'Marvel Zombies' – Kirkman, Phillips, Suydam (Marvel)

I think I've done pretty damn well to keep my 'Books for the TBR Pile' going, for as long as I have, without interruption. Seriously, well done me ;o) There was always going to be something that ended the run though and this week, it was a combination of there being nothing that I wanted (in my usual charity shop haunts) and the fact that Payday was just a little too far away for me to be buying books from anywhere else. It's a shame but it happens. Payday is next Friday though so don't worry about next week ;o) I'm sure I'll have some books to share with you all.

What about now though and why does the title of this post start off with 'Marvel Zombies'...? Well, I loved the latest 'What If...?' so much that I thought it was about time that I tracked down my old copy of 'Marvel Zombies' (the first one, I had to get rid of the rest.... dammit) and give it a re-read. So I did, and I did...

Torn from the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four! On an Earth shockingly similar to the Marvel Universe's, an alien virus has mutated all of the world's greatest super heroes into flesh-eating monsters! It took them only hours to destroy life as we know it - but what happens when they run out of humans to eat?! Follow their search for more food, and witness the arrival of the Silver Surfer! Collects Marvel Zombies #1-5...

I've never read any 'Ultimate Fantastic Four' but if you're in the same boat as me, don't worry. 'Marvel Zombies' is incredibly accessible, very easy to just pick up and run with. And that's because the concept is a simple one, super powered zombies who are always hungry and want to eat anything that moves. Who can't get on board with that? I've read this book a few times now and it's still really easy to get into.

The danger of a book like this, and it's a danger that this book does fall foul of, is that the concept does get a little repetitive, zombies need to eat but is that enough for a whole book (even if the zombies are super powered)? I don't think so and clearly neither does Kirkman who pits his zombie 'heroes' against bigger and bigger villains in order to keep things fresh (no pun intended). Unfortunately for the structure of the book, what we get then is a well trodden path of 'zombies eat 'big bad', zombies need to eat, zombies find something even bigger' which doesn't do much for the spontaneity of the plot. Which is a shame, but...

Who cares?

Seriously, who cares?

It's a book about zombie superheroes eating whatever they can find that's still alive, who cares about the rest of it when just this on it's own is plenty enough because it's just so much fun? Not me, I had the best time watching differing reactions to being a zombie... And then seeing them chow down on the living anyway. Kirkman knows what makes Marvel heroes tick so it's the work of a minute to have Spiderman agonising over eating his family and give us the sight of the Red Skull finally winning his life long battle with Colonel America. 'Marvel Zombies' is just the smoothest read in that respect and it's no surprise seeing how many little bits made it out of the book and into the 'What If...?' episode. It's a very well told tale, in that respect, and really, that's all the matters at the end of the day.

Sean Phillips' artwork neatly captures the post apocalyptic setting but more importantly, the fact that our zombies may well be undead but they are just as powerful as they were when they were alive. What is a real joy to see though Arthur Suydam's covers, in particular his renditions of classic Marvel covers of the past.

Not a perfect read then but 'Marvel Zombies' does all the important stuff with the confidence of a man who has written his fair share of zombie fiction, which funnily enough... ;o) Kirkman knows his zombie fiction and his Marvel heroes, it's great watching the two come together. If you enjoyed 'What If... Zombies?!' then you really need to pick this book up.