Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
A sequel to 30 Days of Night is gearing up with Ghost House Pictures. While this is good news, the really good news is that Steve Niles, who co-created the graphic novel [with artist Ben Templesmith] and co-wrote the first film is back on board. You can read more about the project here.
Here at the ZONE we love a good zombie tale. We are also partial to excellent crime stories. So… you just know we’re going to have to check out Dead Goombas by J. Torres and Andy B. [even if it is a comedy]. You can get a preview by clicking here.
We first heard about Ed Brubaker’s “Angel of Death” back in July. CBR.com has a set report plus photos [like the one above with Zoe Bell and Ed Brubaker between takes]. You can check it out here.
Knowing many ZONErs are fans of the zombie genre, I just had to link to the interactive movie called The Outbreak. Not only is it surprisingly well done, but there is a way to actually survive. It took me more than a couple of tries, but I enjoyed the time spent playing If you decide to give it a go, be advised that there is profanity and gore. It is a zombie movie after all. Click here to get started.
It’s a special time when Hellboy creator, Mike Mignola, returns to write AND draw his creation. The stars and planets must have lined correctly because this week Mignola returns to do just that in the Hellboy one shot “In the Chapel of Moloch.” You can see some preview art and learn more about it here.
I know a lot of ZONErs like horror. I also know that many ZONErs enjoy westerns. When the genres are combined and the end result is a good as The Wicked West Volume 1 or The Wicked West Volume 2, everybody wins. Dead Irons may take us all back to victory lane!
Charlie Huston, one of my favorite writers, is the subject of 
Charlie Adlard, the artist on my favorite monthly comic, The Walking Dead, has jumped feet first into the 21st century and set up his own website!
ComicBookResources.com has an 18 page preview of Steve Niles new comic series: City of Dust: A Philip Khrome Story #1.
Crossed #0 [written by Garth Ennis with art by Jacen Burrows] is available now. That’s the wraparound cover by Jacen pictured above and it should give you a good idea of what to expect. At first glance, you might think it’s another zombie comic, but it’s not… at least not exactly.
An event happens which causes a good portion of the population to go crazy. Normal folks in a small town are suddenly surrounded by friends and neighbors killing each other and worse [much worse in some cases]. This introduction by Ennis is smart in that it places us in the middle of things as the insanity spreads. There are enough inspired touches that we understand that this is not a limited event and the world will never be the same. The most frightening scene in my opinion wasn’t any of the attacks by the infected, or the bomb blast, or the widespread shots of carnage all around. To me the most creepy shot was of a plane crashing — we see it strike a clock tower as it hurtles to the ground and then Jacen gives us a close up of the cockpit. In it we see two flight attendants in the background fighting, an infected passenger with an evil grin killing the co-pilot as the infected pilot laughs maniacally as he dives the plane into the ground.
Crossed was definitely good enough that I’ll be back for more. Jacen Burrows provides the pencils and inks and this is his best work yet. Greg Waller provides the colors and did a great job in capturing the mood of the book and complimenting Burrows’s line work. Garth Ennis’s story leaves me wanting more. He knows how to hit all the right notes but be aware that he’s not afraid of going over the line when it comes to shocking gore and violence.
Crossed isn’t for everyone. However fans of horror and the zombie genre [although the infected aren’t zombies… at least traditional zombies] might want to check it out. Issue 0 would be a great place to start. It’s only a buck and available now.
Duane Swierczynski posted a link to the full art above. Don’t ya just love how the drawing sets up the story. Logan, all alone, walks into a small town wanting nothing more than a cold beer and a place to rest. Instead he learns that a savage creature is on the loose killing everyone in the town… and now that Logan is in town…
Ah, finally success. A perfect score in the Scary Beginnings quiz.
It’s really hard to believe that The Walking Dead has been around for five years. But it has. And from the very first issue The Walking Dead been one of the best monthly comics published. Longtime ZONErs know that I’ve been singing it’s praises for years.In October, Image is coming out with the Volume 4 hard cover Walking Dead [which collects issues 37 – 48 of the series] as well as The Walking Dead: The Covers hard cover [which collects the first 50 covers, as well as the various collected edition covers plus sketch book material and commentary].
Arrrgh! Just missed a perfect score again. 8 out of 9. Knocked out of the Gold Medal slot by Bela Lugosi. Here’s
One of my favorite authors, Charlie Huston is the subject of this interview at FantasyBookCritic.
Huston’s new Joe Pitt novel, Every Last Drop comes out next month, so that’s probably the reason for the interview… and I guess
Every Last Drop could be classified as “fantasy” since it features modern day vampires. Still, if anyone asks me, its genre when I’m reading Every Last Drop, I’m going with “horror.”
