Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection, Vol. 3

I can't tell you the number of times I've grabbed this book, only to put it right back down. That's because in this, the 3rd volume of collected Marvel Zombies tales, there's also a Halloween Special included. I've had this book for several years and always keep forgetting in October to read it. Well, not this year. I made sure that it was the first thing I grab for my 2024 Halloween reads! 

Before celebrating All Hallow's Eve with the undead heroes of the Marvel Universe, there's several minis and one-shots to experience. All of them bloody. All of them rated for mature audiences.

• The contagion finds its way to the universe of the Marvel Apes. According to a traveller from the future, the key to preventing the zombie virus from taking root in Earth-8101, a group of heroes led by the Iron Mandrill must protect that world's version of Doctor Doom!
• The source of the zombie infection is finally revealed.
• Howard the Duck and a Machine Man must travel through various time periods of several universes to collect samples of the zombie virus in hopes of irradiating the threat to Earth-616.
• Howard then returns with a squadron of some of the biggest oddball heroes of the multiverse, led by Dum Dum Dugan, to prevent a world in which a Third Reich of Zombie's won World War II from taking over Earth-616.
• A Special Forces team is sent to quell a zombie invasion begun at Project PAGASUS.
• Finally, a mysterious female survivor of the undead outbreak, teaches her son about Halloween.

Karl Kesel, Fred Van Lente, Frank Marraffino and Peter David are the writers who dreamed up this anthology of terror. It's artists such as Todd Nauck, Alessandro Vitti and Kano who brought these nightmares to vivid life. I used to joke how a single issue print run of Robert Kirkman's Invincible must have caused shortages of red ink because of all the blood. I've thinking that this book might have attempted to break that record.

I must have bought this book for the Halloween special. Completing a run of the Marvel Zombies books has never been one of my comic book collecting goals. I've read a couple of volumes previously and while it's a fun scare compared to some of the more secular Marvel Horror titles, there's still a lot of death and destruction. I think it's more shocking when the carnage is caused by or thrust upon beloved icons of your youth. It's definitely more disturbing. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Zombie #1

This is one of those titles where when I saw the premise, I slapped myself in the head and was like 'why didn't I think of that!’

Back in the 1970s when the Comics Code eased the restrictions on horror comics,
Marvel bought the rights for the word zombie. They then quickly put out a comics black
and white magazine called Tales of the Zombie. It follows a young man named Simon
Garth whose turned into one of the undead by a voodoo priest. But unlike most
Zombies, Garth retains a small vestige of his humanity and becomes a wandering enemy
against practitioners of the dark arts.

Tales of the Zombie lasted only 10 issues. Marvel's trademark on the word ‘ zombie’ was
found to be too vast to litigate misuse. Any legal claim was soon forfeited. But what about
Simon Garth? Did Marvel give up on him too?

Marvel's original Zombie has come and gone over the years. Garth has appeared in
several team-ups titles and even had a miniseries and a chance at being one of the
Howling Commandos unit of SHIELD monsters. He even popped up in the fourth series of
Marvel Zombies. Only he wasn't really the Zombie old timers like myself grew up with---
until now!

This one-shot takes place sometime after God knows which latest chapter in the Marvel
Zombies series. Manhattan's remaining few is protected by just a small handful of
superheroes lead by Daredevil. Recon by Falcon is showing the zombie horde about to
prepare a final offensive when one of the child survivors befriends one of the walking dead
and allows it into camp.

It's Simon Garth and the heroes are quick to notice that due to a mysterious talisman worn
by him, thezombie can be controlled. Seeing their one chance at survival, the heroes are
going to make Simon into a suicide bomber of sorts! But will destroying such a gentle
creature as Simon turn the heroes into an even more uncanny monster than the dead
that stalk them?

This was a really good story. It had an insane ending. But it was jammed packed with action,
excitement and brains. I enjoy the art work by Stefano Raffaele and I didn't want this story
to end! Of course, this being the Marvel Zombies franchise, it's not going to end anytime
soon.

One of the best Marvel stories I have read in a year that has been more of a downer for
the House of Ideas than a plus.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

"Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness"

NOT WORTH CONSUMING

I love Marvel Comics. I love Bruce Campbell and the whole Sam Raimi Zombie thing. However, this book is not Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

I hated this book. It’s too bleak and sad. At least with other zombie flicks there is a glimmer of hope. Here, there is none. Plus, many of the things done, especially acts by Reed Richards is sooooooo not in character it’s frightening.

This volume makes me not want to read the original Marvel Zombies or any other Zombie book by Marvel in the future.