I reviewed the second Zombie Cities anthology from Australian publisher, Silver Fox Comics, here at Broken Frontier.
Zombie Print
See that great zombie print below? It can be yours for only $10 – $20, depending on where you live. Plus funds from each sale will go to support a fantastic charity. You can buy it from the site of Silver Fox Comics, the new Australian publisher of the entertaining Zorro series, or at this Sunday’s Anime at Abbotsford event in Sydney.
SILVER FOX COMICS PRESENTS “SYDNEY ZOMBIES” LIMITED EDITION PRINT!
We’re pleased to present our fist ever limited edition print entitled “Sydney Zombies”! This all exclusive original is available for $10 (excl p&h) and limited to only 200 copies, and printed on matt 300gsm A3 size stock. This amazing artwork underwent over 10 rounds of changes before finalising the piece. This will also be the cover of next year’s new release “Silver Fox Presents!” We’re predicting a sell out of the complete edition so order your copy today before you miss out!
EACH SALE RAISES MONEY FOR THE BRAIN FOUNDATION!
We are also donating $2 from each sale to The Brain Foundation who fund research to reduce the incidence and impact of Brain disorders such as Alzheimers, Dementia, Epilepsy and Parkinsons Disease to name but a few. Prints are $10 for pickups in Sydney. For mailouts, its $10 + $5 p&h.
These prices are for Australian orders. International orders are $20. For multiple orders contact Sorab Del Rio at sorabdelrio@silverfoxcomics.com.au
Credits: Pencils and Inks: Jopax
Colours: Zoar Huerte & Don Ticchio
Publisher/ Conceptualist: Sorab Del Rio
Fat Chunk Volume 2: Zombie Review
“What do you think we do? We grab a couple of chainsaws and start hacking up walking stiffs.”
“Nice try freak, but you’re not eating my brain!”
“Well you look great! I mean, you’ve hardly decomposed at all!”
And so on. There’s some classic moments in this great offering from Slave Labor Graphics. Fat Chunk is an anthology series dedicated to giving talented artists the spotlight they deserve. Last year’s Volume 1 was all about robots, while this new follow up is all about zombies. Yep, zombies are more popular than the US President in comics these days and this digest is over 130 pages of black and white undead entertainment.
Most of the stories are 3 or 4 pages, while a few are silent and some have no clear end to the narrative. Like any anthology, not every page is a winner, but with Zombie they’re definitely…unique. There’s a glorious splatter of styles across these pages and I found myself laughing more than I expected. There’s a lot of profanity and raunchy material, and most of the humour is of the gallows brand, but it works. Splendid examples would be the black comedy seen in The New Kid by D Z Greene and Seph77’s Scabby the Cat. They’re funny because they’re wrong.
After reading this, I also realise how adaptable zombies are. In this collection, there’s zombies on blind dates, zombies as the focus of a charitable organisation, as hosts of cooking shows (guess what’s for dinner!), and as literal “working stiffs.”
There’s a wealth of talent out there, and every contributor mentions their website in their credits. The Fat Chunk website also has heaps of previews (some exclusive and updated) and links to more of the artists’ works. A lot of the work here is somewhat similar, with the exaggerated super-deformed style of street mags and hip hop tattoos, or manga-lite stuff of Saturday morning toons being the most represented styles. Some of my faves would have to be Jesus Briosso, Perca, Bill Neff and Aurelio. I hope Volume 3 is in the works.
Props to SLG for getting Fat Chunk out there, and for giving this skilled roster of storytellers a shot at grabbing new fans. If you believe you too are a worthy artist, they’re always on the lookout for fresh meat, er, talent, so give it a go.
Zombie Tales 2061 Collected
BOOM! Studios anthology, Zombie Tales, proved that there’s still some life left in the ever popular zombie stories hovering around pop culture like flies on a resurrected corpse. Writer Kim Krizan’s three short stories about a zombie infested future earth were often the highlight. They were both darkly funny and frightening at the same time. Now they’ve been collected into one volume, for release in July. Press release below.
The living dead walk among us! Zombies have taken over the planet! Humans only exist as novelty attractions… or worse. But today is the day of revolution and soon the tide will turn on undead supremacy! Enter the world of ZOMBIE TALES 2061. From Academy Award-nomintated writer Kim Krizan (BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET) comes an epic saga ripped from the pages of the critically acclaimed ZOMBIE TALES anthology and collected in one volume for the first time!
Best known for writing the generation definining romance movies BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET, Krizan jumped into the horror genre with both feet, delivering a unique new vision of the zombie apocalypse for Zombie Tales: The Series #1. Originally planned as just an 8 pager and slotted between stories from more seasoned horror vets Steve Niles and Joe R. Lansdale, critics and fans spotlighted Krizan’s freshman horror venture and clamored for a sequel. Krizan immediately expanded her Zombie universe into a triptych, finally collected in one easy reading volume with ZOMBIE TALES 2061.
“When horror tastemaker RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE begs for a sequel, you know you have a hit on your hands,” said Publisher Ross Richie. “I really don’t think people have seen as an original take on Zombies since Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. That is how blown away I was by this book.”
“It was great fun for me to write ‘2061’ and it’s an honor to have it collected,” said ZOMBIE TALES writer Kim Krizan. “Though it seemed on the surface to be a light, fun project, it really gets to the heart of what I believe about our species. For me, zombie dominance is now!”
Outside garnering an Academy Award nomination for BEFORE SUNSET, Krizan also acted in the cult films SLACKER, DAZED AND CONFUSED and WAKING LIFE. Her turn as high school teacher Ginny Stroud in DAZED AND CONFUSED led her to speak the immortal lines “…this summer when you’re being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating, and that’s the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.”
When asked about the rumor of a Zombified follow-up to the BEFORE SUNRISE franchise, Krizan had no comment.
ZOMBIE TALES 2061 features 24 pages of interior art by newcomer Jon Reed and a cover by Patrick McEvoy. SRP: $3.99, Diamond Order Code: MAY090726.
Zombie Tales #11 Review
Proving again that the number of tales starring the undead is limitless, BOOM!’s latest issue of its zombie anthology offers another diverse trilogy of zombie action.
Kicking things off is a Civil War adventure in which the forces of the South are cut off and facing certain defeat, until a surprise turn of events gives them a much greater advantage. The weary General is called to witness a dead child who is raised to life thanks to the witchery of a slave woman. This gives the South an edge in battle and they use the corpses strewn across the battle field one more time. Writer Ralph Soll and artist Unai give this nice tale with a twist a great approach, with an easy pace and suitably grimy art, reminiscent of Kyle Hotz.
The second short story is the conclusion to the 2061 saga, by writer Kim Krizan and artist Jon Reed. The central conceit of this mini-epic is that zombies are mutated cannibals and are now running earth. Humans are mere pets in this new society and live primarily as slaves and gladiators for their undead masters. It could easily be a mini-series by itself, especially with scarily amusing touches such as humans in a meat market, or in cages below “1/2 Off Veal” signs. In this finale a group of humans manage to escape from the gladiator pit, leading a makeshift revolt which causes the zombies to shuffle off. They are then chased outside of the city, thrown off a cliff and into the heart of a nuclear reactor. That’s when things get slightly confusing. What appears to be the leader of the human army throws herself into the zombie filled pit because “if it comes into contact with normal particles it will spark a reaction!” Um…okay. Well, that’s what happens which then in one last moment of “what the?!” the horde of zombies appear to travel through space and time to 2061 B.C. It’s a rather stifling end to what has been a grand concept.
The last story, entitled “Population Control,” is written by Bryce Carlson with art by Axel Medelin Machain. Set in the town of Adler Creek, it centres on two life long friends amidst a dwindling population. Jules and Benton eventually have a disagreement about staying in their hometown or leaving, with the survival of both sun scorched men on the line. So they do what best friends should always do – make sacrifices for the other one.
The art in this issue is similar between all three stories. It’s not highly polished, but it works in the zombie context. This issue is not the best of the series, but as a whole Zombie Tales is always a pleasant surprise in this era of comic book decompression. Instead of long, drawn out epics lasting years, BOOM! wisely give us a snack-sized alternative.
For a preview of this ish, go here.
Dave Sim: Zombie Mocker
Cerberus creator Dave Sim is a legend of independent comics. He guided Cerberus the Aardvarks’ genre bending adventures from 1977 to 2004 single handedly and fought for creator’s right along the way. His latest project is entirely different. Glamourpuss is a look at the history of fashion magazines as well as photo realism in comics. Sort of. It’s unlike anything else on the stands. My respect goes out to anyone that can do what they love for so long, and he’s received equal parts adoration and hatred over his controversial views on feminism and religion over the years, but he keeps on pressing on. Glamourpuss #2 has a great feature on the back cover poking fun of all the zombie craziness that Marvel have focused on in various mini-series and x-overs in the last 2 years. Read it and laugh, because the undead are funny, unless they’re eating your loved one’s brains.
Dave Sim’s blog (complete with pretty pics)
comicbookjesus 