Marvel Zombies HC
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Sean Phillips
Cover artist: Arthur Suydam
$19.99

A creepy, funny take on both zombie lore and the Marvel Universe, Robert Kirkman’s Marvel Zombies will please fans of both. It’s pretty amazing what Kirkman gets away with here, as there’s often gruesome, disturbing imagery associated with some of Marvel’s most treasured properties (see the still-alive Black Panther being kept captive and sedated, leisurely eaten by zombie Giant-Man). What makes the story work is that these zombies can still talk and think, allowing Kirkman to make these zombie Marvel heroes the true center of the story. Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Iron-Man all bicker over who gets to eat what, and when the planet-eating Galactus arrives (irony alert!), our zombie heroes must unite in order to save their planet, defeat Galactus…and eat him. Great stuff. It’s a quick read, but worthy of your shelf; the cover gallery — featuring zombie parodies of classic Marvel covers — makes this collection worth owning all by itself.
KFR Rating: B+

Action Comics #844
Writers: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Artist: Adam Kubert
$2.99

The first issue from new superstar creative team Geoff Johns, Richard Donner (director of Superman: The Movie) and Adam Kubert, Action Comics #844 doesn’t reach the heights of Grant Morrison’s revisionist takes on All Star Superman and Batman, but it comes close. Johns, Donner and Kubert are clearly placing their Superman in the world of the Donner/Singer films; Clark Kent looks like Brandon Routh, Superman now has the “S” beltbuckle from Superman Returns and visits his father in the Fortress of Solitude, and Perry White and the rest of the Daily Planet talk and work in classic breakneck-energy newsroom style. It might not be to everyone’s liking that the movies are influencing the comics, but this issue felt more true to the Superman mythos than Action Comics has felt in a long time. There’s also a major surprise here, very similar to one from Superman Returns, that if handled properly can make for an excellent change in the humdrum married life of Supes and Lois. The only disappointment is Adam Kubert’s art; apart from the terrific cover, Kubert’s pencils seem almost sloppy, and don’t come close to his previous landmark work. Still, a good start and worth picking up.
KFR Rating: B+

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #1
Writer & Artist: Michael Kupperman
$4.50

I know — this comic came out ages ago, but I missed out on the first go-round and my local comic store (Brooklyn’s superb Rocketship) only just got in a second printing. I wish I’d gotten the first print; this is one of the funniest and gleefully weird comics on the market today. From Mickey Rourke’s new business (pubic hair stencils) to the time traveling adventures of Snake N’ Bacon (a snake and piece of bacon that travel through time and do…nothing) to “Uncle Billy’s Drunken, Bitter Guide to the Animal Kingdom” in the “Kid’s Section” (”The Raccoon eats garbage, but it washes it in water first. Sounds like a boss I used to have! He’ll get what’s coming to him, you can bet on that. Son of a bitch caught me stealing paperclips.”), Tales Designed to Thrizzle is definitely worth the price, and definitely worth tracking down. A refreshingly smart comic that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Essential reading.
KFR Rating: A+

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