Zombies and the Old West seem to be the current trend lately. The Western is becoming something of a go-to genre to plop the undead into. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Zombie Western as much as the next guy (Undead Nightmare and others), but as I scour the aethernet for fresh material for the Emporium it seems like the most common "Weirdness" I come across is...Zombies. Joe Casual-Weird-West-Fan might not realize it with all of the flesh eaters popping up lately, but the Weird West is so much more than just Zombies (Thank goodness for Cowboys and Aliens!) Over the next few months Ill be doing posts about the glut of Zombies in the Old West as I come across more and more of those little fellers.
(Actually as a side note, some reviews of Undead Nightmare actually thought the idea of Zombies in the Old West was a really weird idea, and some even mocked it. It got to the point where Rockstar Games had too defend their position with examples of the Weird West in popular media. Kids nowdays.)
With all of that said, however, there are actually some very interesting Zombie Westerns I want to report on soon, such as a new film I JUST heard about last night called Revelation Trail, which Ill talk about in a few weeks.
...but until then...
Mark Rahner, Robert Horton, and Dan Dougherty have come out with a post civil war Weird Western comic called Rotten published through Moonstone comics. The artwork looks really nice, and I'm interested in getting my hands on the first trade paperback to see how the story reads.
The story synopsis sounds pretty interesting: Meet William Wade, Civil War vet, reluctant secret agent answering to President Rutherford B. Hayes, and zombie-hunter! In Reactivated, Agent Wade begins his mission with partner J.J. Flynn in a mining town locked down in a labor dispute and a siege of the undead. Plus, the two agents go undercover in an isolated, snowbound, debauched Army fort under slow attack by the undead - uncovering a Donner-like party and the fact that the wretched things are arising in different species everywhere. Collecting the first six issues of Moonstone's acclaimed zombie-Western epic with an edgy topical bite.
They put together a trailer for the book that looks, brutal and scary and really really good, so I cant wait to check the book out:
Yowza!
Rotten even has its own WEBSITE that has samples of the artwork and other stuff for the curious to check out. You should also keep an eye out at the Amazon Page for when the trade paperback is finally released.
5 comments:
I have to be truthful and say zombies bore me. Place a zombie theme in any storyline (not just Westerns) and it becomes predictable. Lots of blood and violence that usually includes decapitations, dismemberment and cannibalism.
Thje predicability of zombie stories is what disappoints me the most. Why would anyone shoot bullets at an undead creature? It's dumb. Why would anyone think they could win a fight with a creature that's already dead?
Just cut off its head or destroy it by fire. End of story. Instead we get shootouts and fist fights resulting in lots of blood and gore and "meaningful" insights about our disintegrating society and alienation.
As you say Mark the Weird West is about so much more than zombie of the week.
Rockstar had to defend their decision? Jeez, I guess it's a good thing they didn't do "Red Dead Dinosaur" ^_^
I agree that zombies are a little tiresome. The odd thing here and there is cool, like Undead Nightmare (or what the Jonah Hex film was going to be like in my head). But right now my girlfriend is reading a Star Wars zombie novel. Oy vey.
It wouldn't be so bad if something original was done with them, or if they hearkened back to pre-Night of the Living Dead zombies. At least then you could get some cool Voodoo stuff going on.
On my Weird West scale, it generally goes like:
1) WTF!!? (Phantom Empire, The Amazing Screw-On Head)
2) Weird inventions (Saga of Windwagon Smith, Wild Wild West)
3) Dinosaurs! (Valley of Gwangi, Turok: Son of Stone)
4) Magic, Demons and Mysterious Strangers (Tex Arcana)
5) Monsters (American Vampire, Undead Nightmare)
Damn, I really need to get my series going. Especially to do something INTERESTING with zombies in the west. YELL AT ME, MARK!
It is Paul, and thankfully there are a lot more subjects that they have dealt with. I just saw a film called Shiloh Falls, not a great movie but it took the Zombie Western genre in a different direction. Where the creatures stole souls and turned people into what was essentially a disinterested/detached (and in some ways violent) person. Not great, but at least they tried ;)
Cory - Red Dead Dinosaur would be awesome! I'd also like to see them take on Extraterrestrials with alien creatures you could use as mounts.
Defend might be a little strong of a word, Cory, but they did post examples and people did find the idea of a Zombie Western weird (although PLENTY of people though it was badass too) They might NOT have felt the need to defend their decision, but it sort of felt like they were. Does your scale determine the level of "Weirdness?" Like Wild Wild West is a 2 on the Weird West scale? lol
Ashe - Do it, Ashe! :D
Seriously, it's such a big world. Was originally going to be a comic but I couldn't get a decent enough artist for free. Now it will be books.
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