Comic Book Review: A Very… Zombie Christmas 1

Zombos Says: Very Good (especially with hot chocolate)

While I prefer my Christmas toasty warm and eggnoggy smooth, there is something a tad enjoyable to having a little bit of zombie fear in all that holiday cheer. So put on your Snuggie, take a sip of your hot chocolate, and settle down by the fire with Antarctic Press' A Very…Zombie Christmas one shot.

I would have probably missed this issue if Glen, the owner of my local watering hole for comics, Fourth World, hadn't dropped it on my pull pile. He knows I like horror a bit and is always on the lookout for comics and magazines I might miss.

The three stories drawn in black and white are written with an eye toward leaving the reader with a little lump of coal among the candy in his or her stocking: short and sweet with a tart ending. My favorite is The Littlest Zombie Meets Santa by Fred Perry. In a world overrun by zombies, with survivors barely surviving, it's Christmas Eve and there is more than mice stirring around one particular sanctuary. The stylish illustration and story is like a big gingerbread cookie; cute to admire, but ready to bite. 

In Unholy Night, Joseph Wight makes sure to hang the stockings with care and leaves the children wide awake with dread in their beds after Grandpa Foster tells them his wartime experience with the undead on a snowy night. A two-page battle scene and decrepit zombies trampling the snow provide the visual treat as Wight takes full advantage of the black and white medium to convey the carnage.

The last story, David Hutchison's You Better Watch Out…, shows a heist gone bad using an EC-spiced ending to bring the boys together for the holidays. The inking over his pencils is very light, and his panels open up here and there to give his characters room. Some of his character positions reminded me of Steve Ditko's style, especially on the first page. The last panel is a cheery picture of togetherness that brings home the spirit of the holidays; for horror fans, anyway.

A Very…Zombie Christmas left me wishing it t'were twice the number of pages. These stories are well written and drawn. Now just imagine what you could do with a concept like a festival of zombies: eight days of terror…maybe next year, perhaps. Or how about George Bailey finding himself in zombie-town in It's a Terrible Life. Zombies. The possibilities are endless.