A Tribute Anthology to Deadworld and Comic Publisher Gary Reed

As explained in the introduction, about midway between George Romero's Night of the Living Dead and the advent of the current hit, The Walking Dead, there was Deadworld, a graphic novel series that came out in the mid-80's and bridged the gap between them. This trivpbute anthology is, however, not a graphic novel nor a retrospective collection of greatest hits from the graphic novels. Rather, it is a great collection of eight short stories by different authors, giving us a glimpse of this world where civilization has collapsed and the dead walk the streets and fields and those left living struggle to get from town to town or even to survive in what's left. Reading the actual graphic novel series is not a prerequisite to enjoying this anthology. And, unlike other anthologies, every single story here is worth reading.

The graphic novel series Deadworld and their titular character King Zombie has been around since 1986, and made zombies cool before The Walking Dead and World War Z. I’ve looked at some of the issues and amazing artwork of Deadworld before, but never read the series, so when this anthology became available on NetGalley, I was anxious to read it. While I was surprised that it wasn’t a graphic novel, instead it was a novella of eight short stories, I was pleased as short stories are a favorite genre of mine.

Before the eight stories there is an introduction by editor Lori Perkins, then a lovely tribute to comic publisher Gary Reed by Kevin VanHook and another tribute to the series by Thomas F. Monteleone with a shout out to the enigmatic King Zombie.

"The Guitar Girl" by Jason Henderson established an Old West feel in this story in the Deadworld universe. Dana, who tries to spread music and hope in a post-apocalyptic world, reunites a family.

"Small Town Gay Bar" by Andrew Robertson felt like an 80’s slasher movie, and required a suspension of disbelief as to how the zombies infiltrated this small Southern bar.

"The Girl by" Jennifer Williams had a dystopian feel with a mystical bent. Our plucky heroine didn’t get the glorious ending you were hoping for.

"Home on the Range" by Ken Haigh showcased the zombies as more a nuisance than a threat and had an innocuous ending.

"Rearguard" by Sarah Stegall had the best world building with a Creole family that truly seemed real. Ailing Harriet sends her grandchildren to safety with a box of family mementos while she stays behind. Her position as rearguard hearkens back to her days in the army as a young woman, and she takes out a zombie horde to keep her beloved family safe.

"Gonna Get Close To You" by Jamie K. Schmidt was on odd mashup of mob assassins, revenge and unrequited love. We get a reference to the Zombie King in this story and the idea that not all zombies are mindless minions.

"Another Man’s Skin" by George Ivanoff shows what family members will do for each other to ensure their survival. There is no room for sentimentality when you are battling the undead. Felt like a Twilight Zone episode with a twist I saw coming.

"Pit Stop" by Jeremy Wagner drops us in the middle of a post-apocalyptic world with Rhonda and two children trying to make it to safety. It definitely had a Walking Dead vibe and felt like it was part of a longer story instead of having a conclusion as the other stories did. Thus it was apropos that their was a mention that this story was an excerpt from Rabid Hearts. I was intrigued enough by this tale to want to know more about this story’s characters, so I’d like to know where to track down the longer story.

I enjoyed all the stories, as each writer added something strong to this Deadworld anthology. My interest has been piqued and I plan on tracking down some comic issues of the series next time I stop in my local comic book store. I am a big fan of the zombie genre, and this short story collection supplied by NetGalley for an honest review, was a welcome addition to my reading list!

I received this book from #netgalley and Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to them.
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Just from the synopsis, I knew I wanted this book and wow, I am glad that Netgalley and the publishing company released it to me. This graphic novel was very interesting and dark Really entertaining. The plot was so unique and dark. It is a fast read. The graphics were dark but I liked the read. I highly recommend this book!