially unknown. However, it is suggested in The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade that they were transported to Earth from some other dimension. While zombies are a major part of the apocalypse, the characters must also deal with a host of other monsters, including Winged Wretches (a flying dragon-like monster), Dozers (bipedal horned beasts), and Vine-Thingies (plant monsters). Importantly, not all monsters are intrinsically evil, but the ones that are emit a specific stench that marks them as such.
Book 1 of the series introduces the protagonist and narrator, Jack Sullivan, who survives alone in his tree-house-turned-fortress. Prior to the apocalypse, Jack bounced around foster care and was never able to build deep connections with others as a result. Once the apocalypse started, his family fled, leaving him behind. He spends the rest of the novel reconnecting with his best friend, Quint, and searching for his school crush, June Del Toro. He also manages to recruit former school bully, Dirk Savage. As a team, they manage to defeat Blarg, a monster much larger, stronger, and more intelligent than the rest.
The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade introduces several characters that play important roles in the series going forward. Foremost among them is Rezzoch the Ancient, Destructor of Worlds. Rezzoch serves as the archvillain throughout the series and is always threatening to come to Earth. Blarg is revealed to have been a servant of Rezzoch. Bardle, a friendly monster, becomes an important ally and provides information about how and why the Monster Apocalypse occurred. Thrull is ostensibly a friendly monster who turns out to be another servant of Rezzoch. Despite being thwarted by Jack and his friends, Thrull manages to escape at the end of the novel, leaving the door open for his return.
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By Max Brallier
