If you’re like me Marvel Zombies was a fun idea that Robert Kirkman cooked up which was popular for a time and then soon faded from memory. The problem is Marvel made so much dough on the first one they had to make sequels. Enter Marvel Zombies 2 which had Kirkman and Sean Phillips explore what happens next. A bunch of key Marvel heroes ate Galactus and almost all the life on Earth so what could they possibly eat next? Find out now as Marvel Zombies 2 is getting a reprint just in time for their new Marvel Zombies Respawn coming out next week.
This is a classic example of the sequel setting things up so they can continue to make more. Early on we find out some of the zombies don’t hunger for human flesh anymore, for instance, and new non-zombie humans are introduced to set up Earth’s new infrastructure. We soon learn there is infighting amongst the people and Black Panther is the leader of Earth. Forge is still alive too and much of the technology that has kept the humans alive is thanks to him. Enter the heroes who are running out of food and decide to head back to Earth to get Mr. Fantastic’s dimension-hopping machine. The stakes are raised well since we now know the zombies want to eat every being in the multiverse.
I wish this battle took place in this one. That’d be rad!
Credit: Marvel Comics
One of the strongest elements of this collection is how Peter Parker and other heroes decide to turn back to being good. There’s a solid speech by Spider-Man early on that hints at his turn later in the collection and Kirkman does a good job writing these rabid zombie versions of all the characters.
The biggest standout is the art by Sean Phillips which is gross, grotesque and a perfect dose of horror for the Halloween season. Characters get their heads sliced open, there’s a gruesome scene with Spider-Man getting torn in half, and the dank dirtiness of it all is captured well thanks to Phillips’ style. Color artist June Chung does a great job keeping this book looking dark and atmospheric from a doomsday perspective. There is nothing happy here which adds a bit of dread to every page.
It is, however, a rather vapid and pointless story. If you’re not down for zombie gore or silly plot turns to utilize the scenario you’ll find this rather boring. The main narrative with Black Panther does its best to add a subplot to dig into, but really if you’re even contemplating reading this you’re only here for the gore and zombified versions of the heroes traipsing around.
This is an okay followup to the sensation that was Marvel Zombies. Mainly it seems to exist to write more stories using this version of the heroes and while it has its place for fans of gore and superheroes it’s still a mildly entertaining read at best.
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