As much as I would love to chase him down with a bunch of dudes in HazMat suits, Mark Millar is our Patient Zero in the visual juggernaut that is 'Marvel Zombies'.  Who know where he got it from, the end of a bottle of alcohol, the late night viewing of one too many George Romero movies, some internet clicks and a savvy mind for a play on the not-so affectionate terms for the True Believers, but it is here and it's here to stay.  What Millar wrought, Kirkman forged and Arthur Suydam perfected, three men taking us on a wild ride since 2005 and it shows no sign of stopping.  As long as zombies entertain the pop culture brain, someone's going to want to eat those brains.

So, in no particular order, here are some simple signs and helpful tips to the wide multi-universal world of The House of Undead Ideas.
Rule 1)  <strike>Cardio</strike> Covers

If it wasn't for covers, we would not be discussing this because if there is nothing the cover is there for, it's to judge the book.  Mr. Suydam was handed over the official title of Marvel Eye Catcher and the man has completely out done himself at every turn.  The depth and breadth to which he has gone to recreate our history, just in a sloppy, oozing mess, and yet still retain that charm of the original work is just astounding.  Marvel has a gallery of covers here and, please, do take a moment and look back (at least until 2006, since the gallery hasn't been updated in awhile) and see what works have been done.  You might have seen these on the shelves, even bought one or two for the Wow! factor, maybe you even complained when the undead and underage Mary Jane variant was released, but even if you didn't slavishly collect each one or groaned at the sight of yet another unrelated book sporting an Zombie veneer, you remember these covers.  They stick in your brain like the infection itself and they stay there in all their flesh-eating glory.  Marvel's Zombie covers are why we've just ended our unofficial fifth installment of the Earth That Went Bad.
Rule 2)  It Ain't Over

Much like the classic zombie flicks, Marvel's zombie comics always end with a red-paint dripping "The End?".  After reading the first original Marvel Zombies in what is coming up on four years ago, seeing the Zombies devour and then become Galactus, I thought to myself, 'Now that's an ending!'.  Once you've converted yourself into a Galactic Devourer of Worlds, there's no going back, right?  WRONG!  You can do anything you want once that tag's been torn off and Marvel proceeded to then do so for the years to come.  We've seen Ash fight Marvel's undead hordes, Black Panther officially brought them into the universe proper as a real-live alternate dimension for the Original Universe, the Frightful Four have met both their Ultimate and their Original counterparts.  Doom threw himself into their dimension, never to be seen again looking that way in particular.  We've had Zombies fighting Robots, Living Vampires becoming Zombies (Vambie!), anything goes and will go until the market says otherwise.  A undead talking head from the Zombie-verse even has a co-starring role in a major ongoing series (Deadpool and Zombies is like printing money in 2009!).  Nothing is impossible because the best of this absolutely abusurd.
Rule 3)  This is Not Serious

The Goon: Chinatown has a great opening page where it is stated with absolute clarity that "This Ain't Funny."  Exactly the opposite in Marvel Zombies; remember the undead talking head?  Yeah, there's no angst here about the loss of life or social comentary on how we're all just a little dead inside.  While zombie movies can have that metaphorical edge that film students can observe from their desks about how the zombie is a replacement for the cultural homogenization of society where the mall is a centeral hub of power, the single minded need for brains relates the short sightedness of man, how we become our own Dangerous Game at the top of the food chain...  You get the idea.

Marvel Zombies wants nothing to do with that.  And couldn't!  They make a point of joking about it as Spider-Man, satiated in his hunger for flesh, would resort to angst over the brutal murder of those he loved most.  Marvel Zombies is at its best when it is outlandish and over-the-top.  Dead Days is the weakest in the series in my personal opinion  because it tries to understand the cause of all this monstrosity and terror when, bottom line, we do not care.  This Ain't Serious.  Time Magazine had a list of Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2007 and at #4, above Jack of Fables vol. 1 and below All-Star Superman vol. 1, is Marvel Zombies 2.  He describes the series in Times Magazinian fashion by noting that the most popular heroes of this universe eat flesh, understand their eating flesh, but just can't stop.  "The result is a genuinesly subversive orgy of Sadean cruelty, wherein most of the living beings in the universe perish," says Lev Grossman.  "Good clean fun."

Let me say that again:  Good clean fun.  Not 'Woe be to the heroes that subside of the people they once protected!'.  Not 'This reflect the change in society where we no longer trust the forces of good to be the clean cut heroes we remember from our youths.'.  This is fun, plain and simple.
And so it has been and so it shall be.  Love 'em or hate 'em, Marvel Zombies are a new staple of the House of Ideas and for this spooky season, I raise a glass to what they've done and where they'll go.

The Walking Dead #17

One man in Iowa isn't waiting passively for the zombie horde to strike first.

Officers in Iowa City responded at 1:17 a.m. Sunday to a report of an assault at a restaurant, where the victim said he was ordering food when a man approached him, accused him of being a zombie and then punched him in the eye. (First clue the guy probably wasn't a zombie: The Panchero's menu doesn't feature brainssss.)

When the victim tried to use his cell phone to call police, the assailant hit him again, breaking his nose, and then fled through the back door of the restaurant. (Second clue the guy probably wasn't a zombie: The shambling dead have difficulty operating mobile devices.)

The victim was transported to a local hospital and treated for his injuries. (Third clue the guy probably wasn't a zombie: Health-insurance providers consider death a pre-existing condition.)

Police are looking for the assailant, while Iowa City Area CrimeStoppers offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Today

Cleveland | Claudio Sanchez of the band Coheed and Cambria and writer of Amory Wars and the upcoming Kill Audio will sign at Carol & John’s Comic Book Shop from 2 to 3 p.m.

Los Angeles | Nick Simmons will sign copies of Incarnate #1 at Golden Apple Comics from 1 to 3 p.m.

Ojai, Calif. | Opening reception for the Sergio Aragones art exhibit at the Ojai Valley Museum. This event is sold out, but the art exhibit runs through Oct. 4.

Orlando | The Mini MegaCon kicks off at 10 .m. and runs through Sunday. Guests include Darwyn Cooke, Jeff Parker, Chuck Dixon, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Dick Giordano and many more.

Pittsfield, Mass. | The Storefront Artist Project hosts Todd Dezago from noon to 2 p.m. for a class on "Story Structure and the Language of Comics," followed by a signing at 3p.m. by Howard Cruse.

San Francisco | The San Francisco Zine Fest kicks off at 11 a.m. and runs through tomorrow at the County Fair Building.

Sunday

Atlanta | The Atlanta Comic Convention runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Marriott Atlanta Century Center. Guests include Heidi Arnhold, Bobby Nash and more.

Wednesday

San Jose, Calif. | A zombie crawl, art show and food drive kicks off at the SLG Art Boutiki at 577 S. Market Street and continues into the streets of San Jose.

More August

Aug. 28 | X-Men Misfits release party in Brooklyn

Aug. 28-30 | Fan Expo Canada in Toronto

September

Sept. 4-7 | AnimeFest in Dallas

Sept. 4-7 | Dragon*Con in Atlanta

Sept. 19 | Week Three Comics Fest in San Jose, Calif.

***

If you’d like to submit an event for inclusion, please email them directly to JK Parkin. Please include the venue, city and state, start time, event details and any related websites where we can send folks for more information. Virtual events, like online creator chats, are also welcome.

Victorian Undead

Wildstorm revealed yesterday what that zombie-fied Sherlock Holmes image from earlier this week was all about -- it's a new six-issue mini-series called Victorian Undead by writer Ian Edginton and artist Davide Fabbri. The story revolves around Holmes and Watson trying to figure out who is behind the zombie plague that's infected 1854 London. Watch for the first issue in November.

The Tony Moore cover from earlier this week is the main cover for the book, BTW; the one above, by Simon Coleby, is the variant.

Victorian Undead

Austin over at Wildstorm's The Bleed blog posted the above teaser image earlier today under the heading "Victorian Undead" featuring what appears to be a zombiefied version of Sherlock Holmes. Using my own detective skills, I've determined this is the variant cover for the first issue of a comic called Victorian Undead.

(OK, it was in the file name -- "victorian_undead1_varcov." Which could be a ruse. But what isn't a ruse is that Tony Moore drew the cover, and it's due in November.)

DC's Paul Levitz and Guinness’ Craig Glenday

Longest Running Sitcom and Longest Running Animated TV Series - With over 443 episodes, The Simpsons is the longest running sitcom (by episode count) and longest running animated series. During its 20th season (2008-09), The Simpsons finally overtook the 435 episodes of former record holder The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-66).

Best-selling Comic (single edition) - Spider-Man No.1, first published in August 1990, is the Best-selling Comic (single edition). With an initial print run of 2.35 million, the record-breaking edition was sold with a variety of differently colored covers and several reprints were ordered to keep up with high public demand.

Longest Continuosly Published Comic Book - The longest running comic book is Detective Comics, which has been printed continuously by DC Comics in the USA since Issue #1 in March 1937. The comic introduced the character of Batman in Issue #27 in May 1939.

Most Successful Sci-fi TV Show - Doctor Who, the longest running sci-fi television show, is now the Most Successful Sci-fi Show on Television. Based on the length of the show's run and international sales data, the series about the adventures of the iconic Time Lord was presented with the new record at Comic-Con 2009 International.

Most Digital Effects in a TV Series - Farscape employed about 25 computer artists to create between 40 and 50 effects shot per episode. The effects team had just seven days to work on each episode, at a rate of 22 episodes per year.

Largest Gathering of Zombies - The record largest gathering of zombies was achieved by 3,894 participants in the 'Red White and Dead Zombie Party' in association with Night Zero on July 3, 2009 in Seattle, Washington. Ryan Reiter, Artistic Director for Freemont Outdoor Cinema Events.

Picture via The Source

A Fingerman zombie

Over on his blog, Bob Fingerman says that he recently sold his second novel, a zombie thriller entitled Pariah, to Tor:

The interesting thing is that part of my deal with Tor is to provide the book with some original interior art (I might do the cover, too, but that is pending). My approach is not to do illustrations of any scenes or characters in the book. I prefer to let the readers picture that for themselves. Instead, one of the characters is an artist and he does studies of the undead to pass the time (no more TV or Internet, so one must pass the time doing something). The conceit of the accompanying art will be that these are his drawings. I don't want any of the art to be typical EC-tinged stuff. The approach is to do sensitive, objective drawings. The zombies didn't ask to be this way. They're not evil.

Sounds like an intriguing approach. Above is an example of what he's talking about. And Fingerman says he might post some rejected sketches from the project soon.

The Zomibe Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks

Writing for Publishers Weekly, Stefan Dziemianowicz examines the lurching and lumbering rise of zombie fiction, from World War Z and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to The Walking Dead and Marvel Zombies.

Time magazine has even gone so far as to declare that "Zombies Are the New Vampires," which probably leaves fans of True Blood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries and Twilight scratching their heads (or sharpening their fangs).

So what's to blame for this most recent resurgence of the walking dead (lower-case)? As with so many cultural trends of the past several years, the bony finger points to 9/11 which, Dziemianowicz writes, transformed the zombie into "a monster for our time."

Of course, it's not all zombies, zombies, zombies (although some days it does seem that way). Quirk Books, the publisher behind the hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- the Jane Austen mashup -- already have moved on to a new menace: sea monsters.

Yesterday the company announced it will release Sense, Sensibility and Sea Monsters in September. Co-authored by Ben H. Winters, the next book in the series will include "a giant rampaging mutant lobster," "octopi with glittering tentacles" and, of course, pirates. (You can view a trailer for the book here.)

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

"I loved the idea of sea monsters," Winters tells EW.com. "I’d hate to say our culture is oversaturated with vampires and zombies, but it was fun to do something different."

Poor, poor zombies: from "the New Vampires" to yesterday's news, just like that?

"A couple of publishers are crashing Jane Austen vampire novels that will no doubt capitalise on the success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and there were certainly plenty of people who urged me to do the same," Jason Rekulak, Quirk's editorial director, tells The Guardian. "But I think Pride and Prejudice and Zombies fans are counting on us to deliver something original, and I don't think they will be disappointed."

However, don't expect the undead to slink quietly into the night -- at least not anytime soon.

The next Marvel Zombies miniseries debuts in September, with contributions from authors Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Jonathan Maberry (Patient Zero) and David Wellington (the Monster trilogy). The following month will see the release of The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, a graphic novel by Max Brooks, author of the best-selling World War Z.

Then there are the novels Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter -- "She Loved Her Country; She Hated Demons" -- by the pseudonymous A E Moorat (October), I Am Scrooge: A Zombie Story For Christmas -- "Marley was dead. Again." -- by Adam Roberts (October), Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest (October), and Grahame-Smith's follow-up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

And those, for good or bad, barely scratch the dirt-covered surface.

Uncanny X-Men #141

Earlier this month ABC News ran a special report called Earth 2100, which imagined a possible "worst case scenario" if the "perfect storm" of population growth, resource depletion and climate change converge, causing catastrophic effects to the planet. The report featured graphic novel-style sequences by Josh Neufeld, Sari Wilson, Joe Infurnari, George O’Connor, Tim Hamilton and Leland Purvis.

It wasn't the first time that comic book creators have taken a look at a possible future where everything has gone to hell, both scaring and depressing you with its bleak look at what might be in store for us. So in honor of the show, here are six of my favorite apocalyptic doomsday scenarios, as presented by comics past and present ...

1. Death by robots -- Geekanerd recently did a post on possible robot apocalypse scenarios and how to avoid them, using Battlestar Galactica, Terminator and The Matrix as examples. Another story that falls into that category is the classic Uncanny X-Men story "Days of Future Past." First introduced in issues #141 and 142, the storyline focused on a possible future where mutants have been hunted almost to extinction by the Sentinels, with the survivors being kept in internment camps. Giant robots = bad, bad things.

I remember reading these issues as a kid and being genuinely freaked out about the fate of the X-Men. It was bad enough finding out that Cyclops, Nightcrawler and many of the others were already dead, but to see Storm, Colossus and Wolverine meet their fates ... I took it as canon, actually, that one day the X-Men comic would end with a similar scene, once it caught up to the future those issues portrayed. Of course, I thought Jean Grey was really dead, too, so ...

Walking Dead

2. Death by zombies -- Imagine waking up in the hospital after being a coma for a few months to find that not only have you been abandoned by pretty much everybody, but also that your world has been overrun by zombies. We've seen how similar scenarios play out on the silver screen, but Robert Kirkman's taken us beyond that in The Walking Dead, past the feeling of pure fear and false hope, and straight into the realm of pure survival. It's one thing to watch a group hole up in the mall for a couple of hours and fight off the undead; it's another to watch them slowly disintegrate as human beings over the course of several years.

Although we still don't know what caused the zombie apocalypse, Kirkman has introduced a new character, Eugene Porter, the mullet-headed doctor who could bring salvation. Knowing how the group's luck runs, though, odds are that Porter gets eaten right before we find out how to end the nightmare ...

Scout

3. Death by mystical forces -- Back in the late 1980s, Eclipse published the adventures of Emanuel Santana in an America that had seen better days. Once a world superpower, sanctions against the country because of past ecological excesses had left it as a third-world country. Global warming had left most of the United States a desert, the government was run by corporations and the economy was pretty much non-existent.

Tim Truman's Scout featured a pretty grim look at the future of the country, but it turns out it wasn't completely our own fault. Four monsters from Apache legend had taken human form and basically ran the country into the ground, and it was up to Santana to fix things by, naturally, killing the monsters. And the human forms they took were powerful folks within the government, so of course this put our hero at odds not only with his former comrades in the armed forces, but also with himself ... was the country taken over by these monsters, or was he just crazy? Either way, Truman did a great job mixing the geo-political with the mystical to create a compelling story.

If you're curious to check out Scout, some of Tim Truman's finest work, Dynamite recently collected them into two volumes.

Therefore Repent!

5. Death by scripture? -- A couple of years back, Jim Munroe and Salgood Sam did a graphic novel called Therefore Repent!, a post-Rapture graphic novel about what happens to those left behind after all the Christians in the world take the express train to Heaven. Through the eyes of Mummy and Raven, the two main characters, we're introduced to a world where magic is making a comeback, dogs talk, Splitters hope for a second rapture and angels wield machine guns as they start to take out the sinners.

Of course, the real story here is that Mummy and Raven are breaking up -- which, let's face it, can be a sort of doomsday of its own. You can check out the book for free on Jim Munroe's site.

Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth

6. Death by mutated animals with opposable thumbs -- Earth A.D., or "After Disaster," is a future Earth inhabited by intelligent, mutated animals and what's left of the Statue of Liberty -- and a lone human. Nope, it isn't Planet of the Apes, even if it does share some similarities. It's, of course, Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which was created by Jack Kirby in the 1970s.

So what happened to Kamandi's world? Well, that was never quite explained. Something involving radiation, which resulted in some animals gaining human-like intelligence and movement. Whatever the disaster was really doesn't matter ... what does matter is that the book, no matter how weird it got, really worked.

Our friends at Comic Should Be Good had ">a great post about Kamandi last year. Alex Cox described it as "something of a masterpiece, and quite possibly the best comic of the Seventies. Against all odds, KAMANDI worked in a way that few comics do. It holds up, conceptually, even today. Despite major flaws, it remains infectious and joyous and a total kick in the ass."

Age of Apocalypse

4. Death by Apocalypse -- So what happens when you travel back in time, intent on killing a powerful evil mutant, but end up killing your own father instead? Well, if you're Legion, and your dad is Professor X, you create an alternate history where Apocalypse rules North America and freedom fighters led by Magneto make trouble for him while trying to restore the old timeline. Throw in some genocide, the threat of nuclear war and a new version of the Four Horsemen, and you've got yourself an armageddon.

Luckily this one didn't last very long ... one crossover event and a few surviving strays later, and this world no longer existed except in the pages of Exiles.

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So what are some of your favorite end-of-the-world stories?

The Last Resort #1

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have been tearing it up for the last few years on titles like Heroes for Hire and Jonah Hex, and now they have a new mini-series coming out from IDW, The Last Resort, that "pays homage to 1970’s disaster films and grindhouse classics with non-stop adrenalin, courtesy of flesh-eating bio waste victims and a bevy of sexy broads," per the press release.

If the first six pages are any indication, which feature art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo, this should be a fun series. Check'em out here.