Aliens Vs. Zombies #5 - Zenescope Entertainment

ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES No. 5, December 2015

Having already seen to it that this comic’s cast are “surrounded by dozens of zombies” whilst being trapped deep underground amidst the debris of a derelict tube station, Joe Brusha still manages to make his protagonists’ predicament increasingly perilous throughout this concluding instalment of the “Zenescope Entertainment” mini-series. In fact the publishing company’s co-creator makes it decidedly difficult for the reader to ascertain with any confidence whatsoever, which of the heroes is actually going “to survive the zombie apocalypse” until the book’s very last page; “There’s no way through this rubble. We’re going to have to shoot our way out of this.”

This pervading sense of doubt throughout the narrative begins almost straight away as Nova and Raxus’ ‘prickly’ future trying to rebuild their species after it was “wiped out” by “the interstellar virus” is emphatically resolved by the alien captain’s would-be consort rather explosively sacrificing himself after he is bitten on the ankle. Such a dramatic ending to so central a character really raises a question mark as to the fate of all the other survivors, especially when the formidably huge, and seemingly unstoppable Balgar suddenly and rather unexpectedly ‘turns’ and tears one of Tak’s arms off. Indeed the enormous extra-terrestrial’s zombification really can come as a complete surprise if artist Vincenzo Riccardi’s tiny panel depicting the dome-headed behemoth’s scratched calf is missed.

“Seven miles to the Northeast” and Melissa’s destiny seems equally as uncertain as she and her colleagues rather contrivingly take refuge within a large crypt. With Tavon’s freshly dead henchmen on the outside and a party of shambling corpses attacking them on the inside, it really does appear that it is all over for Colt’s love interest. Especially when the burial chamber’s entrance is finally breached and Cromm is seemingly overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers.

Sadly, having endured and enjoyed such a roller coaster of a final ride, Brusha’s “two weeks later” epilogue provides a rather rushed and dissatisfying conclusion to so exciting a five-issue serial. Raxus Prime’s memorial, “even though he is not really buried here”, seems fitting enough, as does the slightly unconvincing nature of Balgar’s “indestructible” genetic makeup. But then in the space of a handful of panels the “spacecraft full of alien scientists” are ‘up and away’, leaving behind a rather wistful-looking Colt who supposedly intends to “help rebuild the planet.”

The regular cover art of "ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES" No. 5 by Jason Metcalf and Victor Bartlett

Aliens Vs. Zombies #4 - Zenescope Entertainment

ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES No. 4, November 2015

Despite some of the narrative’s set pieces, such as the protagonists finding themselves surrounded inside a cemetery or later trapped within a derelict underground tube station, being decidedly clichéd for a horror genre comic book based upon a modern-day zombie apocalypse, Issue Four of “Aliens Vs. Zombies” arguably still provides a somewhat faultless reading experience. For whilst there is still a little character development as Raxus and Nova begin to work out their differences as the last two survivors of their species, and the low-life delinquent Tavon once again demonstrates that he is the real monster of the story, this twenty-four page periodical never wavers from its relentlessly brutal and blood-soaked depiction of a planet being grievously ravaged by the ever-hungry walking dead.

Indeed the action to Joe Brusha’s script simply never lets up throughout the magazine to the point where any perusing bibliophile must surely feel as exhausted as dark-jacketed hero Colt does, having spent the best part of his ‘screen time’ running, jumping and battering zombies with a piece of mangled lead pipe. There truly is no time whatsoever for any of the title’s leads to grab a breath as the Pennsylvania-based publisher ensures the carnivorous horde ruthlessly chase them through a local graveyard, descend upon a deserted school bus the party momentarily hole up in and then finally, rather obstinately pursue the crew of the extra-terrestrial spacecraft through the city’s deadly streets until the book’s concluding cliff-hanger; "We don't have enough firepower to get out of this."

Fortunately however, this seemingly constant endangerment of the “alien scientists tasked with tracking the interstellar virus” and their human companions, isn’t in any way a tedious mindless romp. But is instead actually driven by the insanely selfish desires of aspiring ‘crime boss’ Tavon and his foolhardy belief that providing he has possession of the alien’s satellite dish “the planet don’t need saving” and he’ll “be on top when this is all over.”

Equally as fast-paced as this comic’s plot is the wonderfully dynamic artwork of Vincenzo Riccardi. The penciller’s panel count becomes especially prolific as both the book’s action and suspense increases, and yet the quality of his illustrations don’t drop one iota as a result. In fact it is hard to recall a better drawn magazine which is so packed full of shambling corpses being beaten, slashed and shot to pieces…

The regular cover art of "ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES" No. 4 by Jason Metcalf and Wes Hartman

Aliens Vs. Zombies #3 - Zenescope Entertainment

ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES No. 3, September 2015

Chock full of the Undead, as any good zombie comic book should be, this third instalment of the five-issue mini-series by “Zenescope Entertainment” not only manages to keep its meagre readership happy on account of numerous cadavers stalking the streets looking for flesh to feast upon. But also rather successfully manages to take a leaf out of Robert Kirkman’s magnum opus “The Walking Dead” by having some of the narrative’s humans truly be the real monsters of the magazine.

For although Joe Brusha clearly portrays the carnivorous corpses as this title’s main ever-present threat, especially to the likes of alien navigator Tammy who is trapped and surrounded inside the remains of her crashed spacecraft. It is actually the conniving criminal Tavon, a man willing to do anything for the extra-terrestrial’s “priceless” gear, who perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly turns ‘traitor’ and becomes the Pennsylvania-based publisher’s main villain of the piece. In fact the characterisation of the shotgun-carrying bully is so splendidly written that it’s genuinely hard not to dislike the selfish greedy gang leader even before he betrays the ‘frog-faced’ Cromm and threatens to kill young Destiny, unless Balgar and Tak surrender to him.

Impressively this periodical also manages to find the time within its twenty-three pages to both ‘flesh-out’ a bit more detail behind Captain Nova’s determination to eradicate the universe of the “interstellar [zombie] virus” and provide any “Aliens Vs. Zombies” fans with some pulse-pounding ‘Evel Knievel’ antics as Melissa and Colt ride through a horde of brain-hungry living corpses on motorbikes en route to Center City’s cemetery; “Hey Colt… Follow my lead. And try to keep up.”

All of this action and drama is wonderfully drawn by Vincenzo Riccardi, with the comic artist’s Undead, whether they be white-eyed humans, multiple-armed, squid-headed Martians or fork-tongued lizardmen, proving to be the highlight of the book. Admittedly some of the penciller’s panels are a little disappointingly inconsistent whenever they feature the rather doe-eyed adolescent Destiny. However these minor aberrations are easily forgiveable once the action starts back up and the story’s combatants either bloodily pummel their ghoulish foes to death with baseball bats or gorily eviscerate them with stunningly sharp swords.

The variant cover art of "ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES" No. 3 by Giuseppe Cafaro and Brett Smith

Aliens Vs. Zombies #2 - Zenescope Entertainment

ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES No. 2, August 2015

Selling a depressingly paltry 3,001 copies during August 2015, despite its four frighteningly chilling colourful variant covers, this second instalment of the five-issue “Zombie virus hits Earth” mini-series by “Zenescope Entertainment” still provides plenty of gruesomely gory entertainment for any perusing horror-based fan. In fact Nova’s furious decapitation of an alleyway full of reanimated corpses with a rotating blade is seriously ‘icky stuff’. Especially as the extra-terrestrial “survivor” spends a couple of subsequent panels gasping for breath as her shocked ship-mates survey the scene of dismemberment and mutilation around their enraged captain.

Predominantly however Joe Brusha’s narrative concentrates upon the lamentably bloodless historical plague infestation of the Sarkillian Homeworld Shimera, and the “alien scientists” dialogue-heavy ‘first contact’ with Mankind as the supposed planet’s saviours inadvertently interrupt a group of dislikeable diamond robbers squabbling over whether to simply murder their captive Jeweller’s driver. Even the painful sounding demise of the slightly-built dome-headed space-farer Tammy, as they are presumably eaten alive by three ever-hungry human cadavers within the wreckage, regrettably occurs off-page.

Indeed it is only towards the end of this twenty-page periodical that the crew of the Tiberuis finally start to seek out “the broken pieces of their ship containing [the] vital equipment [needed] in order to save the planet” and then in a somewhat disappointingly contrived piece of plotting by the publisher’s President and Chief Creative Officer, the primary part of the rocket ship Nova needs to get to has coincidentally crash-landed in the middle of the local graveyard; "I may be able to help you get there... But you're probably not going to like what you find when you get there."

Fortunately, such sedentary conversation-obsessed scenes are still imbued with a sense of suspense, tension and earnest dread as a result of Vincenzo Riccardi’s wonderful artwork and Grosieta’s brilliantly vibrant colours. The cartoonist’s pacing is particularly strong, and whether they be the insectoid-like gymnastic Tak clearing his colleagues a path through the zombie hordes or Tammy slowly being stalked by the undead through an air duct, the Italian penciller impressively realises each of the script’s numerous protagonists and easily brings them to animated life.

The regular cover art of "ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES" No. 2 by Jason Metcalf and Ivan Nunes

Aliens Vs. Zombies #1 - Zenescope Entertainment

ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES No. 1, July 2015

Well known for its “full-color action, fantasy and horror titles” this first instalment of an “all-new” five issue mini-series by “Zenescope Entertainment” is a rather enjoyable fast-paced read, and most definitely provides a new twist to the somewhat stale premise of the World being infected by some randomly conceived “Zombie Virus”. Indeed this novel “blend of science fiction, horror and action” actually portrays the rather colourful extra-terrestrial crew of a large spaceship in the role of the planet’s potential saviours… At least up until the point where Air Force One catastrophically collides into the low orbiting alien vessel and forces it to make a crash-landing smack in the middle of the walking dead.

Admittedly the infection’s actual origin, which consists of a fallen meteor overpowering the New Jersey farming locals who first discover it, is at least partially inspired by author H.G. Wells’ novel “The War Of The Worlds”. But company co-founders Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco’s premise that creatures from outer space are routinely patrolling ‘heavily populated planets’ for such ‘signs of contagion’ makes “Aliens Verses Zombies” a refreshingly original narrative, especially when the disciplined well-drilled star-farers appear to represent so many different intergalactic species.

Fortunately the Pennsylvania-based publishers have also taken into account those potential purchasers who may be somewhat sceptical at such a strong science fiction theme pervading the storyline, by also filling this periodical’s twenty-three pages with plenty of gruesomely bloody, brain-feasting Zeds. In fact the magazine’s impressive summarisation of the living corpses taking only a “day to spread to every major population center on the planet” is one of the highlights of this opening edition. As is the depiction of the claustrophobically confined pilots of the President’s plane being swiftly devoured by one of their very own whilst in mid-flight; “Tower is gone. We’re on our own up here.”

Equally as impressive as Brusha’s script is the incredible artwork of Vincenzo Riccardi. The fumettista’s opaque-eyed carnivorous cadavers are both wonderfully animated and ghoulishly ‘alive’ as they relentlessly stalk both the last few remaining survivors on the city streets or ravenously press upon the failing fences of a military base.

The regular cover art of "ALIENS VS. ZOMBIES" No. 1 by Sean Chen and Ivan Nunes