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Underground > Comic Books >

Zombie Joy!

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18:51 / 07.06.05

Is anyone else really enjoying "The Walking Dead"? It's even converting some of my non-comic reading friends.

Mister Six, whom all the girls

19:29 / 07.06.05

Welcome to the board.
(I imagine someone will fix the double topic post)

Walking Dead is a really excellent comic. It almost makes me wish a zomibie holocaust would happen. I mean, at least things would be a lot clearer for what to do with my life, you know? I think this is partially what good zombie stories are all about (not wishing them to happen, analyzing in a very direct way what we want from life).

I've only read the first two trades but they are so fantastic I'd recommend them to most anyone.

Technically it's the only Kirkland book I like at all.

19:41 / 07.06.05

I just noticed this book last week. it looks really cool!

is it a continuing story, or is it a collection of stories set in the same world?

19:58 / 07.06.05

Could someone please explain to me the manic appeal of "zombies" as a creature of horror and popcult interest? They're cannibal corpses. See: mummies, dracula —only with less flair and backstory.

Enlighten me?

20:16 / 07.06.05

It's a continuing story. Apparently, Robert Kirkland plans for it to run for many more issues yet (50+).

I've never heard anything good about Kirkland before, but I think he's nailed it with this Zombie comic.

In fact, calling it just a "zombie comic" definitely ignores the greater parts of this book. It manages to capture the bets bits from Romero's films, and then it just runs with the whole concept: a truly epic story. Plus, I always admire writers who aren't afraid of killing off their characters.

21:19 / 07.06.05

This series was recommended by a few friends, so I had to pick it up, I was quite surprised that I actually enjoyed the book as much as I did (do).

Could someone please explain to me the manic appeal of "zombies" as a creature of horror and popcult interest? They're cannibal corpses. See: mummies, dracula —only with less flair and backstory.

Enlighten me?

I think it's the lack of back story that can make them a bit more appealing. You can take these creatures and essentially use them as a metaphor for almost anything. In this case, the zombies are used as sort of a natural disaster / plague, creating a story of survival in a harsh reality. I personally don't consider the book to be a horror book in the sense that "monsters are attacking", but more along the lines of the terrors of trying to keep a family together in the face of disaster.

In movies we've seen them used as metaphor for communist threat, blind consumerism, coming of age...you name it.

Er ...I'll shut up now.

22:19 / 07.06.05

In this case, the zombies are used as sort of a natural disaster / plague, creating a story of survival in a harsh reality.

Absolutely, and as with many post-apocalypse / disaster stories, it presents an interesting take on a society trying desperately to re-construct itself, hampered by all the usual human frailties; the power struggles, petty jealousies, etc.

In movies we've seen them used as metaphor for communist threat, blind consumerism, coming of age...you name it.

Also, Zombies are an un-subtle way of bringing us face to face with the concept of our own death. The inevitable future of our own rotting flesh....
Ok, the night nurse has definitely kicked in....

23:40 / 07.06.05

any previews online?

m.

Mister Six, whom all the girls

23:57 / 07.06.05

... urgh... Amazon'll let you read the first few pages. You'll be thinking 'Ah, this is 28 Days Later' but get beyond that.

It's only a $10 collection and I bet you'll like it.

Put it on your wedding registry!

broken gentleman.

00:40 / 08.06.05

it's great stuff, and it manages to be a light read, but also to leave you thinking about the ramifications this post-apocalyptic world has on people. not only can people die, but they change, and they don't always like themselves after. very few funnybooks deal with spotting one's own hypocrisy, without collapsing into "isuckisuckohwhydoisuck" self-loathing.

it's people doing the best they can, in a situation that isn't at all conducive to anything that remains in their morality. it's also the best thing kirkman does, imo. and charlie adlard (and early on, tony moore) do stunning work, stark and expressive.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

01:12 / 08.06.05

I've only read the first trade, but I fucking loved it. Zombies have long been my favourite monster- in answer to Chad's question, I think what makes them so good is that they ARE implacable, there IS no reasoning with them... they're us at our worst.
Again, bear in mind I've only read the first trade, but I loved the whole "soap opera"-y ness off it. It didn't seem like a comic about zombies- it seemed like a comic about people. I'm liking it muchly thus far.

04:30 / 08.06.05

Wedding registry? That's eerily prescient, Six. Unless someone's actually been reading the zine sample pages on my web site...

m.

17:12 / 08.06.05

5 page online preview of The Walking Dead issue 1. Hope you aren't afraid of black and white.

http://www.imagecomics.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?main=previews&sub1=previews&sub2=The_Walking_Dead_1&dim=500x770&cover=1

23:42 / 08.06.05

I like it. The Amazon preview had me. Good pacing. Sadly the superior yanqui dollah makes these books a mite more 'spensive for poor antipodean moi, but I'm keeping my eye out for a cheap 2nd hand copy.

m.

Bard: One-Man Humaton Hoedown

02:44 / 09.06.05

Got the first three trades. Beautiful stuff. Easily the best fiction involving zombies (rather than fiction ABOUT zombies) that I've read.

03:54 / 09.06.05

Easily the best fiction involving zombies (rather than fiction ABOUT zombies

This is the most concise description of the book I've seen.

11:06 / 09.06.05

I read the second collected set recently. Very good. I caught myself shaking my head and saying "Don't go in there you clowns." when they arrived at the abandoned housing estate. It's all very well written.

I actually feel the black and white nature of it let's you take the zombies more seriously. If they were all lurid green or pasty grey they'd look a bit silly. In Walking Dead they look like the animated dead people they are.

17:47 / 09.06.05

I'm not always sure why, but zombies scare the shit out of me. the zombie apocalypse seems like the ultimate worst-case-scenario, at least for me. they're totally relentless, hard to stop, huge numbers and can last forever.

and fuck, eaten alive? what a way to go.

. . .

i'm turning on my nightlight now . . .

Bard: One-Man Humaton Hoedown

05:35 / 10.06.05

This is the most concise description of the book I've seen.

Thank you!

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:18 / 21.09.05

According to the guy in F*rb*dd*n Pl*n*t, the trades are out of print(!), but I picked up the second and third ones on Amazon for about six quid each. I'm really trying to stretch reading them out as long as possible, but it's not working. My only problem is keeping track of all the characters, but I think that's more to do with me (and my only allowing myself a few pages at a time) than any problem with the writing or art.

14:32 / 21.09.05

Stoatie, that seems to be a common complaint. So much so that Kirkman has started putting a list of characters at the end of the comic. I'm not sure why this should be so, as the characters don't look the same, and they're written differently as well.
It's still an excellent book and one that I look forward to each month.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

15:19 / 21.09.05

I'm gonna have to start buying the monthlies... how far ahead of the trades are they?

admiral sausage

15:51 / 21.09.05

Volume 3 contains issues 13-18, the most recent issue is 21.

17:32 / 21.09.05

Those sample pages don't open for me -- is the storytelling good?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

17:45 / 21.09.05

Yes, it really flows very nicely.

12:47 / 22.09.05

In terms of how far the trades are on the monthly - the collection's are scheduled to be released alongside the first issue that isn't collected - so book one came out with issue 7, book two with issue 13, book 3 with issume 19, and book 4 is theoretically due alongside issue 25.

13:52 / 22.09.05

Read the third collected set a couple of months back. Nice to see the writer continuing to show absolutely no remorse about knocking off regular characters.

I saw the cover of the most recent comic when I was mooching in a comic shop in Brighton. Young Japanese girl with a samurai sword and two armless, ball-gagged zombies on leads.

I can't wait to find out what that's all about.

19:20 / 02.10.05

From AllTheRage:

There’s some surprising news from the House of Marvel this week. It seems that there will be a new five issue miniseries spinning out of Mark Millar and Greg Land’s current Ultimate Fantastic Four story arc. As readers of that title already know, it deals with Ultimate Reed Richards journeying to an alternate Earth overrun by zombie versions of Marvel’s superheroes. The way I hear it, the new miniseries is called Marvel Zombies and takes place entirely on Earth 615, Earth Z, the Zombie world… whatever they’re gonna call it. Someone will probably come up with a new name for that world. As for the creative team, the mini is being written by none other than Robert Kirkman, who’s had a lot of zombie experience on his creator owned title, The Walking Dead. Sean Phillips (Sleeper) is said to be the artist attached to this project. The early word is that the Marvel Zombies miniseries will be out in December.

23:55 / 02.10.05

that spider-zombie looks gooooood.

So. Kirkman. Walking Dead, huh?

Yeah, I want to say it's the best ever, but I don't think it is. Here's my problem with it: Kirkman has awful dialogue in this book. I've read some Invincible; the dialogue's good. But with this zombie stuff, he makes everybody sound the exact same, and they all sound boring. (It reminds me of sci-fi/fantasy wrtier Tad Williams, whose fav curse for characters is "jesus mercy". everybody says it).

But I got to hand it to Kirkman, he's kicking ass in terms of concept.... I like, but I'm not loving it.

07:40 / 03.10.05

Hey, this all seems remarkably similar to the story currently running over in Ultimate Fantastic Four, only with less chatty zombies presumably. Cool as it looks.

Betcha Punisher gets to unleash his mad zombie-killing skillz on those pesky super-zeds. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be having a flashback to "What If? Wolverine Became Lord of The Undead?" where Punisher unleashes his mad vampire-killing skillz on the pesky super-vamps.

11:01 / 24.11.05

Bumpity bump.

According to the wiki, Marvel Zombies is set on the same world as the recent Ult. Fantastic Four adventure. Magneto survived the teleporter destruction and is now the only non-infected person on the planet.

07:28 / 19.12.05

So, has anyone else read Marvel Zombies #1 yet? Any thoughts on it?

SPOILERS

I liked Magneto facing off against the zeds. "You used to be the most powerful mutant on the planet, before you were the ONLY mutant on the planet."

Giant-Man saying something to the effect that Jarvis had almost offered himself up to the zombie Avengers.

Survivors on Asteroid M, wonder who made it up there?

I liked that final page of the Surfer. Very mournful expression on his face. Like a ghost haunting Zombie World.

19:01 / 01.04.06

The Walking Dead has become really boring. Today I read #26, and almost nothing happened. Traveling to the helicopter shouldn´t take more than 2 pages instead of almost the whole issue.

And all those boring characters. Oh joy, we might be able to watch movies! Will you marry me? We can adopt those twin brothers. It´s devolved into a soap opera, the poor zombies are just also rans by now. The rest of the book is only filler (8 letter pages!).

I guess, I´ll drop it pretty soon, if the zombies keep being used only as a pretext.

19:03 / 01.04.06

Well I liked ther recent issues but I've been constantly against board opinion so that's no surprise. Anyway, it's be a shame if you drop it but parhaps the last three issues of this story may swing your opinion.

05:07 / 02.04.06

Kinda spoilers for newest issue (the one after they travel towards the helicoptor crash)

Yeah, but they met the Govenor this issue, and found out what the Govenor feeds the zombies. Strangersssss!

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