Instead of presenting an equivalent of the zombie apocalypse he’s more interested in exploring the sociological and philosophical elements raised by the new state of humanity. Rodolfo Santullo’s scripts take an interesting stance. Fortunately early on he saved the life of a very tenacious and ambitious journalist. He may claim just to do what he’s told, but over the course of the book Pronzini discovers considerable quantities of dirt. He, and indeed other characters, are drawn in a loose and exaggerated style by Uruguayan artist Matías Bergara that at times brings to mind Will Eisner. Our protagonist is sardonic police detective Sgt Pronzini, the old-fashioned but upstanding law enforcement official that’s the staple of so many dramas. Football matches are played under domed stadia with air control devices, and a new species of mutated human has manifested directly from the infection.

He’d been participating in experiments to cure the dengue, but much of his research is missing.Ī police procedural plot is the starting point as we investigate the un-named South American city living with the consequences of adapting to the safety procedures required in this new world. In the midst of all this the body of a noted entomologist is discovered, shot. It devastates the population, and we’re presented with medieval images of huge piles of infected corpses burning in the streets. Dengue is a selection of connected short stories set in the very near future of an Earth transformed by the global spread of a virus fatal to humans.

Dengue by Rodolfo Santullo