Over the course of five brief issues, Robert Kirkman–best known for creating the jaw-droppingly risqué satire, Battle Pope, atop the visceral prescient that is The Walking Dead–combines his authorial talents alongside the visual acumen of artists Sean Phillips and Arthur Suydam to fashion what can only be described as the definitive signal for the world of comics that post-modernism has inevitably arrived. Its name is Marvel Zombies.
Following an arc from issues 21-23 of Ultimate Fantastic Four by Mark Millar and Greg Land, Magneto finds himself in an alternate dimension where a viral plague of zombism, of only a few days standing, has infected most of the populace, including superheroes.
By populating his world with the hollowed shells of modern day’s mythological heroes, Kirkman implicitly deconstructs all notions for which such characters formally stood, such as hope, gallantry, integrity, justice, loyalty, and ethical responsibility. In so doing, he permits his audience’s pipe dreams which had only been permitted to exist in very limited, constrictive capacities in the past, to become impenitently manifest. For decades we have watched the heroism of Spider-Man, Thor, the Hulk, Captain-cum-Colonel America, Iron Man, and Wolverine while being naughtily hypothesized by the thought of what said characters would do if their consciousness weren’t dictating their actions. With Marvel Zombies, it is with modest revelry that we are allowed to witness the hallowed figures of morality unabatedly attack both human and superhero alike with Sadian abandon. In this respect, Kirkman does not disappoint for, during the various escapades in which hope appears in various guises upon Phillips’s post-apocalyptic horizon, the evil that is autophagious hunger prevails (as only Good had previously).
But don’t mistake Kirkman’s premise as being a mere nihilistic theoretical made manifest that arbitrarily posits itself as critical commentary upon contemporary society as well as the whole of comic history. The author sustains masterful control of his narrative throughout as his thoroughly considered and articulately executed tale of the world turned upside down carries with it a fitting, albeit wry, air of black humor. For example, after Spidey suffers a compound fracture of the tibia, he convinces Luke Cage to transport him so as to avail himself the to opportunity lest the next meal otherwise appear in his stead. Between feasts, we are forced to chuckle as the dilapidated bodies of our heroes pass the time by playing cards so as to simultaneously take their mind off of their impending hunger as well as the existential futility of their situation. Sardonically, Kirkman’s scenario also permits for a wide margin of parody as well (as reflected in Suydam’s mock-ups of famed comic covers throughout the ages). The ever downtrodden Peter Parker bemoans, not his plight as a superhero, but his disgruntlement after having consumed both Mary Jane and dear Aunt May. In the procession of the mayhem, we also learn what would occur should Wolverine ever come in contact with a substance which refuses to wane under the might of his Adamantium skeleton. This says nothing of Bruce Banner who, after consuming Hulk-size portions and returning to normative size, suffers the disproportionate consequences in respect to continued bodily containment and subsequent absorption whereby to thwart his hunger. In short, we learn the consequences of the old adage “Eyes bigger than one’s stomach.”
If nothing else, Kirkman is steadfast enough to realize that the easy, most pragmatic solution to both the vampire as well as zombie dilemma would be to create and maintain a blood or flesh farm respectively. Knowing the scope and range of the material with which he is working, the author presents just that as he continues to explore the logistic ramifications of a scenario rarely permitted in the genre for fear of a ruined sequel.
Leave it to the genius of Robert Kirkman and Co. to devise an avenue in which to trump the Trioxin-fueled rage of the contemporary zombie while simultaneously extending it beyond the short-lived duration of a one-shot What If . . . ?. By offering us a threat greater than cannibalistic humans via cannibalistic super humans, Marvel Zombies grants us our long-standing desire to witness persons with extraordinary powers divulged of any semblance of morality. But not content to merely appease his audience, Kirkman issues equal parts satire, parody, and gallows humor as he, albeit despairingly but nonetheless essentially, triggers the gun that might well become known as the post-modern shot heard round the comic world.
-Egregious Gurnow
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