Exclusive: Box of Dread Subscribers Sneak a Peek at Zombie vs. Ape!
Jon Condit
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Subscribers to Box of Dread got the first look at the cover art for the upcoming issue of Zombie #6 by our friends at Fulci Comics and Eibon Press. Included in the recent subscription boxes were two posters featuring artwork of the variant covers Issue #6 has in store for Fulci fans. And we have an exclusive sneak peek just for Dread Central readers right here.
Issue #6, which goes on sale June 8th, is the second issue of the official sequel to the classic Lucio Fulci film Zombie. This issue is a landmark in zombie lore, featuring the most awesome showdown between the undead and beast since Shark vs. Zombie… Zombie vs. Ape! The issue is accompanied by a complete original soundtrack score, on both vinyl and compact disc. The 1980s-inspired score is composed and performed by Dave Neabore of the legendary hip hip/rock outfit Dog Eat Dog. And the tracks include narration by none other than Ian McCulloch, the original actor who played Peter West in Lucio Fulci’s film.
Synopsis:
In the flaming ruins of New York City, which has been burned nearly to the ground by a half-mad Colonel hell-bent on wiping out the zombie plague, our heroes from Lucio Fulci’s Zombie are forced to run for their lives through the zombie infested heart of Central Park, where an incredible confrontation takes place and a dark revelation shakes Peter West to the core of his being! As he witnesses the incredible standoff between the hordes of the living dead and an all-too-living monster too powerful to be believed, Peter will realize that his kinship with the zombies runs far deeper than he ever anticipated!
And that’s not all! In this special 40-page king-sized issue, infamous Doctor Menard comes into his own as one of horror’s most sick and twisted baddies, rising from the dead to perform mad experiments on the living. On the Island of Matool, Menard has teamed up with the mysterious and vile witch doctor Biacando, in a melding of science and superstition which is set to infect the entire world. Oh yeah…and the President of the United States is a maniac. Literally. Portrayed in the likeness of the legendary Maniac himself, Joe Spinell, our fearless leader reveals a treacherous plan of his own to end the zombie plague. A plan which may also doom the human race. It’s only a matter of which bad guy kills us all first!
We caught up Stephen Romano, series creator, who had this to say about the upcoming issue: “This is the second issue of our second story arc in Lucio Fulci’s ‘Zombie’. The first four issues covered the film proper, and in the second issue we had ‘Shark vs. Zombie’. It’s a classic bit, of course. Now that we’re doing the sequel, we thought the second issue should have something like ‘Shark vs. Zombie’. But how do you top that? I started really thinking about it. The answer, of course, was a big freaking ape! The image of that just got in my head and stuck there. Gorillas are classic monsters in movies, and they work great in comic books too. It was just the kind of iconic twist we needed to stand alongside Fulci’s film. People are gonna be blown away by this! And our story is headed into some really crazy, gory territory. It’s really big because we have an unlimited budget ceiling for this sequel…but it’s also more personal in certain areas. More like Fulci. We have not one, but TWO eye gougings in this one.
But what about that awesome soundtrack?
“Yeah, the score is really cool. Dave is a real fan, and he composed music that was very much its own thing but clearly inspired by Fabio Frizzi’s tracks for the original ‘Zombie’. Because this sequel goes so far out there and gets into so many new themes, ideas, and action bits, it was important to have a score that would reflect that evolution. But Dave worked as if he was using synths and instruments from 1982. It’s really retro. He’s got a theme for the burning of New York that’s just amazing and what he wrote for ‘Zombie vs. Ape’ is stunning. He’s also doing some tracks for our final issue of ‘Bottomfeeder’. He was really inspired by that one, too.”
What was it like work with Ian McCulloch?
“Working with Ian was fantastic. He loves our comic series and plugged right into the vibe. It’s incredible to hear him performing all those lines I wrote in an official capacity, as Peter West. I mean, this IS the official sequel, after all, so it’s only fitting. You know, there were bunch of other unofficial sequels to this film. In Italy the copyright laws are different. You can put a sequel out to anything you want. But we went out and actually bought the rights to these characters. They’re ours now, at least in comic book form, for better or for worse. And having Ian come back to reprise his role just made it all the more legit. We’re super happy with how this series has come out so far, and the fans are really supportive.”
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