Zombie Comic Review: Nazi Zombies Issue #1 Review

Zombie Comic Review

Nazi Zombies #1   January, 2012

Story:   Joe Wight     Art:   Joe Wight and Ben Dunn     Cover Art:   Joe Wight

We recently got our hands on the premiere issue of Nazi Zombies #1 from Antarctic Press and we wanted to give our thoughts and opinion on this exciting new zombie comic.

Partial Plot Summary:

Nazi Zombies #1 consists of two separate stories. The first story is “Operation: Hammerhead!” The Story and Art both were done by Joe Wight.  Of course for obvious reasons I don’t want to give away too much here, but I’ll provide a quick summary. This story opens on the very first page with a cool little introduction to put things in perspective. Wight explains shortly before the start of WWII, the German High Command began a top secret investigation into the world of supernatural powers. It seems Germany wanted to create a new breed of invincible soldiers. They enlisted the help of a group of scientists to do so.  Bodies of German soldier casualties were returned to a hidden laboratory where they were used in secret experiments. Allied troops reportedly encountered German troops in battle who seemed to be undeterred by wounds that would kill normal men. These soldiers were nearly impossible to kill.

The first story tells the tale of Operation: Hammerhead which went down on February 15^th, 1945. It takes a little work to figure out the story is being told from the point of view of a Lieutenant Foster, A member of Force One.

Force One air drops during the night to position themselves behind enemy lines in order to overtake a German train carrying a very valuable target: a German scientist named Doctor Krause.  Lieutenant Foster, Captain Creed, Sergeant Baker, and the rest of Force One easily land on target and manage to pull off the first part of their mission without a hitch.

Things are going well; a little too well in fact. Things quickly go downhill when Lieutenant Foster and Sergeant Baker blow the door off an armored train car in order to secure their objective. They quickly discover the train holds more than living passengers.

As we catch our first glimpse of Nazi Zombies the horrible stench of dead zombie flesh fills Lieutenant Foster’s nostrils. This causes memories of his first encounter with these living dead soldiers to flood his memory. The story starts to allude to a flashback of Foster remembering his initial encounter with Nazi Zombie soldiers and how they ate the eyeball right out of his head in Bastogne one Christmas Eve night. We never quite get to the flashback though.

Instead Foster makes an important revelation and the story abruptly ends with the teaser “Next Issue: Death Hunt!”  What was the revelation?  What happened to Dr. Krause? You’ll have to pick up issue #1 of Nazi Zombies to find out!

Meanwhile as a reader I wa left with some burning questions. How did Lieutenant Foster manage to lose his eye to Nazi Zombies but still make it out alive? Just what happened in Bastogne? We’ll have to wait until a future issue to uncover the answers.

The second story in the premiere issue of Nazi Zombies is entitled “Afrika Korpse”. It is a flashback of sorts. Unfortunately this isn’t the Lieutenant Foster flashback I was expecting. This second chapter tells the story of Thomas Baker (then a Corporal in His Majesty’s Special Air Service) and his first encounter with Nazi Zombies. The story opens with the cover of a Force One Dossier letting us know we are about to read some top secret events that weren’t de-classified until December 24^th, 2011.

The events take place in the middle of the Libyan Desert on Christmas eve, 1941. Sergeant Troughton, Corporal Baker and the rest of the squad have just successfully attacked a German airfield.  They must scurry across 100 miles of desert to make it back to base for Christmas. Of course their banged up and tired truck is on its last leg and quickly giving up the ghost.  When the crew stops at an old abandoned oasis to make some much needed repairs and refill their radiator, they get much more than they bargained for. They encounter nearly invincible Nazi Zombies that chase them across the desert! In the end Corporal Baker manages to be the only survivor.

When he returns to base his tales of undead Nazi Zombie soldiers aren’t received with welcome arms. Baker Is pressured to revise his action report. His superior officer urges him to remove all references to zombies and suggests he chalk it up to the heat playing tricks with his mind. As Baker steps outside to have a smoke after meeting with his commanding officer he’s greeted by a mysterious unidentified man. This part of the story ends as the man informs Corporal Baker a solider with his “unique experiences” is just what his people are looking for.  Did Baker give in and revise his action report or did he stick to his guns? You’ll have to pick up your own copy of Nazi Zombies #1 to find out! Who was the mysterious man and what exactly did he have in mind for Corporal Baker? We’ll have to wait until we find out, which will hopefully be in issue #2!

What’s Great:

One of my favorite aspects of this first issue of Nazi Zombies is the cover.  The Cover Art is absolutely gorgeous. The blood red background is the perfect backdrop for the incredible Nazi Zombie gracing the cover of this comic.  His German helmet sits low in the front, making his barely visible dead eyes even more ominous. The thick blood dripping from his mouth and chin, along with the blood stained uniform let you know this guy means business. The cover definitely does its job and makes you want to pick this comic up and see what it’s all about. It’s so cool it’s worthy of purchasing a second copy to frame and display!

The art within the comic itself is just as impressive. Although I’d love to see a full color comic, black and white comics are nothing unusual.  The two different stories are illustrated by two different artists. One of the things that jump out at you about this issue is the striking difference in illustration technique. These two men have taken a drastically different approach to their illustration. At first glance two drastically different  styles of illustration in a single comic is a little confusing. Take the time to realize there are two different stories being told  and the method behind the madness becomes quite clear. Once I realized this I gladly embraced the difference in art style.

Joe Wight is responsible for the art for the first story, “Operation HammerHead!” He has a much more detailed approach when it comes to shading, blending and detailing his work. Everything has a noticeably smooth ink wash look that is reminiscent of oil or watercolor painting in some areas.  While I did find his soldiers and human characters to be almost a little too soft and cartoonish in a few instances it was nothing I would be too critical of. I was really impressed with his zombie illustrations within the story. Since he’s responsible for the cover art, there is no way I can be too critical of a man that talented!

Ben Dunn is responsible for the art of the second story. The art of “Afrika Korpse” is almost a direct contrast to that of the first story. There are no soft subtle shades of grey. There isn’t much in the way of smooth blending shading. Instead this story is illustrated with a wonderfully harsh black and white ink style that I like equally well. Instead of blending shades we have  heavy use of pure black for shadows and a minimalistic cross hatch style shading.  I find the slightly more harsh illustration of soldiers done by Mr. Dunn to be a little more suiting to my tastes. For some reason these soldiers look a little more like macho men capable of taking on the undead.  It all reminds me of the Sunday comics I read in the newspaper as a child. These are far from complaints, just my observations! Check out a sample of the artwork of Ben Dunn in this issue below:

In addition to the artwork I also truly enjoyed the storyline in this first issue. The two separate stories were the ideal length and they did a good job of leaving me curious to find out what happens next.

At about $4.00 to $5.00  the price on this comic is just about ideal.

Meh. (What’s Not So Great:)

There honestly isn’t much for me to complain about with this issue. I had to do much more thinking when it came to listing things I wasn’t happy with. Here are the few minor issues I had to gripe about.

At first the two separate stories setup was mildly confusing. It took a second look back to confirm the second story was about a totally different event on Christmas Eve than the one referred to at the end of the first story.

Another minor complaint is obvious, and that’s the fact that the comic is black and white. Don’t get me wrong. I completely understand that beautiful full color art on the inside of this comic is cost prohibitive. I’m not saying I expect a full color comic from cover to cover for $4. I’m merely saying it would be so cool to see this entire comic illustrated in full color.  Hopefully at some point they’ll provide an online version. I wouldn’t mind a digital version so I can display some gorgeous colors on a tablet or Kindle Fire.

The Verdict:

Other than the very minor complaints listed above, I found the premiere issue of Nazi Zombies to be nearly perfect. The compelling plot leaves you hanging on the edge and wishing you could see the next issue right away. The great artwork is the icing on this undead cake.  I give Nazi Zombies #1  a 4.5 out of our 5 point brain scale. I’m certainly sold and can’t wait to get the next issues.  I highly recommend you check it out zombie fans!

Want a chance to win your own copy of Nazi Zombies #1? Enter our giveaway for your chance to win one of two prize packs consisting of a copy of Nazi Zombies issue #1 and other random zombie goodies. (Giveaway ends at 12:01 am EST on Tuesday 3/20/2012.)

More Information:

Check out the links below for more information about Nazi Zombies. Until next time zombie fans… Thanks for reading!

Click here for more information or to buy issue #1 of Nazi Zombies from Antartic-Press.com.

1.  [Wight, Joseph (w), Joe Wight (a).] “Operation HammerHead!” Nazi Zombies #1 (Jan. 2012), Antarctic Press: 10-11.

2.  [Wight, Joseph (w), Joe Wight (a) and Ben Dunn (a).] “Afrika Korpse.” Nazi Zombies #1 (Jan. 2012), Antarctic Press: 17.