Marvel Zombies 2 #5 of 5

Reaching the final chapter of "Marvel Zombies 2", I have to look back over the whole miniseries and evaluate whether this would be a good TPB to buy. Writer Robert Kirkman did an excellent job in the first half of this miniseries building the tension for the confrontation between the returning zombie heroes and the survivors on Earth. Sean Phillips' art was very good in that it captured the fun (and grossness) of the zombie heroes and the age and hard living of the Earth survivors. However as the second half of the miniseries kicked in, the fun meter started to fall as the zombie heroes lost their hunger and reflected on what they had done to their universe. Kirkman, realizing he couldn't just go on-and-on with zombies eating, turns the corner and shows that humans can be truly evil. If you read Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" this concept is not new.

I felt as the series moved on that it was loosing steam. As compared to the first miniseries, this fell flat. However, Kirkman does setup up a somewhat cliffhanger ending allowing for future editions. I am a big Kirkman fan but, in this instance, it just didn't capture the Kirkman magic.

Marvel Zombies 2 #4 of 5

I can feel the stretch in this issue. What has been up until this issue a tight and interesting miniseries, writer Robert Kirkman slows the story down just enough to make this miniseries reach five issues. I hope this wasn't done to make a better collected TPB. After the reveal of Colonel America in the last issue, this issue doesn't really advance the plot very much. It bordered on being a boring, pedestrian read. At the end of this issue, Kirkman has almost painted himself into a corner, leaving not much left to say. Hopefully the last issue will be a bit more interesting with some true Kirkman twists and turns added in.

Marvel Zombies 2 #3

First off, I had to use the cover for "Tales of Suspense" #39 because that is the what is "zombified" for this cover and Marvel had the wrong one posted. The cover does harken to what happens inside the book, which is a change of pace. I'm really enjoying this miniseries. Writer Robert Kirkman has done an excellent job of giving each character a reason for being there. No one is there just to be slaughtered. Artist Sean Phillips brings his A-game this issue and does some nice layouts. All-in-all, I'm satisfied with this series. Kirkman has provided a plausible reason for the sequel to the great first series (other than to make Marvel more money) and doesn't tread old ground.

Marvel Zombies 2 #2 of 5

I missed out on the whole "Marvel Zombies" craze. I read the "Ultimate Fantastic Four" TPB where they were introduced and found them interesting but not worth the time of buying the "Marvel Zombies" miniseries. However, after discovering "Invincible" and "The Walking Dead" by Robert Kirkman and then hearing that he wrote that series, I ordered the hard cover. I thoroughly enjoyed the "Marvel Zombies" story and Kirkman's writing. So, I walked over to the Marvel rack and picked up "Marvel Zombies 2", which as the original zombies returning to Earth after literally eating the rest of the galaxy. Kirkman has put together another fun story here and expands on his zombies mythos as well. The first issue was really shot out of a canon and moved fast while this issue takes some time out for a little character development. Sean Phillips does a great job with the art and has fun with the gory parts of a zombie tale.

I haven't read all of the other ancillary zombie books that came out over the past year. I've just stuck to the first and second miniseries. This one has started off with a bang and looks to be going in some very interesting directions. I look forward to seeing what Kirkman has in store.