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Man, the Special Topics in Literature seminars offered when I was in grad school were stuff like "Literature of the Sea," which is fine, but it's just not zombies, you know? Prof. Hoade explains that the U of Alabama is offering this class in their "interim" semester, when they test out experimental courses. This course includes a zombie walk to raise money for a food bank, feasts of "human-flavored tofu," and, of course, a visit to the graveyard.
Here's more from the course description from the U of Alabama English Department website:
When real violence and danger abound, why do the "living dead" -- a thoroughly oxymoronic and impossible threat -- exert such a grip on the imagination? This course will explore that question by hunting for zombies in ancient, "classic," and contemporary literature.... We'll also look at how zombie stories treat the divides between sacred and profane, master and slave, and male and female.... We'll do everything we can to examine and explore the revenant's role in our millenial, fin-de-siecle psychology of fear.Dan and I both think this is really cool. Props to Prof. Hoade for keeping his English department vibrant and for engaging the subject of zombies in academia. They're part of the late 20th century zeitgeist and deserve it!
Tired but not dead.
...
Yeah, let's just forgo the lame segue I was going to make there.
We have a new graphic novel in stores today, the third of our trifecta of zombie graphic novels, each with a drastically different tone and take. This one delves into the social and political ramifications of the dead returning to life.
Dead Eyes Open by Matthew Shepherd and Roy Boney, Jr.
The dead are returning to lives they never left behind. Their hearts no longer beat. Their bodies rot. But their minds retain all their memories of life, all the emotions of living. Dr. Requin becomes the unwilling eye of a cultural hurricane as society wrestles with how to deal with "Returners." The risen dead face internment, violence and terror -- and losing all they hold dear.
Don't Call them Zombies:
The Returners Come to Life in Dead Eyes Open
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Psychologist John Requin isn't your garden-variety undead, but there's really no way to get on with your life when you're technically dead. His patients are beginning to suspect something is wrong, his young daughter won't let him near her, and now he and other "Returners" are being hunted down by vigilante groups. The world is in chaos, and the Returners need a spokesperson for their plight. Is John Requin that man? Or is the deal the U.S. government is offering him just an empty appeasement? The afterlife of millions depends on him.Matthew Shepherd has teamed up with artist Roy Boney, Jr. to tell John Requin's story in Dead Eyes Open. Both Shepherd and Boney got their start separately in web comics, Shepherd with a comic called Man-Man and Boney with Plug-In Boy. Dead Eyes Open is the first printed work of both writer and artist.
"I see Dead Eyes Open as 1960s civil rights meeting today's right-wing paranoia, except it's discrimination against the Undead," said Boney, who employs a dark, heavily inked style that portrays the decay of both the Returners and the society in which they live. "I love blood and guts as much as the next guy, but sometimes it's nice to have a 'thinking person's' comic. At least I hope Dead Eyes Open makes people think about things a little more seriously."
Shepherd and Boney explore the religious and political ramifications of the recently dead returning to life and plan to show how society changes as it comes to terms with Returners and the development of a Returner subculture. The result is the depiction of a complex and volatile society and the exploration of many of our culture's prejudices and paranoia. Dr. John Requin's story, however, also keeps the focus on the Returners on an individual level as it depicts how he copes with his own resurrection.
Dead Eyes Open, a 160-page graphic novel, previously published as a six-issue miniseries, will be published in February 2008. It is available for pre-order now at comic book stores with the Diamond code DEC073340. Its ISBN is 978-1-59362-100-1.
For more information about Dead Eyes Open and SLG Publishing, visit www.slgcomic.com
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And solved the mystery in about 30 seconds. Is it just me or does the Internet take all of the drama and uncertainty out of life?
In any case, we owe some thanks to Wil Wheaton, who appears in Dead Eyes Open from issue four on. He recently put up a link to our webstore on his blog. Yes, that was the answer to our mystery: Wil Wheaton. He is like an Internet deity, and people do his bidding.
Dead Eyes Open is by Matthew Shepherd and Roy Boney, Jr.
Dead Eyes Open #6 by Roy Boney Jr. and Matthew Shepherd
24 pages, $2.95
Last issue! As Hamilton Ellard contemplates his final solution for the Returner "problem," Wil Wheaton becomes the hottest thing in Hollywood, the video game industry gets a post-mortem revamp, and John Requin makes a startling proposal... and the most difficult decision of his life (and unlife).
Emo Boy #10 by Steve Emond
24 pages, $2.95
Emo Boy once again upsets everyone when he denounces Christmas in this time of war and poverty. Determined not to partake in the celebrations, Emo Boy wanders off on his own and encounters none other than Santa himself, who must convince Emo Boy of the importance of family, tradition, and the Christmas holiday.
One of our very own creators, Roy Boney Jr. (Dead Eyes Open), won first place in the Trail of Tears Art Show which is held by the Cherokee Heritage Center in Oklahoma. What amazing work did he do to win out of a poll of almost 200 entries by almost ad many contestants? The answer is Zombie Andrew Jackson! Ok, he's not really a zombie and the title of the piece is Our Father and is more likely a statement about the corruption and disregard for the sanctity of human life that was perpetrated by our very own government during the time of Jackson's presidency and thereabouts. And since a lot of our local readers won't get a chance to visit Oklahoma to check out the museum at the Cherokee Heritage Center, Roy Boney Jr. is also exhibiting artwork in the CounterPULSE Gallery in San Francisco from July 1 to 31 as part of the "Frybread and Roses" show. So check it out San Francisco locals. July is also the month we'll be shipping freshly printed issues of Dead Eyes Open #5. So buy the comic or check out the show or check out the show and buy the comic too.
(Apologies for the zombie quip but I can't help but have zombies on the brain since I've just read issue number five of Dead Eyes Open. I know you can't wait to get your hands on it, it's a good one. )
Dead Eyes Open #3 by Matthew Shepherd and Roy Boney Jr.
24-page comic book, $2.95
Dr. John Requin has gone from being a loving family man and psychiatrist to a terrorist on the run to an official in the upper echelons of the U.S. government all within the last few days. Now, his ability to cope with the tide of intelligent undead rising across the country is pushed to the breaking point as he is forced to deal with terrorism, internment camps, an entire new branch of human rights law, and his own splintering family life. And he’s blissfully unaware of the machinations of his aide-de-camp Hamilton Ellard, and the post-human horror that lurks deep under the Pentagon.
Remember the disturbing dissection scene that Roy mentioned in that interview? It's in this issue.
Marlene by Peter Snejbjerg
48-page one-shot, $3.95
A lurking terror has infected the town of Malborg. Madness and death haunt the luminous Scandinavian nights, and the victims all seem to have one thing in common: their lust for the voluptous Marlene. As he investigates, ace detective Michael Joergendsen must navigate a dangerous course between his official duties and his own growing fixation with the young woman. Is he on the trail of a supernatural killer, or is it the other way around? And the beautiful Marlene - is she the innocent victim of an obsessive stalker, or is she something more sinister? Mature Readers.
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Dead Eyes Open takes a socio-political look at zombies -- or "Returners" -- who find themselves living again, their minds functioning as if they never died
Dead Eyes Open #2 is in stores now.
Dead Eyes Open #2 by Matthew Shepherd and Roy Boney Jr.
24-page comic book, $2.95
Twenty-four hours ago, John Requin was a dead psychologist on the run from a government agency dedicated to destroying his kind. In a world where corpses are rising with perfect memories of their prior lives, there seems to be nowhere for Returners to hide ... until John falls in with the Returner Underground, a small group of terrorists led by the psychotic Major Callahaghn. But wheels are turning within the system, and by the end of the day John is going to find himself in a stranger position than he ever imagined.
Little Scrowlie #11 by Jennifer Feinberg and Todd Meister
24-page comic book, $2.95
Homebrew Satan worshipping teens conflict with the pastoral life of the outer East Bay suburbs in Scrowlie 11. The apparent ritual slaying of a small animal has the whole town terrified. The Goat Busters are called in to give a pep rally to Satan's potential teenage recruits, but is it too little, too late?
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Anand Khatri at ComixFan sums up the mood of the first issue: "People are confused, scared, angry and expecting things to get worse. It’s this sense of negativity that Boney draws with sublime skill."
The X-Axis writes, "There surely can't be many more variations on the zombie genre to be done, but Dead Eyes Open has an original spin and carries it out well."
Randy Lander at The Fourth Rail (scroll down to see the review) has high hopes for the series: "Dead Eyes Open is a promising new series that turns the zombie genre on its head and shakes out not braaiiiins but a fresh and fascinating premise."
There are a couple more reviews of the Street Angel trade by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca, as well. Christopher Allen, in his Breakdowns reviews at Comic Book Galaxy, has big praise for Jim Rugg: "Issue after issue, he displays an impressive command of the emotional core of the book that needs to be there to hold all the ninjas and pirates and astronauts and Satanists and blaxploitation heroes from sinking the book into anything-for-a-yuk madcapastrophe. The key is the titular hero herself, homeless skateboarding superhero Jesse Sanchez, and Rugg’s understanding of her. Picture a Daniel Clowes gamine from the wrong side of the tracks who has neither the time nor patience to follow around another white loser, and you’re on the right track."
Mike Storniolo at Silver Bullet Comic Books gives the Street Angel trade five out of five bullets, commenting, "Rugg & Maruca have produced one damn fine comic book. Just the entire concept behind Street Angel and its execution makes it a book that should top your "to read" list."
Well, I'm here in the office, so I might as well tell you about the SLG comics that are in stores today.
Dead Eyes Open #1 by Matthew Shepherd and Roy Boney, Jr.
24-page comic book, $2.95
Sometimes the dearly departed just won't leave.
Dead eyes open, and family therapist Dr. John Requin is forced to deal not only with his own death, but a government conspiracy to destroy him. What happens if you come back from the grave... and you haven't changed a bit? The first issue of a groundbreaking blend of politics, social satire and the living dead.
Terrabella Smooth and the Unsung Monsters by Jon "Bean" Hastings
28-page hardbound storybook, $10.95
Separated from her family on the way to the Monster of the Year celebration, young monster, Terrabella Smoot finds herself on an adventure of goofy proportions. On the way, she will meet up with loose-lipped dips, sneezey sneeze wheasels, and even the Monster of the Year himself, Lord Thonk, the Ghastly. Join her as she discovers the secret of the unsung monsters in this fully-painted watercolor, hardcover storybook adventure from Eisner-nominated creator, Jon "Bean" Hastings.
