FUBAR #2, Empire of the Rising Dead Stories by Jeff McComsey, Benjamin Truman, Shawn Aldridge, Rafer Roberts, Kevin Johnson, Steve Becker, Stephen Lindsay, Jennie Wood, Dominic Vivona, Mark Bertolini, Lonny Chant, Phil McClorey, Matt Kendzior, Kyle Kaczmarczyk, Michael Isenberg, Oliver Mertz, Michael McDermott, Jorge Vega, Timothy Zaprala, Jeff McClelland, Richard Meyers, Helaine Crawford, Eric Spohn, Ronald Montgomery, Mike Imboden
Art by Jonathan Moore, Jeff McComsey, Joe Dunn, Rafer Roberts, Kurt Belcher, Michael Bracco, Daniel Thollin, Jim McMunn, Dominic Vivona, Carl Yonder, Lonny Chant, Jason Copland, Steve Willhite, Rob Croonenborghs, Steve Becker, Jeremy Massie, Aluisio Cervelle Santos, Aluisio Cervelle Santos, Mario Wytch, Richard Meyers, Helaine Crawford, Eric Spohn, James Giar, Shamus McGuigan, Leonardo Pietro, Danilo Beyruth
Letters by Jeff McComsey, Shawn Aldridge, Michael Bracco, Jeff McClelland, Jason Meadows, Chris Horan, Phil McClorey, Rob Croonenborghs, Julie Shelton, Jason Arthur
FUBAR #2, Empire of the Rising Dead is a 200+ page, World War II with zombies, short story extravaganza. Whereas the first issue took place in the European theater, this issue takes place solely in the Pacific theater. It’s all here: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, island hopping warfare, geishas, evil Japanese scientific experiments, shark attacks on stranded sailors, and Tuskegee. But, you know, with zombies.
Actor Eric Balfour has been hired to turn his attentions to behind the camera and turn Jesus Hates Zombies, the graphic novel from Stephen Lindsay, into a feature-length movie from a script written by Michael Mongillo and Jason Alan Smith.
The graphic novel tells of a zombie plague taking over the world, as we’ve seen play out in movies, comics, games, and TV shows so many times now, but this time the creator himself is watching and doesn’t like what he sees, so he once again sends Jesus back to Earth — this time to throw down with the zombie horde.
We all love comics, right? I mean, you wouldn’t even be reading this if you didn’t enjoy the unique experience of the pairing of words with pictures that comics offer. It’s a form of storytelling unlike any other. The juxtaposition of the action on the page with the dialog. The power of a caption box giving us insight into a characters thoughts. The raw imagination we display (without even realizing it) to fill in the blank spaces between the panels.
Yeah, we love comics.
But saying we love comics is very different from proving we love comics. Sure, we all use the internet as our forum to discuss the books and characters we love. We feel a sense of ownership over them. We feel our opinions should matter, dammit! And we’re furious when it appears that the comic companies blatantly ignore those opinions. It hurts.
If you REALLY want to prove that you love comics, and that your opinion should matter, then you’ll listen to me now and help out a dear friend of mine.
There’s a comic shop called Comic Evolution in Puyallup, Washington (that’s just outside of Seattle) that is owned and operated by Chuck Messinger. Chuck is one of us. He loves comics. And not just tights and capes. All comics. He champions the indie creator. He gets it. He takes the time to know his clientele to the point where a recommendation from him is pretty much a guarantee that you’re going to enjoy whatever he’s telling you to read. His shop is free of the stereotypical comic store pretension. It’s a place for comic lovers to go and let their geek flag fly with pride. He gives back to the community and the surrounding businesses.
Jesus is back and he’s ready for his final showdown with the angel Gabriel and his army of the undead. Yes, Jesus is ready to take on the undead hordes, and he’s brought his pal Abraham Lincoln along with him. Okay, this all sounds crazy, but that’s the best thing about Jesus Hates Zombies featuring Lincoln Hates Werewolves in Yea, Though I Walk Volume 4 (see, even the title is insane).
For a book called Jesus Hates Zombies, this is not nearly as blasphemous as you might think it would be. Writer Stephen Lindsay does not make fun of Jesus; he doesn’t even really make fun of Christians (which would be an easy way for a weaker writer to go). He just wants to tell a goofy but fun zombie story. Sure, it may have a few more religious trappings than other zombie books, but Lindsay’s goal is not really to examine religion. You can tell when a writer is being mean towards religion, and I never get that feeling from this book. This is an action movie, complete with explosions and epic fights.
FUBAR, Vol. 1 Stories by Dominic Vivona, Steve Becker, Jeff McComsey, Stephen Lindsay, Shawn Williams, Benjamin Truman, Phil McClorey, Helaine Crawford, Mike Imboden, Kyle J. Kaczmarczyk
Art by Jeff McComsey, Steve Becker, Lonny Chant, Darrin Stephens, Jim McMunn, Dominic Vivona, Jonathan Moore, Steve Wilhite, Helaine Crawford, James Nguyen, Rob Croonenborghs
FUBAR is a zombie anthology with a twist. The stories take place during World War II. The conflict and tension of war is only heightened when legions of undead monsters are thrown into the mix. This unique backdrop also proves to be a wellspring of creativity, as evidenced by the great stories being told in this collection.
There are so many interesting tales in this collection, and I wish that I could mention them all. A few stories that I really enjoyed were “Bearer of Secrets”, about a Jewish executioner, a concentration camp prisoner, and a German soldier forced to work together to escape the zombie threat. In “If God be for Us”, an American priest has a deadly encounter with zombified American soldiers. “Stalemate” is another unique story about American and German soldiers making their final stand against the Germans in a fortified bunker. In “De Guer”, two Dutch men send a blind boy out into the field to evade the zombies and help them gain their freedom. “Golem’s Last Stand” is another fascinating story about a Jewish girl who uses a dying American soldier in a very special way to destroy the zombie soldiers intent on eating her and her family. In all of these tales and the others in the book, you can feel the anguish and frustration of the humans already caught up in the grips of war and now being forced to contend with the presence of zombies.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
