They’re coming to get you, reader! Running Press continues its impressive string of ridiculously affordable, brick-sized graphic anthologies with THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF ZOMBIE COMICS, edited by David Kendall. In case you haven’t read a book or seen a movie in the last decade, zombies are big business, and this volume collects 18 tales in more than 450 pages.
The great thing about these titles is being exposed to comics from all around the world that you’ve likely never read. Luckily, I’ve only encountered one entry here before: the opening “Making Amends,” by Steve Niles, who helped kickstart the horror-comics resurgence.
Jon Ayre and One Neck’s “Pariah” asks what happens when the last man alive in a zombie plague tires of being such. Ayre follows that with “In Sickness,” co-created with Stephen Hill, following a couple fighting to hold onto their bond of love and re-examining the “and in health” part of their marriage vows. I saw the ending coming from the start, but it still paid off.
The first lengthy piece is “Necrotic: Dead Flesh on a Living Body,” by Buddy Scalera, M. Swank and Pat Quinn. This terrific tale — a full graphic novel from 2001 reprinted in its entirety — tells the story of Marshall Vandergott, an archaeologist who was mummified in Egypt 75 years ago, and is accidentally reawakened in 1999. As long as he rewraps himself up in the bandages every couple days, he looks as young as fit as the day he died. This, of course, causes serious problems when he falls in love.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE artist Vincent Locke is represented by two pieces — “Amy” and “Black Sabbath” — but his 1980s work here looks more suited to some high school student’s TrapperKeeper. From 2005 comes Matthew Shepherd and Roy Boney Jr.’s “Dead Eyes Open,” an epic end-of-the-worlder that chronicles the fight between the military and the “returners,” all in a sprawling 150 pages. It’s interesting, if a little too long.
Askold Akishin contributes three stories, two adapted from folktales, with the best one being Russia “The Corpse.” His art style has a clean, near-woodcut-style to it. Scott Hampton is another highly gifted illustrator, but his adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s “Pigeons from Hell” is printed too dark here. (Its wordless nature also does it no favors, adding to reader confusion.)
Ranging from stories with a sci-fi bent to those played strictly for laughs, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF ZOMBIE COMICS covers the subgenre quite well. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST CRIME COMICS edited by Paul Gravett
• THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST HORROR COMICS edited by Peter Normanton
• THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR: VOL. 19 edited by Stephen Jones
• THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF EXTREME FANTASY edited by Mike Ashley
• THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF WAR COMICS edited by David Kendall
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for reading, Rodd! I’ll be the first to admit that David was very generous to give Dead Eyes Open its full run in the Mammoth book (I was the writer), but I’m glad it held its own in such a mix of amazing and groundbreaking approaches to the subgenre.
Hey Matt, I feel some reviewers who questioned the inclusion of Dead Eyes Open in full must have different sensibilities to mine. I thought you should know your series was the highlight for me…along with an introduction to Askold Arkishin…both will change how I approach comics in future.
Pat