BEST SHOTS EXTRA: ZOMBIE TALES #1

[MattBrady]

Zombie Tales The Series #1
From: Boom Studios
Written by: Joe R. Lansdale, Steve Niles, Kim Kirzan
Art: Eduardo Barreto, Daniel Lafrance, Jon Reed
Reviewed by Tim Janson

Harkening back to the 1970’s era of classic black and white horror mags like Creepy and Eerie, Boom Studios has release the first issue of Zombie Tales: The series, a new on-going series. This is a zombie anthology title with stories by Joe Lansdale, Steve Niles, and Kim Kirzan.

Lansdale’s opening story, “The War At Home” finds an Iraq War soldier inside a veteran’s hospital (as if that wasn’t scary enough!) waiting to receive his pain medicine. He’s confined to a wheelchair after losing his legs. As he tries to locate a nurse to help him, he instead finds something much worse. The walking dead have taken over the hospital and only three gimpy vets are there to try and fight them.

In Niles’ “People Person” Scott Ball is one of the few surviving humans of a zombie plague, still caring for his children in Los Angeles. His wife was not as fortunate as they when it came to escaping the plague, and mom is very hungry as she leads a pack of undead to her ‘loved ones’.

“Spring 2061” is a futuristic zombie tale. Zombies are now the dominant species on the planet and humans are little more than commodities to be sold in stores and taken home to be cooked in a pot. There’s even an organization called ZETH, which stands for Zombies for the Ethical Treatment of Humans who protests cruelty against humankind. The few humans who remain free now think the world of their ancestors was just a myth.

The three stories all show influence not only from the great horror magazines of the 1970s but also from the 1950s EC Comics with their heavy dose of sarcasm and irony. Lansdale’s story is the only one that is continued next issue while the other two are standalone tales. The art was excellent throughout. Barreto’s art is kind of old school and Lafrance’s work on ‘People Person” is the most visceral. I especially like Reed’s use of color to create a dismal, rotting landscape in a world turned upside down.

Zombie Tales: The Series is bloody, gory fun. And chalk one up to Boom Studios for being able to pull in both Niles and Lansdale in a single issue.

[monsterZERO]

Being the zombie nerd I am, I will probably check this.

[PastePot]

I'm sure people are getting sick of the zombie outbreak that has overtaken comics in recent years but i personally am looking forward to this book,

I can never get enough zombies.

[Psivage]

looking forward to this.

[EMeadow]

Originally Posted by PastePot

I'm sure people are getting sick of the zombie outbreak that has overtaken comics in recent years but i personally am looking forward to this book,

I can never get enough zombies.

I think most fans have by now cherry picked the titles that they know are well worth it to keep the Zombie love going.

This one is definitely one of them.

[bottleHeD]

That is one incredibly well thought-out cover...

[bigdaddyhub]

Psivage's sig bothered me. There is no Revelation 6:66. It ends at verse 15 and it doesn't say anything close to that. Just thought I would share.

And Zombies rule.