''Marvel Zombies 3'' is a four-issue
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
beginning in October
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. It is part of the
''Marvel Zombies'' series. The series is written by
Fred Van Lente, penciled by
Kev Walker
Kevin Walker is a British comics artist and illustrator, based in Leeds, who worked mainly on '' 2000 AD'' and ''Warhammer'' comics and the collectible card game ''Magic: The Gathering''. He is now working for Marvel Comics.
Biography
Walker be ...
, with covers by
Greg Land
Greg Land (born 1956) is an American comic book artist, best known for his work on books such as ''Uncanny X-Men'', ''Birds of Prey'', and ''Fantastic Four''.
Career
Greg Land first got a job with an independent publisher as the artist for ''Stor ...
.
Plot
Zombies invade
Earth-616, the original
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
, by entering through the Nexus of Realities in Florida.
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
,
Jennifer Kale
Jennifer Kale is a fictional character, a sorceress appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler in 1972, she was originally a supporting character in Man-Thing comic books. Since h ...
,
Wundarr and the Conquistador (
Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...
, who as a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
regards his foes as
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
s), local members of the
Fifty-State Initiative, investigate but are attacked by zombie
Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
[''Marvel Zombies 3'' #1 (December 2008)] and a few zombified civilians. The zombies kill the Conquistador, and infect Siege and Wundarr. A horrified Kale destroys Deadpool's body with an
airboat
An airboat (also known as a planeboat, swamp boat, bayou boat, or fanboat) is a flat-bottomed watercraft propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. In early aviation history the term ''airboat ...
. Siege's robotics detect the biological corruption and he self-terminates. Wundarr goes into hibernation to purge himself. A traumatized Jennifer Kale awaits in an observation room back at headquarters.
Back at
A.R.M.O.R.,
Machine Man and
Jocasta
In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, t ...
travel to the Marvel Zombie universe to find DNA with
Little Sky so they can find an uninfected human for
Morbius, now an A.R.M.O.R. scientist, to make a vaccine against the zombie plague so the 616 heroes can be inoculated against the virus. While the heroes are gone, it is revealed that Morbius is the zombie version, who has kidnapped the real one.
The two heroes find that "human" readings are really coming from clones generated by the zombie
Kingpin, via his resources and created by the zombie
Jackal
Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...
, now used as the zombies' sole food source under Kingpin's control. As they watch, the zombified
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...
arrive and are welcomed by Kingpin (who tells the now prolix Black Bolt to shut up).
Machine Man and Jocasta stumble upon
Vanessa Fisk
Vanessa Fisk ( née Marianna) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is married to the crime boss the Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) and is the mother of Richard Fisk, although she herself is not portra ...
, who is uninfected. She tells them that the Kingpin is keeping her safe. She allows Jocasta to get a blood sample, but declines an offer to escape to Earth-616, preferring to stay behind with her husband. Looking at the dead and dying bodies in the pit, Machine Man is overcome with pity, realizing that the zombies are treating the clones the way humans treat robots. He leaves Jocasta, goes into battle mode and destroys the clones out of mercy and gets attacked by the zombies, and he has destroyed their food source.
A severely injured and sessile zombie
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
appears in the plot line; has only the powers to create
manna
Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follow ...
(ironically inedible for the zombies) and to see other dimensions. He thus reveals A.R.M.O.R.'s operations on Earth-616. Machine Man sees that the impostor Morbius used Deadpool to create a distraction so that he could set his plans in motion.
On the real Marvel Universe, a female team member finds the real Morbius captive. The infected version attacks and turns her, causing a zombie outbreak that quickly overtakes the entire facility. Little Sky returns Jocasta to A.R.M.O.R. without Machine Man, who didn't meet them on time, and Jocasta requests that Machine Man be given posthumous honors. Jocasta discovers Morbius is a zombie, and one zombie uses the A.R.M.O.R. teleporters to escape this reality.
In the zombie universe, Machine Man defeats the zombies, leaving only zombie
Lockjaw, whom Machine Man uses to teleport back to A.R.M.O.R., where he kills the zombies. (Immediately thereafter he queries Jocasta about having some "...sweet, sweet robot love" in a secluded spot, whereupon they kiss.)
The real Morbius kills his zombie counterpart and escapes. Jocasta and Machine Man return to
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...
, and Morbius volunteers to follow the zombie that teleported away, along with a new team of
Midnight Sons
The Midnight Sons is a fictional team of supernatural superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Including Ghost Riders Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, Blade, and Morbius, the original team first formed as part of ...
.
Sequel
The end of the final issue sets-up the next part of the Marvel Zombies saga ''
Marvel Zombies 4
''Marvel 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. The series is written by Fred Van Lente, penciled by Kev Walker, with covers by Greg ...
:
Midnight Sons
The Midnight Sons is a fictional team of supernatural superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Including Ghost Riders Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, Blade, and Morbius, the original team first formed as part of ...
''.
Covers
Unlike the prior Marvel Zombies series covers, which were zombie variations of past Marvel comics covers, Marvel Zombies 3 covers are variants of well-known movie posters. Art by
Greg Land
Greg Land (born 1956) is an American comic book artist, best known for his work on books such as ''Uncanny X-Men'', ''Birds of Prey'', and ''Fantastic Four''.
Career
Greg Land first got a job with an independent publisher as the artist for ''Stor ...
.
* Issue #1 is a reference to the ''
Army of Darkness
''Army of Darkness'' is a 1992 American comedy horror film directed, co-written and co-edited by Sam Raimi, co-produced by Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell and co-written by Ivan Raimi. Starring Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it is the third i ...
'' movie poster.
* Issue #2 is a reference to the ''
28 Days Later
''28 Days Later'' is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to discover the accidental release of a highly contagi ...
'' movie poster.
* Issue #3 is a reference to ''
The Evil Dead
''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Robert Tapert and executive produced by Raimi, Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, who also starred alongside Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeMan ...
'' movie poster.
* Issue #4 is a reference to the US ''
Shaun of the Dead
''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). The fi ...
'' movie poster.
The variant cover for issue #1 is an
Arthur Suydam
Arthur Suydam (born May 18, 1953) is an American comic book artist known for his work on Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, Black Panther, and KISS Zombies. He has done artwork for magazines including '' Heavy Metal'', '' Epic Illustrated'' and '' Nationa ...
Zombie version of
Machine Man #1, originally by
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...
.
The second printing of #1 features a variant cover by
Kev Walker
Kevin Walker is a British comics artist and illustrator, based in Leeds, who worked mainly on '' 2000 AD'' and ''Warhammer'' comics and the collectible card game ''Magic: The Gathering''. He is now working for Marvel Comics.
Biography
Walker be ...
, using story art from the issue.
Reception
Paukolo reviewed the first issue for
Comics Bulletin
Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry.
History Silver Bullet Comicbooks
The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice.
During this ...
and was happy with the story although he knocked off half a point for the ending. The writing is "briskly paced, humorous, and loaded with references that makes me think we read the same comics growing up" according to McCoy, who said it measures up well against its predecessors, suggesting that it is "rough-hewn and hearkens back to
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
' work on the previous series, but lacks the detailed gore of those stories". Timothy Callahan at
Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
agrees, stating that Van Lente's writing "balances the sick humor with an engaging plot, providing a few twists and turns in just a single issue" and Walker's contribution is "streamlined an effective, with a kind of blocky
Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''.
Early life
Dillon was born in London in 1962 and raised i ...
vibe."
''Marvel Zombies 3'' #1 review
Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
Collected editions
The series has been collected into an individual volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The de ...
:
*''Marvel Zombies 3'' (104 pages, hardcover, May 2009, , softcover, December 2009, )
See also
*'' Marvel Zombies''
*''Marvel Zombies 2
''Marvel 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. It is part of the '' Marve ...
''
*''Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
''Marvel 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'' fi ...
''
*''Marvel Apes
''Marvel Apes'' is a four-issue limited series by comics publisher Marvel Comics which started publication in October 2008. The series is written by Karl Kesel with art by Ramon Bachs and covers by John Watson.
The Marvel Apes reality is designa ...
''
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Marvel Zombies
Marvel Zombies
Comics by Fred Van Lente
Comics set in New York City