Jesus Hates Zombies Alterna Comics |
If you find yourself easily offended by humor tied to religion or you're the kind of person who takes your religious icons as untouchable imagery that's all to easily defiled, Jesus Hates Zombies may not be the title for you. That said, if you fall into either of these categories you really need to lighten up, live and laugh a little. If you live your life by the phrase What Would Jesus Do?, in this reviewer's opinion he would find Jesus Hates Zombies a fun read and most likely have a great quote on the back cover.
Jesus Hates Zombies is an anthology title in graphic novel form released from Alterna Comics. The full title of the book is Jesus Hates Zombies: Those Slack-Jaw Blues. The concept for the series (oh yeah, it's a series... a sequel is already well underway) was created by rising star Stephen Lindsay and co-written by the talented Michael Bartolotta. What makes this series so great is not just the story but the diversity of art. Lindsay's book has contributions from 16 artists (the full list can be found here) from around the globe and is made up of short story vignettes. Unlike many anthologies, the vignettes all tie together into a wider tale which brings the overall anthology together nicely.
What about the concept? In the story it's not specified how the zombie plague began, but in only six days it has swept over the earth consuming much of the world's population. Disgusted by the sight of the walking dead devouring His creation, God has sent His only Son to set things right. It's a modern twist on the God saves the world tale, but here Jesus (or as he likes to refer to himself... the J-Man) has taken the fight to the undead with baseball bat in hand because, as you would suspect... Jesus Hates Zombies.
In the story, Jesus is working to find a way to restore the faith of mankind as that is the way in which he will ultimately save the world from this new undead plague. In the absence of that option, he's cutting a swath of destruction through the undead rescuing people when he can and honestly enjoying His one man war on the undead when he can't.
Jesus is quickly matched up with a scene stealing sidekick in Laz, a zombie who understands just who Jesus is and has the faith to help him in his quest. Here Jesus' first disciple of the modern age is a member of the walking dead. The choice of the name Laz is a great send up to the biblical character Lazarus who Jesus brought back form from the dead. In this story, Laz stays dead but that's a great thing. As he tries to help, he proves a comedic element that is second to none. He may just be one of my favorite characters from the book.
The stories here are filled with guilty pleasures and laugh out loud moments. One that had me laughing, almost to the point of tears, was a scene in which Jesus is walking along toward a farm between combat sequences simply singing to himself (set to the music of the theme from The Greatest American Hero)...
"Believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air I never thought I could feel so free-ee-ee, flyin' away on a wing and a prayer who could it be? Believe it or not it's JC."
Equally funny are scenes where Laz is trying to find a shirt for Jesus and ends up handing him an "I'm with Stupid" shirt or the simple moment where Laz is joyfully popping zombie rats. Believe it or not, I'm not giving away a thing here. With each page, you'll find yourself occasionally reduced to tears time and again thanks to the humor of this title. These examples just give you a flavor of what you'll see in the actual graphic novel.
Stephen Lindsay deserves an extra tip of the hat here as many would say that the storylines one could explore with zombies have all been done. Lindsay proves that the door is still wide open and there's a lot of room for the undead to enter with this anthology. We see amusement parks filled with clown zombies, retirement home zombies, bowling alley fun and even good old Buddha makes a guest appearance in the stories. The zombie mythos gets a nice expansion here and feels fresh (maybe not the best word for an undead title) and vibrant (also a less than ideal choice but equally true).
Having the chance to meet and talk with Stephen at the recent Small Press and Alternative Comic Expo, I learned of the upcoming sequel to Jesus Hates Zombies... Lincoln Hates Werewolves. Stephen wanted Jesus to get a true sidekick for his adventures that could develop a bit of a buddy cop film feel to the series and he thought, who better than Abraham Lincoln. I can't wait for the follow-up!
Thinking about ordering a copy? You wouldn't be alone in that decision as the graphic novel has been a runaway hit for Alterna Comics. The initial orders through Diamond tripled the publishers benchmark and blew away all sales expectations. Copies can still be obtained direct from Alterna Comics (start here) and through Diamond under order code JAN083325. It's even on Amazon. Check it out today!
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Page last updated on March 22, 2008