You have to be pretty confident of your product to release TEN #1 issues in a single day in this comic book market (although DC did that when they released 50+ versions of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED a little over a year ago). But that is exactly what Double Take Comics did on September 16 when they dropped ten first issues into comic shops. Double Take is run by former Marvel vice president Bill Jemas and is backed by Take-Two Interactive: a video game company responsible for such classics as BIOSHOCK, BORDERLANDS and everyone’s favorite GRAND THEFT AUTO. Double Take has set all of their titles in the 1966 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD universe and even is bold enough to feature some of the recognizable characters within the books, complete with well known scenes and classic lines. Not the first time NOTLD was worked into comics, most notably a gory series from Avatar a few years back. So…does it all work?
SPRING #1: Sunday April 24th @ 12:00 PM. A collection of sights and sounds on a spring day in Eastern Pennsylvania that ends in tragedy when people start disappearing under the water of a local swimming hole.
Is this where it all begins? What a great, simple story that does no more than set the scene for what is about to come next. We go from car radios to beach conversations to missing swimmers in the course of 26 pages While Bill Jemas’ story, with scripting assist from Jenn Sodini and John Flynn, is pretty simple, being that it is bits and pieces of peoples’ lives, it is pretty impressive. And the art from Young Heller, Kurt Tiede and Derlis Santacruz is really nice, thanks in part to the dynamic color palette of Marta Mertinez. This was one of the most fun reads in this group of 10 just because it wasn’t so much about reading it as it was feeling it. Great job!
HONOR #1: Sunday April 24th @ 12:00 PM. Chief McClelland and Officer Long are running a radar trap when they stop an out of state speeder from New York. They ticket him and go back to their position while the speeder and his female companion get busy in the car. Soon, local resident Old Fred comes whizzing by in his souped-up tractor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see the copulating couple until it’s too late and the result is and accident that leaves Old Fred dead on the side of the road. The Chief puts Fred in a body bag but, as the police leave, that body bag sits up!
Like SPRING, this issue is set prior to NIGHT and is at the very beginning of the zombie incidents. There is a ton of character development in the story by Bill Jemas and Julian Rowe, with a script assist from Frank Ortega. I mean A TON on the part of Officer Long. Nice to see Chief McClelland making an appearance in the series, so as to validate it with the movie. Art from Julian Rowe and Carlos Rodriguez is uneven throughout. But check out the “Ultimate Technology Buyer’s Guide”showing off RCA color TV’s and AT&T Princess Phones. Very neat! And check out those prices!
MEDIC #1: An ambulance arrives at Universtiy Hospital with three injured people. The worst is a 27 year male with chest wounds. We also meet his 28 year old wife and a man with missing toes currently sitting in a cup of melting ice. Dr. Becker is the best dotor around but he also likes to talk about his youth, especially his first kiss. Not one to charm the nurses, he saves the man’s life and reports that to his wife. That’s when he gets a frantic call from the morgue. It seems the cadavers are coming back to life.
I assume this is where this title would go chronologically as it is the only one that doesn’t give a time or a place anywhere in the book. Bill Jemas and Brian Finkelstein provide the story, with scripting assistance from Mike Soviero and Michael Coast. Julian Rowe and Marcos Castiello are the artists and that gives the book a feel that is a cross between the Grantray-Lawrence Marvel cartoons of 1966(pretty appropriate since they debuted a little over five months after this story takes place) and Hanna Barbera. It is obvious major shortcuts have been taken and parts of panels are identical to each other. Truly, it feels like the barely animated Marvel Comics cartoons of the Sixties. The creepy photo realistic cover by Apple Qingyang Zhang is a highlight. Also cool is the statistical then and now between such things as world population, McDonald’s meal calories and the number of Wal Mart products made in China.
DEDICATION #1: Sunday April 24th @ 6:45 PM. It’s closing time at Geroge’s Supermarket and while George heads to the back to count his money, Trip and Joey are tasked with straightening all the shelves for tomorrow’s business. Before you know it, zombies have made their way inside and begun eating everything from boxes of cereal to flowers. Trip and Joey try to get them to leave and Joey makes what could be a critical mistake by waving her index finger near the mouth of one of the invaders. Meanwhile, George is counting his money and watching news reports from Washington and then from Dr.Grimes. That is when his three employees show up. Are they still alive or are they now undead?
This is a real unusual entry in the series as we have zombies who don’t LOOK like ZOMBIES. In fact, everyone looks quite normal, even if the art by Young Heller and JJ Dzialowski is extremely uneven and often amateurish. The story by Michael Coast, Matthew Summo, Bill Jemas, with a scripting assist by Mike Soviero, is a bit threadbare and really needs more depth to it. Not to mention, this is a book with zombies in it but no real action. I believe in setting up a storyline, but this needs more gas in the tank. And their LBJ looks nothing like him! However, Ruiz Burgos cover is stunning! I also love the opening page with “Ultimate Cocktail Party” recipes. Very, VERY cool!
HOME #1: Sunday April 24th @ 7:30 PM. Tim arrives at the Foster’s house for dinner and we get to meet the family, including an incredibly foul-mouthed little sister named Lisa. As dad tries to fly a kite with Lisa, Tim and daughter Linda are getting busy upstairs, but are interrupted because dad’s truck needs a push. Tim and Linda head off as the rest of the family goes into town for gasoline and some lunch. While at the diner, a zombie arrives and begins to eat some of the desserts. He gets chased outside but, in the process, falls on young Kevin who gets injured.
All I want to know is what is up with the little kid? I haven’t seen that much foul language out of a kid since THE EXORCIST! This was a very weird story, as it went an entire issue before dropping the zombie into the last few pages. I like that we have a bunch of different characters, especially the comic versions of Ward and June Cleaver. And the interracial relationship between Tim and Linda is pretty intense for 1966. A real unusual story from Michael Coast, Julian Rowe, Eric Hobbs and Bill Jemas with better than average art from Julian Rowe, Monica Catalano and Fernando Melek.
Z-MEN #1: Sunday April 24th @ 7:30 PM. Eddie Stevens is on his way home when he his stopped by local farmers and shot as he tries to get past their roadblock. Earlier that day, President Lyndon Johnson is reviewing the NSA information regarding the mass murders in Pennsylvania. He arranges for two of the members of the Secret Service motor pool, Clancy and Stuart, to go out to the site and investigate. Arriving at the roadblock, they are directed to see Chief McClelland but manage to get lost on the way. When Stuart asks someone on the side of the road for directions, he is attacked and only Clancy’s great aim saves him.
Story by Jeff McComsey and Bill Jemas is great fun, but the artwork by Kurt Tiede is very weak. I like bringing in both LBJ and Chief McClelland into it. That way, it feels like it is set in the proper time and place. I like the two Secret Service agents and I think their characters will get fleshed out in future issues.
RISE #1: Sunday April 24th @ 7:45 PM. In a very familiar scene, Barbara and Johnny are in the graveyard to put flowers on their grandfather’s grave. Barbara is attacked, Johnny tries to save her and whacks his head on a grave marker. She flees in their car, holing herself up in a nearby house. Johnny awakens and watches as a priest in the nearby church kills some of the zombies. Unfortunately, the zombies overwhelm the church and kill those inside. He hears the sound of an exploding vehicle and watches as the zombies devour what is left of Tom and Judy. He arrives at the house and carries Barbara out to safety. Arriving back in the graveyard, they are again attacked by the first zombie there, but manage to distract him from eating them by giving him some candy.
Well, I didn’t see that plot twist coming! So the zombies don’t necessarily hunger for flesh…just food of any kind? Again: didn’t see that coming. Here is a cool story by Bill Jemas and Michael Coast, with plotting assist from Jeff McComsey, that is hampered by bland art. Kurt Tiede did layouts while Frederica Manfredi handled the pencils. The art is flat and looks more like animation storyboards than comic art. If you can get past that, it’s another fun read, especially by having Johnny and Barbara survive.
REMOTE #1: Sunday April 24th @ 10:15 PM. Samantha Stanton is all alone and manning the airwaves at KBRF, Actually, she is not all alone as some of the station personnel, now zombies, are in there with her. Station owner Ed Grubler calls and informs her she will get a nice bonus, because everyone else is dead, but she is going to have to keep the station on the air. That also means she has to make her way outside to make sure the power is on. She manages to do that, running into the former Ms. Prendergast in the process. Getting back inside, she reads a wire report saying that the area will be sanitized by the Air Force at 23:00 hours. That’s when she realzies the station is now filled with zombies.
This, mainly because of the really simple artwork of Young Heller and David Wilson, is the weakest entry in the series by far. Colin Mitchell, Bill Jemas and Michael Coast contribute to the story, which is a variation on the classic “heroine in distress” stories combined with “the monsters are coming and I’m all alone and defenseless” story. But I can forgive that. I can’t forgive the really disappointing art, especially when the cover by Jose Luis and Carlos Reno is so dynamic and image. A real bummer and, if this was the only title in the series you read, you’d stop right here and never read another. The standout highlight is the listings of classic TV shows that were introduced in the 1960’s.
SLAB #1: Sunday April 24th @ 11:45 PM. Over at KOV TV, Dr. Grimes is doing an on-air interview regarding the crisis and how the bodies of the recently deceased should be handled. The station’s director sees him as a ratings bonanza and sends Bradley to follow the doctor back to the hospital morgue, where they view a limbless reanimated corpse. Rumors abound from reporters in Washington and the station is more than happy enough to broadcast those rumors. Meanwhile, Dr. Grimes assistant goes to get his two daughters and bring them to safety. Unfortunately, his daughter Carol gets bit on the final page!
This is another good story that sets up the long-term story. What I loved here is bringing in Dr. Grimes, famous for his medical report in the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and making him a central character in this title, along with the newsman. It’s a rather in-depth, wordy story by Brian Finkelstein, Bill Jemas and Michael Coast and that’s a good thing as a number of these stories are short on dialogue. The art by Julian Rowe and Joseph Cooper is good and better than I had expected based on the art on many of the titles in this series. This title seems to have the most potential for good old fashioned scary stuff! And check out the “Ultimate TV” Prime Time TV listings for the week of April 24-30, 1966. Pretty cool!
SOUL #1: Sunday April 25th @ 8:00 AM. It’s the morning after the Night of the Living Dead. The Army and local police are continuing to mop up. Chief McClelland accepts a cup of coffee and instructs his man Vince to shoot the zombie they believe is moving inside the house in front of them. Vince’ shot hits Ben in the temple, but does not kill him. He begins to shout that he is alive and that causes panic, especially in the White House where the realization is that a white man just shot a black man on live TV. The chief enters the house and interviews Ben, finding out how he arrived here and how they holed up to against the zombie attack. Meanwhile, in the basement, a seemingly dead Harry Cooper comes back to life.
Once again, the original NOTLD story gets turned on its’ ear as Ben survives the shooting and Harry resurrects! The story by Michael Coast, Julian Rowe and Bill Jemas does a nice job of picking up at the end of the film and bringing Chief McClelland back into this series for the third time out of ten books. While Carlos Reno’s art on the cover absolutely rocks, the interior work by Julian Rowe, Ricardo Sanchez, Jose Luis and Ricardo Silva is very uneven and, in spots panels, looks as if they were only pencilled and never inked. I am curious to see where this tale goes from here as it heads into new ground beyond the film.
To sum up, this is a very uneven bunch of books, but worth my time and investment. The concept of putting everything in a specific timeline in 1966 Pennsylvania is cool. Most of the stories work well while others need some serious fleshing out, pun intended! The biggest fault in all these tiles is the artwork that falls short on so many levels, especially when you start out with great looking covers. The best thing this series has working for them is the $2.50 cover price which means, if you have a subscription service, you can probably pick these up for around two bucks a pop! THAT’S A GREAT DEAL FOR 24+ pages of comic! It was pretty bold releasing all of these on one day and that, couple with a low print run, has made these hard to find, so I recommend you have your local retailer special order them. Bottom line: check them out. They are not on par with many titles put out by the bigger companies, but I find them an intriguing start and am DYING to see where they go from here!
No comments:
Post a Comment