Marvel Zombies is a five-issue
limited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
published from December 2005 to April 2006 by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The series was written by
Robert KirkmanRobert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
with art by
Sean PhillipsSean Phillips is a British comic book artist.He is best known in the American comic book industry for his work on DC Comics' Sleeper, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Hellblazer.-Career:...
and covers by
Arthur SuydamArthur Suydam is an American comic book artist and musician. He has done artwork for magazines including Heavy Metal, Epic Illustrated and National Lampoon, while his comic book work includes Batman, Conan, Tarzan, Predator, Aliens, Death Dealer, and Marvel Zombies.-Illustration:Suydam has...
. It was the first series in the
Marvel Zombies seriesMarvel Zombies is a comic book metaseries published by Marvel Comics. The series features zombie versions of Marvel Universe superheroes who have been portrayed as both protagonists and antagonists through the different limited series within the metaseries....
of related stories. The story begins with a virus reaching Earth, turning most of Earth's superheroes (and some civilians) into zombies.
Sequels
An
intercompany crossoverIn comic books, an intercompany crossover is a comic or series of comics where characters published by one company meet those published by another...
between Marvel and
Dynamite EntertainmentDynamite Entertainment is an American comic book company that primarily publishes licensed franchises of adaptations of other media. These include adaptations of film properties such as Army of Darkness, Terminator and RoboCop, literary properties such as Zorro, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in...
, published from May to September 2007 provided information as to the source of the zombie infection in the five-part limited series titled
Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of DarknessMarvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness is a five-issue 2007 comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in association with Dynamite Entertainment, an intercompany crossover in which Ash Williams, hero of the popular Evil Dead film and comic book, finds himself in the Marvel Zombies...
(Marvel) and
Army of DarknessArmy of Darkness comics are based on the film of the same name published originally by Dark Horse Comics, and later by Dynamite Entertainment who initially published them through Devil's Due Publishing....
(Dynamite). In July of the same year, a one-shot graphic novel,
Marvel Zombies: Dead DaysMarvel Zombies: Dead Days is a comic book one-shot first published in May 2007 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Sean Phillips, with cover art by Arthur Suydam. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series. The issue is a prequel to Marvel's first Marvel Zombies limited...
provided more story details, and the zombies also appear in a three-part storyline in
Black PantherThe Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
vol. 3, #28 – 30, although they make their appearance in the last page of #27 first, and encounter the
Earth-616In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
Fantastic Four.
A sequel to the original series, the five issue
Marvel Zombies 2Marvel Zombies 2 is a five-issue limited series published from October 2007 - February 2008 by comics publisher Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and Arthur Suydam...
, was published from October 2007 to February 2008, and
Marvel Zombies 3Marvel Zombies 3 is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in October 2008. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series. The series is written by Fred Van Lente, penciled by Kev Walker, with covers by Greg Land.-Plot:...
a four issue series, commenced October 2008.
Marvel Zombies 4Marvel Zombies 4 is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in April 2009. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series...
was a four issue limited series published over the summer of 2009, and featured characters from Marvel's horror comics (Man-Thing, Morbius the Living Vampire, Werewolf by Night, and Mephisto among others).
Marvel Zombies ReturnMarvel Zombies Return is a weekly five-issue comic book limited series, published by Marvel Comics in late 2009. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series of comic books.-Publication history:...
is a 5 issue mini-series begun in September 2009, and is a direct follow up sequel to Marvel Zombies 2. At the end of MZ2, the six remaining zombie heroes are teleported to an alternate universe. MZR tells the stories of where they ended up, as each hero ends up in a different location in a separate universe.
In 2006, the October issue of
WizardWizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
magazine featured a one-page
Marvel Zombies comic by artist Sean Phillips called "Eat the Neighbors." It parodied Hostess Fruit Pie advertisements featured in Marvel titles in the 1970s which showcased Marvel superheroes defeating villains by offering them snacks. In this instance, Spider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man serve two children as "Hostees Meat Pies" after the children mistake them for legitimate superheroes.
Another humorous one-shot comic book was also published in 2007 featuring the alternate universe animal hero
Spider-HamSpider-Ham is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic funny animal parody of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man, created by Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong....
and titled
Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham Crisis. Spider-Ham accidentally crosses over into Earth-2149 and becomes, as
J. Michael StraczynskiJoseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
puts it, "Undead Ham".
Collected editions
There are several
trade paperbacksIn comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
collecting the various stories:
- Marvel Zombies (collects Marvel Zombies #1-5, hardcover, 136 pages, August 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2277-X)
- Marvel Zombies (collects Marvel Zombies #1-5, softcover, 136 pages, October 2007, ISBN 978-0-7851-2014-8)
- Marvel Zombies: Dead Days (collects Ultimate Fantastic Four #21-23 "Crossover" and #30-32 "Frightful", "Marvel Zombies: Dead Days" and Black Panther (vol. 3) #28-30, 272 pages, April 2008, ISBN 0-7851-3232-5, softcover, February 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3563-4)
- Marvel Zombies 2
- Marvel Zombies 3
- Marvel Zombies 4
- Marvel Zombies Return
- Marvel Zombies 5
Other related collections include:
- Marvel Zombies: The Covers (by Arthur Suydam
Arthur Suydam is an American comic book artist and musician. He has done artwork for magazines including Heavy Metal, Epic Illustrated and National Lampoon, while his comic book work includes Batman, Conan, Tarzan, Predator, Aliens, Death Dealer, and Marvel Zombies.-Illustration:Suydam has...
, hardcover, 104 pages, November 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2908-1)
Merchandise
There is a range of supporting merchandise based on the characters. Diamond Select have produced Marvel Zombie
MinimatesMinimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a 2" tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 points of articulation, higher than average for block...
, action figures and a number of mini busts.
WizkidsWizKids, Inc. is an American New Jersey-based company that first made its mark in the game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. WizKids was purchased by and is a subsidiary of National Entertainment Collectibles Association. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a...
HeroclixHeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system. Originally designed and produced by WizKids, it is now owned and marketed by NECA. Players construct teams of comic book heroes, villains, and other characters from popular video games such as Street Fighter, Gears of War, and Halo...
has had appearances of
Spider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Captain America,
HulkThe Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
and
WolverineWolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
as Chase figures in the Supernova expansion. In the Mutations and Monsters set, there was an Iron Man, Giant-Man, Spider-Man and a Galactus Powered Wolverine. There was also a Janet Pym bystander token in the Mutations and Monsters set.
In The VS System TCG, the Marvel Zombies have 3 cards in the tournament Promo set, Age of Apocalypse. If you won the tournament where they came from, you would get a copy of Spider-Man as a Zombie. If you come in second place, you would get a card of Captain America. All participants got a copy of the Marvel Zombies card. The zombies in the game had a unique theme in destroying themselves to activate an effect. At the end of the turn, they would return to play.
External links