31 Days of Halloween - Marvel Zombies Series One

The Marvel Zombieverse originated in Ultimate Fantastic Four. In a parallel world where a zombie virus infected Earth's superhumans, that universe's Fantastic Four contacts the Ultimate universe's Reed Richards, in an attempt to gain access to an Earth still teeming with life. Marvel Zombies picks up where the UFF story ends; with Magneto having destroyed the FF's dimensional hopping machine, sealing off the zombie universe from the Ultimate universe.

Synopsis

After destroying Zombie Reed Richards dimensional portal - trapping the super-zombies in their home universe - Magneto flees from the hungry horde through the ruins of New York City. He evades them long enough to learn that a handful of mutants - the Acolytes - survive aboard Asteroid M, Magneto's orbital home. However, he is soon cornered and eaten. Soon after, the Silver Surfer arrives on Earth. He finds out there is something just as hungry as his planet eating master, Galactus, when he is devoured by Wolverine, Iron Man (well, half of him), Colonel America (he finally got that promotion), Giant-Man, Spider-Man (in full-on angst mode over having eaten Aunt May and Mary Jane), Luke Cage, and the Hulk (who is "hungriest of all"). they inherit some of his Power Cosmic and use it to wipe out much of the competition for food.

The Acolytes, meanwhile, land on Earth to find the Black Panther, missing an arm and leg (Giant-Man was keeping him alive and slowly feeding on him) carrying the head of Zombie-Wasp (who was decapitated by her husband, Giant-Man, while arguing over who gets to eat Black Panther.

Galactus arrives and a group of zombies attack him. They are wiped out, but delay him long enough for the zombie who ate the Surfer to build a device that amplifies the Power Cosmic enough to injure Galactus. They take him down and eat him, becoming "The Galactus," cosmically powered eating machines that fly through the universe, looking for life to devour.

Five years later, the Acolytes and Black Panther - along with the wasp, now sporting a robotic body ad no longer hungry for flesh, return to the Earth to find deserted. In the final pages, an alien race looks up to the stars in horror as The Galactus - Hulk, Wolverine, Spiderman, Giant-Man, Power Man and Iron Man approach. The end.

Analysis

Marvel Zombies is a blast. The story by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead is fun, with plenty of references to the Marvel heroes we know and love...and never thought we'd see as flesh eating monsters. The tone is darkly comedic with enough flesh tearing violence to let you know this is a horror comic; however, this is not the grim, gritty world of the Walking Dead. The art by Sean Phillips is perfect for the series, with heavy inks and a blurry, grainy look when compared to much of the art in comics these days. This helps to capture the feel of the story and reminds me of the art of guys like Vicente Alcazar and Bernie Wrightson. It's heavy, brooding and awesome. Some standout scenes are Wolverine's adamantium bones tearing through his rotting skin when he tries to claw Silver Surfer (which is just gonzo gruesome) and the final, full-page panel in issue four of Galactus being shot. The look of panic on his face as he is actually injured is well-realized and let's you know that the final issue is going be pretty spectacular. Which it is.

If there is one drawback, it is that this is not a series for someone unfamiliar with Marvel comics. If you like horror comics, but are not into Marvel superheroes, you're better off turning to The Walking Dead or '68 for your zombie fix. The story is littered with in-jokes and references and assumes a familiarity with the characters. While it is an alternate world, the personalities of the heroes and villains are almost identical to those in mainstream Marvel universe.

Other than that, this is the perfect series for someone who wants to mix their caped heroes with some cannibal, zombie gut munching. Check it out.

Note: Each issues features a zombiefied take on a classic Marvel cover.

Sweet-assed zombie Wolverine bust!

31 Days of Halloween (Day 27) - '68

What's better than a set of inter-related zombie comic book series? How about setting them in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War? Yep, that's better. And that's what '68 is all about.

The world they take place is, starts out just like our world in February 1968. The Tet Offensive has been launched, anti-war protestors are in the streets of America, Lyndon Johnson is president (but not for long), "peace, love and understanding" clash with war, racial divisions and generational strife. Each series expands on this, showing what is happening in Southeast Asia and in the United States.

Too much tanning bed for you sir.

Then, the dead start to rise.

Most of the issues are focused on Vietnam, following various soldiers and civilians as they try to survive the rise of the dead and the attacks of the VC (the dead may be rising, but the war goes on). Even though Vietnam is the central focus, the home front is not ignored; the zombie plague is global and we get to see what is happening to the loved one's of men "in-country." There is also a one-shot (68: Hardship) that is set in rural Nebraska and follows a soldier who has been sent home for mental health reasons - he is suffering from PTSD - who has to cope with his shattered psyche and the undead. The decision to have multiple characters with their own story arcs and to follow the multiple limited-issue series format keeps the over-all world from becoming repetitive. Although the narrative focus is on the horror, there is enough variety in themes and tone to keep the stories interesting.

Zombie Hendrix, undead, but still a great guitar player.

The art - primarily by Nat Jones (pen and inks), Jeff Zornow (also pen and inks) and Jay Fotos (colors) - is spectacular, with attention paid to the technical details (crucial, because this is a "real world" war comic) and some pretty stunning gore scenes. The series is graphically violent and not for the squeamish.

When you're a politician, every voter is worth courting...even if they hunger for your brains.

The writing, by Mark Kidwell, is consistently strong. Kidwell pays attention to character development, which is important, because you rarely know who is going to get killed; there are few obvious "red shirts." The stories capture the flavor of the times and the brutality of war. The stories also construct a believable view of a military (and a society) rapidly falling apart. As a bonus, each issue has a fact page which goes into the real-world history behind the events of each issue.

If you like zombie comics or want to see a neat historical-horror mash-up, check out '68. Remember, "Zombie Charlie don't surf!"

Does a skull reeally make a "Thwock" sound when you hit it with a machete. Time for the home version of "MythBusters."