I'm trying to remember the last zombie movie I watched on DVD, since it was a cheap pick-up, and
spectacularly bad. (It wasn't
One Cut of the Dead!) It was pretty low budget, but not no-budget; it was the plot that killed me: the protagonist boldly made the wrong choice, every time one was presented to him, getting his friends killed every time! It also had almost a rebuttal of a traditional zombie movie trope: the guy that gets bit, but tries to hide it, then turns at the worst possible time. One friend gets bit, and knows he's going to turn, so wants to stay behind, and the 'hero' won't let him! So I possibly liked that movie even less than today's comic, but it's close. From 2018,
Marvel Zombie #1, written by W. Maxwell Prince, art by Steffano Raffaele.
It's a pleasant sunny day, post-zombie apocalypse, at least for Simon Garth, the capital-Z Zombie: he's not really part of the horde, since he's not that kind of zombie but close enough. While what's left of earth's heroes try to Defend against the horde, a little boy finds the other Amulet of Damballah, which prompts Simon to save him from being eaten: not because he's being controlled, but because they have matching necklaces! Once the heroes get past their shock, they realize he could come in handy: Moon Girl had created a fission device, that could probably wipe out most of the horde, except without any radioactive material, they would have to use the elements in a human body as a suicide bomber! But, there's the same atoms in Zombie, right?
As the heroes try to get the horde all together, and largely get overrun; the kid guilts Moon Girl into giving back the Amulet, and the Zombie. Simon considers her smart and compassionate, but she wonders if she's not going to hell for betraying humankind. The boy and his friend, make their way out of the city, towards...probably death! The zombies were still out there, unless Moon Girl decides to blow herself up; which she wouldn't have do; she could just stick the bomb on
any zombie and it'd probably be close enough! Also, Simon is way more cheery and friendly than usual: wasn't he a tool before he became the Zombie? And Moon Girl probably could've maybe let some of the heroes know and not get eaten? She's right about going to hell. I can be sentimental too, but come on. A shame, because there were a couple jokes that landed.
This wasn't the usual Marvel Zombies continuity, the bad guy zombies are pretty inarticulate. This issue didn't appear to be part of anything, just a lone one-off; like they had to renew the copyright or something.
The fact that the protagonist willingly making all those dumb choices makes wonder if that movie wasn't satirical or a parody. I mean maybe not full on intentionally, but a sly one by the director? Makes zero sense to me that you'd willingly allow a person who had gotten bitten to NOT stay behind or at the very least, mercy kill them. Makes you wonder if the protagonist was either secretly suicidal, nihilistic or maybe already secretly dying of some disease.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, this looks like a fun one & done issue. Most DEFINITELY done to renew the copyrights.
Love Spidey make a Cranberries song reference there that most under 30 will most certainly NOT get.
And you are correct, Simon Garth was usually portrayed as definitely less than cheery whenever he was featured. Feels like someone wrote him as one those new-age, modern zombies or mistook him for Brother Power the Geek.