Review- MARVEL ZOMBIES: THE COVERS

MARVEL ZOMBIES: THE COVERS (Marvel, First Printing, 2007; Hardcover)

I am the only person on Earth who did not enjoy Marvel Zombies when it came out. I bought the oversized hardcover the day that it came out in 2006, took it home and read it immediately. This was back in the days when publishers didn't flood the market with collected editions and it was possible to keep up on my reading, but I digress. I hated it. I mean, the covers were great. I used to have them as wallpaper on my computer as the series was being published. The Arthur Suydam zombie covers and variants all appealed to me, but the series was crap. The book was a surprise sell out in hardcover, and seeing a window of opportunity, I flipped it on eBay immediately, getting more than I paid for it. The hardcover went on to five printings plus multiple softcover printings, Complete Collection repackagings, and eventually an Omnibus...er, Zomnibus.

This collection of covers was released, and I thought that the idea was great. The covers were the best part as far as I was concerned. I didn't end up buying it, as I have too many irons in the fire and am not independently wealthy. Marvel routinely blows out dead stock to dealers, and I got this, sealed and in mint condition, for free with a purchase over $25 at Warp 9 Comics in Clawson, MI a couple of years ago. I was bored one day and wanted some light reading so I plucked this from the backlog boxes and read it.

The cover of each issue is presented with the original comic book cover that it was based on with Sudyam's thoughts and inspirations on each one. The back of the book has non-Suydam zombie covers as well as all eleven Tales Of The Zombies covers from the 1970s. This especially appealed to me, as the series was reprinted in an Essential black and white phone book way back when but the covers were in black and white. I can't believe that Marvel has never reissued that series in an Omnibus or other format. The Essential has been out of print for years and zombies remain popular due to the success of The Walking Dead. It seems like a no-brainer easy sell to me. This book was an enjoyable, leisurely read. This is all cake, heavy on the frosting.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Marvel used to issue lots of things like this in the oversized hardcover format. Now they push those Premiere Edition hardcovers on folks.

Paper stock: I love the thick glossy coated stock that Marvel used back then. You don't get paper this thick from them anymore except in hardcover Masterworks.

Binding: Perfect bound hardcover.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Thick dustjacket paper with a laminate coating. The hardback has that faux leather grain texture to it and dye foil stamping, both of which Marvel has largely done away with. The decontenting of collected editions is rampant these days, and I suspect that it will only get worse as demand for paper lessens and costs rise. 

Review- TOE TAGS FEATURING GEORGE ROMERO

TOE TAGS FEATURING GEORGE ROMERO (DC, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Toe Tags Featuring George Romero #1-6 (cover dates December, 2004- May, 2005)

Writer: George Romero

Artists: Penciler- Tommy Castillo; Inker- Rodney Ramos

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

DC's collected editions program often makes no sense to me. Marvel has released pretty much everything that they have published in single issue format as collected editions for the past dozen or so years. DC still tries to foster a back issue market and pushes for the “Wednesday addict” crowd, often leaving the money of the collected edition fan on the table. They have of course changed this over the past two years, releasing most of their New 52 stuff in collected editions within a reasonable time frame after the single issue publication.

This brings us to this decade-old mini-series which DC has finally compiled and reissued to cash in on both Romero's new Marvel series Empire Of The Dead as well as the zombie craze as a whole. I am tired of zombies in comics, but Romero is the one who put them on the map in the first place so he is exempt from zombie backlash.

Smart zombies, collapsed civilization...we have already seen it all a dozen times before. Romero's cinematic background works well in the ultra-decompressed comic book storytelling style so prevalent in 2004. This moves at a brisk clip and the artwork is pleasant enough, but I know damn well that I will never have time to read this again as long as I live. I have too many books and can't even read everything once. I am at a point where I wish that the local library had more graphic novels in stock, because so much stuff that I read is good for one read only.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone

Paper stock: Decent weight glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock. 

Review- GEORGE ROMERO'S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT ONE

GEORGE ROMERO'S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT ONE (Marvel, 2014; Softcover)

Collects George Romero's Empire Of The Dead: Act One Nos. 1-5 (cover dates January- August, 2014)

Writer: George A. Romero

Artist: Alex Maleev

Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

Zombies are all the rage these days, what with the ongoing success of The Walking Dead and all. Younger fans might have overlooked the guy whom Robert Kirkman stood on the shoulders of, Mr. George Romero. If you do not know who he is, use that thar Google button on yore Internet machine and get on right back to me, y'hear?

Done? Okay, good. This takes place 30 years after Night Of The Living Dead. Humanity has been sequestered into Protected Zones, where military and SWAT teams keep the undead out and people live a somewhat normal life within the confines of Manhattan. Of course there is another kind of undead now, the original undead...vampires. Couple that with the emergence of the self-aware, almost thinking zombie and you have a fresh spin on a stinking, rotting idea. Leave it to Romero to once again save us all.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Buy GEORGE ROMERO'S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT ONE TP at InStockTrades!

The OCD zone- Marvel has a tendency to triple dip, so I am going to hold off on buying any and all future arcs until we get an Omnibus or an Ultimate Collection trade paperback. I am tired of endless upgrades or being dissatisfied because a superior format is released down the road. I have more than enough unread books to last me until such collection happens.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Introduction by Stan Lee. (1 page)

#1 variant by Frank Cho. (2 pages)

#2 variant by Greg Horn (1 page)

#1-5 variants by Arthur Suydam. (5 pages)

Paper stock: Good weight semi-glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Glossy lamination. 

Review- ZOMBIES

ZOMBIES (Yoe Books/ IDW, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects selections from Adventures Into The Unknown Nos. 27, 50, Baffling Mysteries No. 17, The Beyond Nos. 17, 24, Black Cat Nos. 35, 41, Chamber of Chills Magazine No. 22, City of the Living Dead No. 1, Dark Mysteries No. 13, Eerie No. 16, Ken Shannon No. 3, Monster No. 2, The Purple Claw No. 3, Thrills of Tomorrow No. 18, Web of Evil No. 2, and Web of Mystery No. 27 (cover dates November, 1951- December, 1954)

Writer: Joe Millard and other, unidentified writers

Artists: Lin Streeter, Jack Cole, Lou Cameron, A.C. Hollingsworth, Gene Colan, Al Eadeh, Dick Beck, Sy Grudko, Bob Powell, Reed Crandall, Bill Benulis, Jack Abel, Vic Donahue, Wally Wood, Rudy Palais, Al Hartley, and others.

Another book in Craig Yoe's value priced The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics line, Zombies is a sort of hodgepodge collection of all things undead. I wouldn't call this the best of zombie comics from the Golden Age by a long shot, but more of a well rounded offering that shows the undead in all of their glorious, gory permutations. 

There are two stories which are shot from the original artwork, presented here in their uncolored and unaltered glory. In the Corpse That Wouldn't Sleep! from Ken Shannon No. 3, we are introduced to Ken Shannon, a loveable sexist crime/noir cliche in a story that was my personal favorite in the book. According to The Grand Comic Database there were ten issues of that title published by Avon. There is a lot of great Reed Crandall artwork to be found in this series, and I implore Craig Yoe or Pete Crowther over at PS Publishing to compile this series in a hardcover collection. If the rest of the series is of the same quality as this 10 page story then fandom needs to rediscover this long lost gem. 

You could do a lot worse than Zombies, and it's pretty inexpensive for such high production values, so what have you got to lose?

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The book has no dustjacket, with the images being screen printed on the hardback itself. The portions of the cover without the images on it (the blacks) has no coating on it and can be easily scuffed, even when handled gingerly.

Linework restoration rating: 4 out of 5. These are scanned from the original comics books at a high resolution, with some stories turning out better than others. This is the result of source material more so than restoration practices.

Color restoration rating: 4 out of 5. As I stated above, these are scans of actual comic books, not full blown restorations. The coloring imperfections found in the highly overrated four color printing process are numerous and abundant. Line bleed and off register printing abound. Some people call this the “charm of old comic books”, but to me it is about as charming as pops, crackles, and surface noise found on well-used vinyl albums. Your mileage may vary. I adore the artform, not the artifacts.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Really nice, thick, uncoated stock with zero sheen. It can be read under any type of light.

Binding rating: 3 out of 5. This book has sewn binding, but the casing is glued square to the spine, making it far too tight to lay flat. While the book's construction is solid and should provide a lifetime of reading enjoyment, it will never, ever lay flat.

Hardcover coating rating: 2 out of 5.

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Reviews: Zombie Terrors Vol. 1; A Murder of Scarecrows; Murder By Remote Control

ZOMBIE TERRORS VOL. 1(Asylum Press, 2010; Softcover)

Original graphic novel

Various writers and artists.

Like the stench of the decaying flesh and organs of zombies, the stories in this book stink. This anthology graphic novel is horrid, derivative, and uninspired...and those are the good stories. This is for masochists or those fanboys that dwell in zombie knock-off retread glory.

The OCD zone- Very thin paper, but it does have sewn binding. Sewn binding cannot save these stories, though.

A MURDER OF SCARECROWS (Transfuzion, 2011; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel, black and white

Writer: Gary Reed

Artist: Wayne Reid

I picked this up at Gary Reed's table at the Detroit FanFare last September, and it's one of those 'real world' moments where I likely never would've stumbled across this had I not been there. It's a decent read, and if it only had a costumed antagonist it would've felt similar to Marvel's Bronze Age monster/Horror output. Good stuff for those into Horror and Horror-tinged comic books.

MURDER BY REMOTE CONTROL (Available Press/ Random House, 1986; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel, 96 pages, black and white

Writer: Janwillem van de Wetering

Artist: Paul Kirchner

This book was another real world encounter. I would have never come across this in a million years if I didn't stumble across it at that moment at the Detroit FanFare. This is a murder mystery whodunit, and is very well done. It was way ahead of what was going on in mainstream comic books of the time, and holds up remarkably well nearly 30 years after it was originally published. Paul Kirchner's artwork is excellent and incredibly detailed. This is the English translation of a 1984 Dutch graphic novel, which was originally published as a full color hardcover.

The OCD zone- It is comforting that this book is nearly 30 years old, and yet the glued binding is still solid and nothing is loose. The paper is really nice. I know that those reading this on their iPad are saying to themselves “What's paper?”, but I still like the tactile sensations of real books.

Reviews: Thor and the Warriors Four; The Zombie Survival Guide- Recorded Attacks; Green Lantern movie

THOR AND THE WARRIORS FOUR (Marvel, 2010; softcover)

Collects Thor and the Warriors Four Nos. 1-4 (cover dates June- September, 2010)

This was every bit as enjoyable as any of the Power Pack 'Team-Up' mini-series that we have gotten in recent years. GuriHiru's artwork is improving, with less Manga influence and more of a 'cartoon'y' type appearance. The story is fun for all ages, and the back-up story in each issue with Hercules is every bit as good. I love Hercules. He is such an arrogant buffoon, and he tells ridiculous stories to the Power kids. He believes that every woman that sees him falls madly in love with him. I always enjoy him whenever he appears in comic books.

THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE: RECORDED ATTACKS (Three Rivers, 2009; softcover)

Original Graphic Novel

Max Brooks' "historic" recordings of zombie attacks throughout the ages put a smile on my face. His writing is extremely decompressed, making this a super fast read. Artist Ibraim Roberson delivers nicely rendered undead fun. Who doesn't love zombies these days? They are in every facet of our culture, even used as part of Gardner White's (a local furniture chain) ad campaign. What screams family fun more than zombies?

Please note: I did not receive any money for posting this advertisement in my blog. This advertisement is provided for entertainment purposes only. Gardner White does not endorse nor provide recompense to the Junk Food For Thought blog...although maybe they should.

I like the way that the zombie attacks are arranged chronologically, and the ending is satisfying. This is a fun little book that's worth a read.

Green Lantern (2011)

The first third of this movie is cardboard stiff, with terrible dialogue and a rote like presentation. Yes, ho hum, this is how this happened, yes *yawn* this is that character, etc. Things finally get into and gear and the movie gets decent. The fight scenes are more "comic book"-like than the Marvel movies are. I am not sure how well that will sit with civilians, though. I liked the action sequences but felt that some of the CGI was rather amateurish. The whole movie just sort of underwhelmed me. Maybe I was just in a pissy mood because of the morons who walked in as the movie started and went past the sea of empty rows to sit in my row. They then decided it was a good time to converse. They stopped conversing and all took turns on texting on their cell phones throughout the entire movie. I hate humans.

The All-New, All-Different Junk Food For Thought

OK, not really. What I meant to say is that this is the first all-new blog post since I signed up for Blogspot last month. All of my other posts have been re-posts from my myspace blog (RIP). My last post over there was on July 4, and since then I have been sitting on my reviews. Here we go...

THE ZOMBIE FACTORY (Idea Men Productions, 2007)

Collects selections from Tales From The Tomb (Vol. 2 ) No. 2, (Vol. 4) Nos. 4, 5 (Vol. 5) No. 1, Tales of Voodoo (Vol. 3) Nos. 1, 2, Terror Tales (Vol. 2) No. 5, (Vol. 3) No. 3, (Vol. 4) No. 6, (Vol. 6) Nos. 1, 4 (Vol. 9) No. 1 and Witches’ Tales (Vol. 6) No. 1 (cover dates January, 1970- January, 1978).

This is an interesting collection of mostly B and C level black and white Horror from the '70s. Credits are nearly non-existent, which is a pet peeve of mine. It would be nice to know what issue which story came from, as well as who wrote and/or penciled it. The scans are way too dark, likely done to compensate for the deterioration of the pulp paper used back then. I'm sure that a C-level publisher like Eerie (no relation to Warren Publishing's superb Creepy and Eerie) didn't bother archiving their stats for later use. This is an okay read if you can find it, although I would have preferred a more comprehensive hardcover collection.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 VOL. 2: HELL COMES TO BIRMINGHAM (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Captain Britain and MI13 Nos. 5-9 (cover dates November, 2008- March, 2009)

This series is worlds better than most of the current stuff being put out by Marvel. It's a shame that this wasn't the first arc, rather than the always gimmick-y crossover spin-off that it had. Maybe if Marvel would let a series find its own footing rather then being shoved into crossover after crossover we wouldn't see the amount of launches, re-launches, and cancellations that we currently do.

SIN CITY VOL. 4: THAT YELLOW BASTARD (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: That Yellow Bastard Nos. 1-6 (cover dates February- July, 1996)

SIN CITY VOL. 5: FAMILY VALUES (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Family Values Original Graphic Novel (cover date October, 1997)

SIN CITY VOL. 6: BOOZE, BROADS & BULLETS (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: The Babe Wore Red, Sin City: Silent Night, Sin City: Lost, Lonely & Lethal, Sin City: Sex & Violence and Sin City: Just Another Saturday Night (cover dates November, 1994- October, 1998).

SIN CITY VOL. 7: HELL AND BACK (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Hell and Back Nos. 1-9 (cover dates July, 1999- April, 2000)

This is a super fast paced read, and it works for this type of series. Frank Miller's artwork is growing on me, as he makes excellent use of black and white and solids. The occasional color inserted into the black and white color scheme is interesting as well. I really like the paper that these books are printed on, as it has an intoxicating smell. I like how all of the characters and settings all circle around and intersect in each other's stories without becoming directly involved with each other, and without it being necessary to know any of the previous stories. One could literally pick up any book in the series and have an enjoyable read.

BLAZING COMBAT (Fantagraphics, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Blazing Combat Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 1965- July, 1966)

The Warren magazines were the natural successors to EC Comics. Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales depicted the horrors of war in often unfavorable ways, and this series ups the ante with it's early anti-Vietnam angle. The title was blackballed by distributors and cancelled, which is a damn shame considering the quality. The EC stable turns in fantastic artwork all around, and Russ Heath does what is, in my opinion, his finest work ever. The book is a super high quality presentation, with superb uncoated, thick paper stock, spotless art transfers from pristine sources, and luxurious sewn binding, all in hardcover to boot. The only gripe that I have is that the Frazetta covers are shrunk down to 1/4 page in the back of the book. Aside from that, this is the definitive document on this series for the ages. Interviews with James Warren and Archie Goodwin provide invaluable insight into the minds of the men who made it happen.

SWAMP THING VOL. 7: REGENESIS (DC, 2004)

Collects Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) Nos. 65-70 (cover dates October, 1987- March, 1988)

SWAMP THING VOL. 8: SPONTANEOUS GENERATION (DC, 2005)

Collects Swamp Thing Nos. 71-76 (cover dates April- September, 1988)

This series doesn't seem to miss a beat after the departure of Alan Moore. I was delighted to see Alfredo Alcala's finely detailed artwork grace these pages.

THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN (Idea Men Productions, 2006)

Collects The Monster of Frankenstein Nos. 18-33 (cover dates March, 1952- October/November, 1954)

This collects the obscure series by Dick Briefer, and is outstanding! Gruesome, gory and violent, this is not some campy or watered down version of the monster. Briefer's artwork is unusual, but has a style that is pleasing to the eye. I wish that this series was collected in a full color, high end hardcover rather than this black and white trade. Oh well, when you are dealing with comics as obscure as this, you have to take what you can get. I highly recommend this book to all fans of Horror comics.