Broken Frontier

There was once a time in the halcyon days of my youth when I’d savor the release of each and every new issue of Marvel Zombies with the undiluted glee of a schoolboy planting his first kiss. Oh, those happy days. But some point this spring, say around the midpoint of Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness, I began to grow disenchanted with my old love. I found myself hoping that all would be fixed once writer Robert Kirkman returned to the series, but now that the original lineup that launched the concept has been reassembled I have to say, after two issues Kirkman’s portrayal of the plight of New Wakanda doesn’t provide even half as many laughs as Ash’s campy romp through the zombie infested Marvel Universe.

Anyone who read last week’s gushing review of Walking Dead knows I’m a fan of Robert Kirkman. But these initial issues of Marvel Zombies 2 just haven’t been that funny. There’s a particularly hilarious moment this week during a conversation between Spidey and Luke Cage, but nothing here matches the level of humor found in Kirkman’s other books, like the grossly underappreciated Irredeemable Ant-Man or even the original Marvel Zombies run. I often found myself longing for Ash or just about anyone to show up who could bring some lighthearted humor back into the book.

As stated last month, much of the blame falls on the fact that there’s just not that many zombies left. Kirkman has stated in interviews that he’s had an idea for a sequel since finishing the first miniseries, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. Despite a couple of charming moments, Marvel Zombies 2 feels like a shameless cash-in even more so than when Ashley Williams seemingly dropped in out of nowhere.

The plot does manage to heat up a bit as the zombies arrive on Earth and confront New Wakanda where zombies Black Panther, Wasp, and a rather humorous Hawkeye, put forth the hypothesis that if the zombies just wait out their hunger for a few days at a time it will eventually die away. Spider-Man and Luke Cage defect to the New Wakanda side and so begins the much hyped zombie Civil War. The problem here is that the so called war amounts to little more than a handful of zombified superheroes squaring off. And although it’s entertaining to watch Spider-Man use his newfound Galactus powers on an unsuspecting Ant-Man, the story doesn’t seem to have the necessary scope to fill up five full issues. With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see where Kirkman goes from here as it seems as though he’ll have to add in some kind of plot twist to keep things moving forward.

Sean Phillips once again does a decent job on art although it’s becoming less and less impressive to see his renderings of the same few zombies. Gone are the amazing two page spreads filled with countless civilian eating superheroes. But there is a new Arthur Suydam cover here for those interested. Although, it probably ranks in the bottom third of paintings he’s supplied for the series.

All in all, the second issue of Marvel Zombies 2 proves an entertaining ride; it’s just a predictable one that doesn’t have the same spark the series did back when it launched not so long ago in 2006.