Mark Rahner

You would think that with all of the books, movies, TV shows, and comic series about zombies that there wouldn't be much left to do with them. Yet, with this series you'd be wrong. Here this talented group combines the Old West, zombies, and spies together for an interesting mix!

We open the story with two agents, John Flynn and William Wade, on the orders of President Hayes infiltrating a mining tale that is not only in the midst of a labor dispute, but also experiencing trouble with the show more dead wandering around. After a narrow escape (and an adventure with a rather...determined family to take care of their zombie daughter) the two head out west to Fort Valhalla, a snowbound army fort being besieged by some rather slow (and frozen) zombies. While hunting around for a missing solider they discover the cause of this undead invasion may have started right there...with a Donner like party. Can these two agents put a stop to the invasion? Only time will tell.

The writing is superb. Its well paced, easy to follow, and gives a decent introduction of what's going on. It's a great start to a new story line and the writers keep you holding on to the edge of your seat to find out what the strange creatures are and what's happened to the missing men. My one real complaint with the writing is that we're just kind of tossed into the action and are supposed to be able to pick up on some of what's being talked about, such as the president stealing the election. It would have been nice if in the first issue they gave us just a bit more information as to where and when we are, although we do pick up a bit of it later in the story.

The artwork is pretty darn fantastic. There are a couple of scenes in the volume where the panels are done in sepia tones with only red being use for blood. It presents a really nice contrast and stands out as a fantastic example of what the artists can do. I also really like the use of watercolor washes in the background and the sky, it works really well with how the characters are drawn and doesn't detract from what we're seeing in the foreground. I also have to give them credit for the scenes where they've got reflections in the windows, because wow. They are fantastic. I'm not sure how they did them, but I really like the technique and the output. My one complaint about this volume is that they don't put the covers of the individual issues, which are pretty interesting, in for folks to see.

This is a great issue and I would highly recommend it, even to people that say they don't like zombies. The story is easy to follow and I can't say enough good things about the artwork. I look forward to reading future issues. show less

I received a free advance review copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed these comic/graphic stories. True to the style of the original Twilight Zone stories yet updated with more modern subjects and treatments of older themes, I feel that the intent was achieved for the most part. The art was spot on for the nostalgic intent as well.

As with any story collection I enjoyed some stories more than others, but that is always a show more subjective thing and the stories that fell a bit flat for me might be the ones that another reader enjoys the most. In fact, for the last year of so I have been rereading classic Creepy and Eerie comics and those are the same way--not every story is a winner for me.

As a horror fan foremost, I was wishing for more sinister twists to these tales but to be fair, that is more the style of horror comics than Twilight Zone stories, which have more irony than bloody vengence.

Somewhere between 3 and a half and 4 stars for me. That is from a reader who was more a fan of Rod Sterling's Night Gallery than of Twilight Zone so you may have a different view. show less

I love zombie stories, but quite frankly the zombie formula does have a tendency to play itself out. Well Mark Rahner teamed up with Robert Horton to create a new vision for the popular genre. It's a lengthy 56 pages that develops the storyline nicely and kept me enthralled all the way through.

The story begins with a man dissecting a dead body, while two very nauseated and pissed off law men arrest him for his unusual behavior, followed by an ominous warning from the detained man. Next we show more are introduced to a lone man and his horse traveling through the hot desert who to his extreme misfortune stumbles upon a very ill looking fellow traveler, being the good Samaritan that he obviously is, he attempts to help the man who returns the favor by eating him up. Zombies never make for good traveling buddies.

Cut scene to another man, the main character William Wade a.k.a. C.O. Jones wandering aimlessly in the town of Shimmer looking for signs of life, only to have his horse shot by a very terrified villager. Looks like the zombies have taken hold and fear has set in. Wade is of course mad as hell that his horse was killed and completely amazed by the screwed up looking creature that attacks him from behind and attempts to bite his face off. Of course he is saved by the man that shot his horse (Ed Kemper). Where they take refuge in the local bar/whorehouse where Wade discovers the woes of the town and the mysterious illness that has stricken the town with unspeakable horror.

Of course, like any small Western town, the locals are ruled over by a tyrannical money hungry boss prick that runs the whole town's economy, while the locals cower in his wake, attempting to scrounge up a livable wage. The town centers around a silver mine owned by the despicable Mr. Blankenship, but more than silver has been coming out of that mine, but the men have no choice but to work in the less than favorable conditions.

The story continues as the true identity of William Wade is revealed, as well as the reasons behind the unorthodox behavior of the gentleman cutting up bodies. Wade discovers that there is more than meets the eye in this small town and uncovers a mysterious character with motives unknown, while attempting to get his keister out alive. Good read! show less

Probably my favorite out of the 3 twilight zone comics I read today. The stories were original and made you think. The art work in the first story was horrible though but the story made up for it.