When Zombies Attack was a comic series that spun out of a Cops parody that was running on MTV in the mid-noughties. It was a mockumentary about a pair of redneck cops, going about their business in a world where zombies are real and actually, a bit mundane. Sort of like the very end of Shaun of the Dead (though I’m not sure which came first). Since the whole zombie phenomenon had yet to infest every corner of every form of media from books to movies to games, I quite enjoyed this spin on it. When I found out the comic existed, and that it was being drawn by Jim Mahfood, I was doubly excited to give it a look.
So I bought the comic, and it was good (at least, good enough). I waited for issue #2 to turn up on the shipping list. A year came and went. In the world of comics, this is (perhaps a little damningly) not especially unheard of. I did an entire university degree in the time it took Kevin Smith to write 6 issues of Spider-Man/Black Cat. As a comics fan, you learn to be patient. Eventually, my patience was rewarded, and issue #2 of When Zombies Attack did turn up. It continued the same story, but it was from a different publisher to the first issue, and Jim Mahfood now nowhere to be found. Okay then. It was still decent enough. Enough for me to want to read the rest of the story.
Another year passed…
I’m genuinely not sure if issue #3 ever came out, let alone #4. I gave up looking out for it. It certainly didn’t help that the series seemed to have virtually no web presence, so there was no way to check.
Given the various demands and pressures of being an indie creator, I can fully understand lateness – indeed, this very blog entry is late, because of the various demands and pressures of being a freelance writer. But if you disappear and don’t say anything, there’s no guarantee the audience will still care when you re-emerge. When Zombies Attack had its chance, and it blew it. Let others learn its lessons.
http://redmaverick.net/2009/press_files3.html
Looks like issue #3 (might) have come out July 2008 and there were plans for #4 but it doesn’t seem to have made it!
Adam
11 Nov 10 at 6:35 pm
Astonishing. Not a word about its whereabouts online either, as far as I can see. I feel as though they should apologise or explain or something – not for the sake of the audience, but for the sake of all the indie creators the audience will now treat with greater suspicion as a result of WZA’s failure to deliver.
James Hunt
12 Nov 10 at 2:38 am