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As many who know me will tell you, I have no fear of zombies. 

They are animated corpses with no minds of their own, and are simply driven by the overwhelming desire to eat brains.  The move very slow, and being corpse, they are rotting flesh hanging on to bones.  My Zombie Defense Plan is limited to two things - a fire hose and a pack of hungry rottweilers.  That should make short work out of any true zombie I happen across.  

That being said, to this point, I don't get the whole zombie love affair that has been goiing on in comics.  Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies, all those zombie variant covers serve no purpose to me - other than making sure that Arthur Suydam contiues to have work. All the people I know have tried to tell me that these are well written books, and the plot is enagaging.  Again, how engaging are any creaures that be taken out by a pack of really hungry dacshunds?  Marvel Zombies were a little better, as they were zombies with superpowers.  Granted they got a little out of hand when they ate Galactus, but all I need to get is LockJaw and the Pet Avengers and show them to the buffet.  But then, DC comics change my mind by introducing the Black Lanterns!

The story, well it seems that Green Lanterns were only part of the story.  Oh sure, we knew Sinestro had a yellow ring, but we didn't know that it was part of the creations of the Guardians of OA.  There are lanterns for all parts of the spectrum, but even that wasn't it.

A  D-List bad guy, Black Hand, from the Green Lantern's rouges gallery ws being watched by this super-creepy Guardian.  After killing his family, Black Hand killed himself, and he was given the first Black Lantern ring.  Once he was "born", Black Lantern rings swarmed across the unvivers ressureacting every dead hero, villian, or anyone close to the living heroes (Can you say Mr and Mrs Grayson).  Yes, they are undead zombies with power rings.  They even kicked Krypto's canine butt across Smallville, so the Legion of SuperPets will be no help.  The Black Lanterns are smart (Blue Beetle), strong (Superman), and fast (Flash) and are a huge  threat to the DCU.

If you have not read this, and you are a fan of zombies, you must read this.  Not only is it a great story (Thank you, Geoff Johns), but it has to be the best story line put out by DC since Identity Crisis. 

“Mark Waid Is Evil.”

That line was used to launch his latest comic series from Boom! Studios, Irredeemable. It seemed like an odd thing to say. He’s stopped by our booth once at MegaCon and I’ve met him a handful of times and he’s always seemed like such a nice man. Evil, him, come on!

Mark Waid has written some dark stories before (see Empire and Kingdom Come) so I went into this new series thinking I had a grasp on what to expect from him. That was before I read the first issue.

“I’m a super-hero.”

That first issue was well, a bit unsettling. An all powerful super hero, The Plutonian, becomes a crazed vengeful super villain. It was definitely making a statement about how far this former protector had gone off the charts crazy. It was well done and I was recommending the book to friends and customers alike and definitely looking forward to the next issue to see where this was headed. Still, some of those things are just not right.

“I don’t even know you.”

The second issue comes in and I bet Clark Kent is glad he never had that day. So, now we get into some of the background on what caused The Plutonian to snap and the story is fleshed out a bit more. These characters are very human and they don’t always make the best choices. The last page of the issue was particularly interesting if you’ve been paying attention. Wait, these are the good guys?

“Please save me.”

OK, Mr. Waid, that was particularly creepy especially as rendered by series artist, Peter Krause, formerly of Power of Shazam. What would Billy Batson think? Issue #3 is another strong issue and shows what some of the super villains of this world are making of this new world order.

“Choose ten.”

Issue #4 brings this (which is possibly my favorite line in the whole series thus far) and now we are shown that there is no turning back. The Plutonian is indeed long beyond redemption and this world is in deep trouble. It’s a fascinating ride and while Mark Waid may not be evil himself, he’s got a good handle on the concept and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

The trade paperback collecting these 4 issues is now available for the bargain price of $9.99 and if you couldn’t tell, gets a high recommendation from me. If you’ve read the series before, then you likely recognize the quotes above. If you haven’t, they’ll make sense once you do.

Also available:

Irredeemable #5: This issue is also a steal at only 99 cents!

NEW ARC! AND ONLY 99 CENTS! This is your chance to hop onboard the superhero event of 2009 that dares to ask: What if the world’s greatest hero decided to become the world’s greatest villain? Buy issue #5 for 99 cents and experience what everyone has been talking about. A “twilight of the superheroes”-style story that examines super-villains from Mark Waid writer of KINGDOM COME and EMPIRE!

Irredeemable #6

The Plutonian’s rampage continues as the Paradigm’s dwindling members regroup and prepare to go on the offensive. Even with new information about the Plutonian’s past, will it be enough to tip the scales against a mad god? Covers by Gene Ha and Dan Panosian.

Come to D and B Comics and check out Irredeemable!