“Beware… the Zombie!”
Creative Staff:
Story: Steve Orlando
Art: Devmalya Praminik
Colors: Raul Agulo
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
What They Say:
BEWARE – MARVEL ZOMBIE: 2099! MIGUEL O’HARA teams up with BLADE 2099 to take on a new horrific threat to NUEVA YORK! Introducing the MARVEL ZOMBIE of 2099! He lives! He strikes! And no spider can hold him! Will SPIDER-MAN be able to stop the ever-evolving zombie infection before it takes hold of his mother and the citizens of the Barrio?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I’ve long enjoyed the realm of 2099 even though I’ve not read much in forever. I still have incredibly fond memories when the first book came out in the 90s and I’ll try to sample when I can. This new five-issue series comes from writer Steve Orlando who has had a number of fun books for Marvel recently that keeps me interested while at times wishing for just a bit more depth. For this book, he’s teamed up with artist Devmalya Praminik which is my first experience with their work. It helps that while some of these are established characters they’re not hugely defined in the way that the mainline ones are so it’s able to establish itself as its own thing well enough. The layouts are solid, I enjoyed some of the blending that goes on with different story moments, and the characters look good while capturing this particular kind of terror.
The premise is one that’s largely self-contained here which could be interesting if we’re basically getting something of a horror series. The opening pages are awkward but essentially a scientist of some sort named Southey has lost his wife and that has him creating a new kind of virus that creates a kind of future zombieism. Those who are converted and bite others retain a lot of who they are but the violence is dialed up and their hunger isn’t exactly for blood but just for consuming and bringing more on board. It’s an interesting kind of wired-up virus and one that Miguel gets Blade to help investigate. Since Blade is attuned to this kind of world, he’s able to suss out that they’re not traditional zombies but they’re definitely worth stopping and his desire for knowledge has him going to Nevada to go after Southey and his files to understand it.
Some of this comes from Miguel having brought his mother to Blade because she got attacked and turned. Because she works in the Barrios a lot and he discovers that it’s there that the thing has taken root, Miguel does the right thing and tries to save people caught up in it that are trapped in there since the authorities are basically locking it off as a kind of pandemic zone, which makes sense on some level. It’s a good run of fight material as Miguel gets into the thick of it with some intense regular folks that have been turned violent but he also has to deal with the fact that Southey is here as well. What’s amusing is that his creations are less interested in Miguel and more in getting some kind of retribution on their creator which comes from the way the virus operates. It’s not what Southey expected, and I’ll admit the resolution to those that were turned in how the authorities handled them wasn’t what I expected either. The idea of a moon out there in the solar system that’s basically a zombie virus haven is both frightening ande intriguing.
In Summary:
While there may be an overarching storyline to draw on from this issue, it looks like each installment is going to be kind of its own thing, which is fine since it’s playing with the supernatural elements in this 2099 period. The focus on a zombies piece here works well and I’m definitely curious to see what the next issue with Dracula and Moon Knight will be like. The book reads pretty well once you get past the first awkward page or two and I definitely enjoyed the artwork. It has a lot to do in a short amount of space but it delivers a fun single-issue story and gives us a bit of time in the 2099 world once again, which I always enjoy.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: January 3rd, 2024
MSRP: $4.99
