ROBERT KIRKMAN: TALKING MARVEL ZOMBIES II

[MattBrady]

When we last saw the Marvel Zombies at the end of the original Marvel Zombies miniseries, they’d just begun their space exploration – and conquest…er…mealtime.

A perfect ending, right? One of those wrap-ups that was a nod back to classic zombie horror flicks of the ‘70s, i.e., you can’t stop the zombies. A grimly pessimistic ending to a pretty grim story.

Yeah, but that grim little story became a publishing phenomenon for Marvel, spawning a special, a tie-in miniseries with Dynamite’s Army of Darkness franchise, action figures, statues, and of course that’s not even going into the numerous printings the individual issues and hardcover collection have seen.

A sequel, as they say, was destined to be.

And in October, that sequels starts – five issues, Kirkman and original series artist Sean Phillips. But what story is left to tell if, at the end of your first story, you send your protagonists into space?

Well, sometimes things that you send into space come back.

We spoke with Kirkman about the upcoming miniseries.

Newsarama: Robert, let’s go back to the start of all of this – the expansion that Marvel Zombies has seen since the initial miniseries – were Dead Days and this sequel miniseries something that were always in your mind, or did they come later as expansion and further exploitation of the concept started to sound like a good idea to Marvel?

Robert Kirkman: The idea for Marvel Zombies 2 came about as I was
finalizing what the ending for Marvel Zombies would be... around the time I was writing issue #2. I had a few endings in mind but when it all came together into the ending that was published, I knew exactly where I was going next. In fact, without even really pitching the sequel or really ever telling anyone at Marvel what I had planned, I wrote the first three pages of Marvel Zombies 2 #1 and sent them in with the script to issue #5 of the original mini. Marvel seemed to like the idea and a sequel was pretty quickly approved. Dead Days came about because the entire creative team wasn't ready to dive into a second mini right away. Sean was busy getting the fantastic Criminal series (with some other writer guy) off the ground... and I simply would never do Marvel Zombies without Sean... so we did a short one-shot instead, and I had a lot of scenes that I mentioned in the mini that I thought would be fun to actually show and showing the early stages of the zombie outbreak seemed like fun.

NRAMA: That said, what, specifically got the ball rolling on Marvel Zombies 2? A sequel will always be an option, but what inspired and fueled this one, specifically, why 40 years after the end of the original?

RK: I just thought it was a unique thing to do with the characters. Of course, when the first mini, toward the middle of its run, looked like a pretty clear hit... a sequel was brought up. Ralph Macchio just called me and said "Just so you know, as you finish this mini off, we might be thinking about doing a sequel." So it was always in the back of my mind that I could, if I wanted, continue it. But really, I would have wanted to continue the story if the book had been a huge flop. I'm just a huge fan of sequels.

NRAMA: Okay – so some specifics, then…the survivors of the original Marvel Zombies have been in space this whole time. So, what have they been up to…er, eating?

RK: They have been eating absolutely everything. They've been zipping around the
cosmos for forty years devouring every civilization they encounter. Something you saw a
little bit of in that recent Black Panther arc when they encountered the Skrulls.

NRAMA: But if there’s good eatin’ out there, why come home, and who’s left on earth, anyway?

RK: They're coming back to Earth to find more food--be that on Earth, or in another dimension. They remember Reed's machine that allowed him to escape into the Ultimate Universe. They think no one is left on Earth... but they soon find that isn't the case. Black Panther has established "New Wakanda" in the heart of New York City, they've built a small village around Asteroid M and for the last forty years they've been building their population up... there's not many of them, but they've got a small pocket of civilization scraping by.

NRAMA: What are some of the bigger changes that moving things ahead 40 years brought forth?

RK: We're basically skipping over the uninteresting stuff... jumping to when things get more entertaining in the timeline. Also, I get to see Sean draw really cool older versions of Black Panther and the Acolytes from the first mini. It's really funny because I wasn't really picturing the characters 40 years older... so when the pages came in... I chuckled to myself about how I'm writing a book about the elderly. So the main difference is... everyone is old now.

NRAMA: Grey Panther, then. With Marvel Zombies and Dark Days, the pathos of the characters was clear from the start, and resulted in several poignant moments throughout the story. How does moving things forward 40 years change how you write the characters? Are there any that are still fighting the change or disgusted/horrified by what they’ve become?

RK: Some are and some aren't... that's part of the main thrust of the conflict in this story. Some of the characters have twisted into an evil shell of what they once were, becoming more used to all the horrific things they've done. Others are still very much conflicted and self-loathing...and that brings conflict amongst the zombies... it's practically a Zombie Civil War... tee hee.

NRAMA: We’ll get to that in a moment, but before we do, what about those on earth? Did they ever expect the zombies to return? Are they ready when they do return?

RK: That would be telling. Let's just say the Zombies are expecting a nice quiet visit to Earth... and they really don't get that at all.

NRAMA: In the first miniseries, Spider-Man played the role of the man on the street caught in an unbelievable situation, which is his pretty standard role in Marvel stories, and thereby the doorway by which readers can identify themselves in the story. Is he still playing that role here, or, after 40 years of being a zombie, is he just a little harder to get a hold of?

RK: He's still very much that guy... he's terrified by what he's been doing and even after forty years he just can't shake the memory of devouring his wife and aunt. Spider-Man is good to the core, so despite what he's been doing to survive... he's the same wall-crawler we've all grown to love. And over the last forty years in space--he's fixed his mask.

NRAMA: Good to hear. Hey - while we’re talking changes in characters that can take place over 40 years’ time – can zombies have kids?

RK: That remains to be seen... you sly devil you.

NRAMA: Okay – as you were hinting, the cover to Marvel Zombies 2 #1 is an homage to it, and the solicit makes it clear – you’re playing Civil War riffs with this story – how are the heroes divided, and what are they fighting over?

RK: They're fighting over a lot of things... but mainly it's the fact that they've grown apart as a group... some of the zombies are no longer content taking lives to sustain their own and others are starting to enjoy it. Things really come to a head in issue #2. I think fans of the first mini-series are going to be pleasantly surprised that we're not just rehashing whatever we did in the first mini... we're really taking the Marvel Zombies into a bold, new direction. There are a lot of surprises in store.

[Bevbos]

I really hope the Zombies ____ing die finally. Don't get me wrong, the minis are great, but I really hate these ____ing zombies.

[Future]

Kirkman knows zombies as well as anyone so i look forward to this

[B_Shagnasty]

where's the button to turn this money machine on?...

[The_Adventurer]

Zombie Thanos, Gladiator, AND Dark Phoenix?

Earth is Skrewed.

[KoozyK]

everyone complains about the overabundance of them in comics today, but dangit, i love this book! as per the last series, i'll be waiting this out until the hc collection so i get all the covers and then i'll put it right next to volume one.

[The_Adventurer]

Personally I had a love/hate relationship with Marvel Zombies.

I hate it because it wasn't the angle I would have taken such a story (I'd have done a traditional zombie story, where the Zombies were mindless eating machines, and the survivors slowly being whittled down. Some survivors would be super heroes, others ordinary humans (same with the zombie hordes) and they'd all die in the end. I really don't like Smart Zombie stories.)

On the other hand I love it, because it's over the top goofiness that I dig.And there isn't enough of in comics today.

[Salieri]

I love Luke Cage's new Skrull Arm.

Also...anyone notice how clean and white Wasp's face is, at the parts which aren't horrible sores? It's almost as if they trust her...

[mimic_616]

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

I absoloutley LOVE Marvel Zombies and with this new mini coming out I'm more excited than ever! Kirkman is god when it comes to these undead fiends!

Can't wait!!!

[Duke Jupiter]

Y'know, I thought this 'Marvel Zombies' thing jumped the shark when they showed up in BLACK PANTHER. Gawd, that was painful to read!

- DJ

[Sean Walsh]

Finally.............

A story that makes good use of CIVIL WAR.

Bless you, Kirkman.

[Kamandi2]

Well, if the Zombies can have kids, Phoenix is probably pretty popular since she's the only remaining female Zombie.

[hlbimage]

Sooooo tired of Zombies. I'm moving on.

[POWRSURG]

Where is Zombie Col. America?

All hail Cyborg-Zombie Wolverine!

Oh wow, I just realized. Firelord should be the Zombies' herald.

[majorjoe23]

Originally Posted by POWRSURG

Where is Zombie Col. America?
.

He didn't survive the end of the first mini.

[Crump's Brother]

These are great, Robert, keep 'em coming.

[KirkWarren]

I enjoyed Marvel Zombies and I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy part 2. I think the whole zombie thing is starting to get overdone, but it's still a lot of fun. They probably should have reigned in the franchise adn not pumped out zombie cover variants for every book or let Black Panther run it into the ground before this sequel came out.

[crunch-o-matic]

What happened to all the robots?

[J-Rock]

Robert, you are a frigging genius with these Marvel Zombies. At first, I didn't really didn't know if I would've liked the smart zombie thing, but these books are so well written and over the top, they're just so much fun.

I hope, one day, I have the pleasure of pencilling some of your work.
Thanks for all the books.

[Satan665]

I thought the first one was funny but I thought the art was awful. Just go back and look at issue one and two. You must be a zombie if your face is in shadows with white teeth gleaming through. That or you look perfectly normal but with weird no-lips teeth. Weak.

I couldn't look at it. Someone call Mignola for lessons on how to draw dark and moody art.

The samples look a little bit better for the sequel, at least.

[Ironhorse]

Totally awesome!!! Gimme more zombies Kirkman, YOU DA MAN!! Peace.

[Mack]

I'm just saying.

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally Posted by Satan665

I thought the first one was funny but I thought the art was awful. Just go back and look at issue one and two. You must be a zombie if your face is in shadows with white teeth gleaming through. That or you look perfectly normal but with weird no-lips teeth. Weak.

I couldn't look at it. Someone call Mignola for lessons on how to draw dark and moody art.

The samples look a little bit better for the sequel, at least.

Huh, I had NO idea there was an "official" way to draw a zombie...

loved the first MZ mini, will definitely return for vol 2!!!

[rwe1138]

I love Marvel Zombies. My only gripe is that Criminal has to go on hiatus until Sean is done with the mini.

[ZeoVGM]

Originally Posted by Duke Jupiter

Y'know, I thought this 'Marvel Zombies' thing jumped the shark when they showed up in BLACK PANTHER. Gawd, that was painful to read!

- DJ

Painful to read? That was a very fun and entertaining arc.