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Marvel Zombies essentially started as a joke. The phrase was perenially used to describe fans who were hyper-focused on Marvel, the comics, the toys, etc. But from those simple beginnings came a franchise… And there’s no better place to start than with Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips’s bloody, hilarious run on the title.
Marvel Zombies actually started earlier, though, with Mark Millar and Greg Land launching an arc introducing the concept in Ultimate Fantastic Four. There, it was treated seriously, with a zombie version of Reed Richards tricking the Ultimate Reed into letting zombies cross over into the Ultimate Universe.
The idea proved popular enough that Marvel recruited Kirkman, best known for The Walking Dead, and Phillips to continue the concept in its own comic. While Kirkman treated it relatively seriously enough, as there is real pathos and weight to a lot of the deaths in the book, it still leaned into the writer’s penchant for dark humor. This isn’t grim and gritty like TWD; it’s superheroes getting turned into zombies, with all the gross, bloody fun that comes with that.
The neat conceit of Marvel Zombies is that yes, the zombie plague makes the heroes and villains undead monsters. But once they eat, they regain their intelligence. And in many cases, they feel guilt about eating people to survive. Particularly with guilt-ridden heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil, this leads to a real gut punch. But mostly it’s fun to watch heroes rip each other into shreds.
There have been a ton of runs since then, but the original is still (arguably) the best. If you want to dip your toe in, there are collections of the first five issues. Or you can take a big bite with the cheekily named “Marvel Zomnibus” which collects the Ultimate Fantastic Four issues, as well as numerous Marvel Zombies miniseries. Don’t worry, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into.
It’s spooky season, and you know what that means: time to curl up with a comic book or graphic novel that will scare your socks off. With that in mind, we’re posting a new horror book to check out every day of October, for our 31 Days Of Halloween Comics. Awoooo! Looking for the rest of our picks? Check them out on the Halloween tag.
“]] The original Marvel Zombies is a bloody, hilarious good time. Here’s why the Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips book is a great Halloween read. Read More