Marvel Zombies... is it worth it?

[aristi2]

Hey guys,

So while looking for TPBs collecting complete storylines from Marvel, I discovered three Complete Collections of Marvel Zombies' stories.

After some research, I found out that the whole thing started on Ultimate Fantastic Four, in which they travel and end up in that "dimension", in which apparently a zombie ends up infesting one character and, just like the Walking Dead or Resident Evil, everyone starts getting infected and has to fight against hordes of zombies and such.

My question is, is it worth it? The first collection includes the Ultimate Fantastic Four stories, as well as Marvel Zombies 1, and then the second one includes Marvel Zombies 2, 3, 4 and return, and each "numbered part" is divided in 4 or 5 issues... I have no idea why there are so many "parts"... does it connect with a single universe (I know its not the 616 universe nor the ultimate universe)? or are they all standalone stories? Is it good, like in an interesting story as the Walking Dead comic or something? Or just like "yeah lets just put superheroes against zombies" and all action scenes?

Thanks!!

[resipsaloquitur]

Hey guys,

So while looking for TPBs collecting complete storylines from Marvel, I discovered three Complete Collections of Marvel Zombies' stories.

After some research, I found out that the whole thing started on Ultimate Fantastic Four, in which they travel and end up in that "dimension", in which apparently a zombie ends up infesting one character and, just like the Walking Dead or Resident Evil, everyone starts getting infected and has to fight against hordes of zombies and such.

My question is, is it worth it? The first collection includes the Ultimate Fantastic Four stories, as well as Marvel Zombies 1, and then the second one includes Marvel Zombies 2, 3, 4 and return, and each "numbered part" is divided in 4 or 5 issues... I have no idea why there are so many "parts"... does it connect with a single universe (I know its not the 616 universe nor the ultimate universe)? or are they all standalone stories? Is it good, like in an interesting story as the Walking Dead comic or something? Or just like "yeah lets just put superheroes against zombies" and all action scenes?

Thanks!!

There's so many "parts" because there was money in continuing the story. The parts go something like this:

- Ultimate FF concerns that team meeting their zombie counterparts and getting stuck in the zombieverse. The zombie FF get stuck in the Ultimate U, which is why you hardly see them in any MZ stories.
- Marvel Zombies 1 picks up from the end of the first Ultimate FF arc (of which there were two) with the Zombies being attacked by Galactus. The story's end coincides with the end of the second Ultimate FF arc. Trust me, it all makes sense when you read them together.
- Marvel Zombies 2 takes place 40 years later. There are very few humans and zombies left, but they meet for the first time in decades.
- Marvel Zombies 3 takes place on both 616 and the Zombieverse. The zombies discover a way to invade 616, so Machine Man is sent to the Zombieverse to find a cure before the infection spreads. (Relative to the zombieverse, the story takes place between the Zombie/Galactus battle and MZ1's epilogue.)
- Marvel Zombies 4 takes place entirely on 616 and concerns a team of heroes and villains trying to find the last zombie loose in 616.
- Marvel Zombies Return deals with what happened to the Zombies from MZ2, but in an entirely new universe. It closes the story of the original Marvel Zombies.
- Marvel Zombies 5 is kinda unrelated to the other series and deals with Machine Man and Howard the Duck traveling to various alternate universes to find a cure for the zombie virus.
- Marvel Zombies Supreme! is pretty unrelated and concerns a zombie Squadron Supreme. Marvel Zombies Destroy! is a loose sequel.

[victorxd1999]

The general consensus is that the first 2 Marvel zombies series are pretty good but thst the rest is very lackluster

[Montressor]

Their introduction in Ultimate FF was great, but I wasn't so into all the stuff that came after. They had me worried for the good guys during their initial appearance, though.

[aristi2]

There's so many "parts" because there was money in continuing the story. The parts go something like this:

- Ultimate FF concerns that team meeting their zombie counterparts and getting stuck in the zombieverse. The zombie FF get stuck in the Ultimate U, which is why you hardly see them in any MZ stories.
- Marvel Zombies 1 picks up from the end of the first Ultimate FF arc (of which there were two) with the Zombies being attacked by Galactus. The story's end coincides with the end of the second Ultimate FF arc. Trust me, it all makes sense when you read them together.
- Marvel Zombies 2 takes place 40 years later. There are very few humans and zombies left, but they meet for the first time in decades.
- Marvel Zombies 3 takes place on both 616 and the Zombieverse. The zombies discover a way to invade 616, so Machine Man is sent to the Zombieverse to find a cure before the infection spreads. (Relative to the zombieverse, the story takes place between the Zombie/Galactus battle and MZ1's epilogue.)
- Marvel Zombies 4 takes place entirely on 616 and concerns a team of heroes and villains trying to find the last zombie loose in 616.
- Marvel Zombies Return deals with what happened to the Zombies from MZ2, but in an entirely new universe. It closes the story of the original Marvel Zombies.
- Marvel Zombies 5 is kinda unrelated to the other series and deals with Machine Man and Howard the Duck traveling to various alternate universes to find a cure for the zombie virus.
- Marvel Zombies Supreme! is pretty unrelated and concerns a zombie Squadron Supreme. Marvel Zombies Destroy! is a loose sequel.

Oh wow! That sure helped man, Thanks!
And thanks victorxd1999 for the general consensus, that gives me a pretty good idea on which are the better stories!

[resipsaloquitur]

A few other series:

- There were a few issues of the Black Panther series where he, Storm, and the FF went to the zombieverse. Luke Cage was written horribly out of character. The story isn't of much consequence other than to give you a hint as to what the zombies were doing between MZ1 and MZ2.
- The Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth and Deadpool Corps series feature Zombie Deadpool from MZ3. His final fate was revealed in Deadpool Kills Deadpool.
- The second Marvel Apes series led heavily into the zombie stuff and turned out to be a prequel to the Ultimate FF issues. There were four one-shots: Speedball, Spider-Monkey, something else I can't remember, and Prime Eight (which was only released online, but is collected in the second Marvel Apes TPB). They wrapped up in Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution, which is NOT in the 2nd Marvel Apes trade. It's basically Marvel Apes vs. Marvel Zombies.

[Knightmare10880]

Marvel Zombies was alot of fun to read, I still wish we could have seen where/how Robert Kirkman would have handled and/or finished up the series as the way he ends Marvel Zombies 2 and the events of Marvel Zombies The Return don't really jell together in my opinion and really of all the books I think Return is the one I like the least, it fills very rushed as if Marvel just wanted to wrap up the original story-line so they could continue on with what they wanted to do with this Franchise and "The Return" to me is a very unsatisfying end for the original story-line. The other side Marvel Zombies mini-series after "The Return" are very good and are definitively worth reading especially around Halloween. I'd suggest getting the complete collections as I believe that they are all put in correct reading order.