Zombie themed comics certainly appear to be an industry trend these days. From the original genera setting Army of Darkness run from Dynamite, to the amazing cover work of Arthur Suydam for Marvel, to Robert Kirkman's now legendary The Walking Dead series to Matt Billman's Living with Zombies... there's a lot of quality zombie tales out there that really are worth reading.
That said, each time I hear another zombie title announced I grow a bit more concerned that the market for this type of story is on the verge of saturation. What's to be done? Come up with something that fits the bill, but has a slightly different take. BOOM! Studios may have found that mix with their title, The Savage Brothers, which was just released in trade paperback on October 17th [details].
The Savage Brothers serves up zombie laden fun with a nice slice of end-of-days apocalypse thrown in for good measure. It presents a world (full of undead) which is just beginning to tip over the edge into the burning abyss. Sound bleak? The title actually isn't bleak at all. For the reader, it's loaded with humor and proves a fun ride. The two brothers, who we'll introduce you to in a moment, are well suited for their new world and it's the banter between these two that really made the title a solid read for me.
In the story we meet Otis and Dale; the Savage Brothers. They are pair of gun toting, truck driving brothers whose necks may be red, but their hearts are gold... well, Otis' heart is anyway. Both lead characters are likable for all the wrong reasons which makes them great in this writer's book. They're lovable con artists doing their best to survive and look out for themselves in a world gone wrong. They shoot first and tend to make up the plan while it's already in action. When they say go to plan B, it's typically because there wasn't a plan A.
How are these two making their way in the new world? By killing zombies on a commission basis allowing the living to see their loved ones put to rest. Dale and Otis explain it's so they can meet up with them once again in the great hereafter... for a price.
Are they good at the job? Well, they're good at targeting zombies, but you might say they lack a few essential skills when it comes to getting the right zombie. When one withered grandmotherly widow explains that she didn't remember her husband being blond, Dale explains, "We've seen it all. Some get taller, some get fatter, eye colors change, hell... one guy even got boobs after turnin'. There's really no explainin' things nowadays".
The con is on and we're in the truck's rumble seat for the ride. Grab the Schlitz (referenced more than once in the story), find your zombie of choice and head for downtown Atlanta... No one will suspect that, will they (read the story and you'll get the reference)?
Along the way, the duo becomes a quartet as they bump into Candy (a virgin stripper which Dale quickly points out must be a sign of the apocalypse) and Dr. Diller (who was long ago been turned into a brain eating zombie ... pictured left with Dale). The group gets wrapped up in a dark conspiracy with nefarious men in black, lakes of fire, confused gas station attendants, a rogue food manufacturer, mutant biker gangs, storm clouds of raining frogs, glass encased cult leader heads, demon dogs and a ton of small arms fire. All in all it's a ride worth taking and we do recommend reading this trade right away.
The story was put together by Andrew Cosby and Johanna Stokes (Andrew is the creator and Johanna is a staff writer for Sci-Fi Channel's Eureka series) and drawn by Rafael Albuquerque. My only complaint with the series was a slight feeling that things were getting a little rushed as the plot moved toward resolution. I would have loved to have seen a more drawn out director's cut of the series, but that's just picking at a nicely finished product. Essentially, I wish the writers had had a few more pages to flesh out (or de-flesh as the case may be) the villains of the story. This could easily be resolved with a Savage Brothers ongoing series... hint! hint! BOOM! hint! hint!
If you like your zombie tales a bit more grim, don't miss the trade's back-up story Fear The Dead which bills itself as a "guidebook to the wondrous world of the undead, as seen through the eyes of one survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse. It's 40+ pages with each page being handled by a different creator painting a wonderful menagerie of horror and zombie-goodness. Within these pages you'll notice names like Erik Powell, Matt Dixon, Chris Bolton, Tom Mandrake and many others. A great yet creepy back-up tale.
Summing it all up, the story left me wanting more tales of the Savage Brothers and, for some reason, reminded me a little of the style of the DC Vertigo series Preacher. For this reader, that's all I could ask for from a story.
Zombie themed comics certainly appear to be an industry trend these days. From the original genera setting Army of Darkness run from Dynamite, to the amazing cover work of Arthur Suydam for Marvel, to Robert Kirkman's now legendary The Walking Dead series to Matt Billman's Living with Zombies... there's a lot of quality zombie tales out there that really are worth reading.
In the story we meet Otis and Dale; the Savage Brothers. They are pair of gun toting, truck driving brothers whose necks may be red, but their hearts are gold... well, Otis' heart is anyway. Both lead characters are likable for all the wrong reasons which makes them great in this writer's book. They're lovable con artists doing their best to survive and look out for themselves in a world gone wrong. They shoot first and tend to make up the plan while it's already in action. When they say go to plan B, it's typically because there wasn't a plan A. 
How are these two making their way in the new world? By killing zombies on a commission basis allowing the living to see their loved ones put to rest. Dale and Otis explain it's so they can meet up with them once again in the great hereafter... for a price. 
Along the way, the duo becomes a quartet as they bump into Candy (a virgin stripper which Dale quickly points out must be a sign of the apocalypse) and Dr. Diller (who was long ago been turned into a brain eating zombie ... pictured left with Dale). The group gets wrapped up in a dark conspiracy with nefarious men in black, lakes of fire, confused gas station attendants, a rogue food manufacturer, mutant biker gangs, storm clouds of raining frogs, glass encased cult leader heads, demon dogs and a ton of small arms fire. All in all it's a ride worth taking and we do recommend reading this trade right away.
If you like your zombie tales a bit more grim, don't miss the trade's back-up story Fear The Dead which bills itself as a "guidebook to the wondrous world of the undead, as seen through the eyes of one survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse. It's 40+ pages with each page being handled by a different creator painting a wonderful menagerie of horror and zombie-goodness. Within these pages you'll notice names like Erik Powell, Matt Dixon, Chris Bolton, Tom Mandrake and many others. A great yet creepy back-up tale.