What do you get when you cross John Wayne with a Zombie?

You get Zombie Outlaw. The new independent comic series from series writer Brian J. Apodaca and artist B. Paul Jordan. If you need your Zombie fix and are tired of the heaviness that is The Walking Dead, then this is the comic for you. The art and writing are breezy and the writing is an easy read. This comic takes place at Irvine State University where in the past one zombie is not trying to kill everyone but save a city from other zombies. I have gathered from the interview with the creative team we will learn more about them in subsequent issues. The badness starts in 1872 and continues until now. The three main characters are Will Simers the brains of the group and also pretty good at the love game. You have Matt Naismith the geek who is socially awkward and turns to Will for some help with the female lead K.T. Delaney. I don't want to give away spoilers here but there are zombies and definitely a cliff hanger. The art reminds me of Popeye and Mike Wierengo's work. Over the top but it works for the book. The lead zombie is a cowboy hat wearing zombie with a thirst for blood that also uses a gun. as you can see from the pic below. 

Cover of issue #1

Our hero Zombie Outlaw

I got a chance to ask the creative team some questions. They were kind enough to answer.


Geek Happenings: Paul. You have a really unique art style. Who were your influences for your art? Also are the green creatures zombies also? Are we going to find out more about them in future issues?

Benny Jordan: First off, go ahead and call me Benny.

    The influences for my art were Skottie Young, Mike Wierengo, and Carlos Meglia. Although my style reflects nothing of those artists, I appreciated the cartoonish flare that they put into their illustrations.  Many comics these days seem to have the same serious feel and style, so they become a bit stagnant to me. I wanted this book to have a sort of Saturday morning cartoon feel, being somewhat nostalgic.

    The first issue, art-wise, was not my best work.  I was still at an experimental stage with the art.  Since then I've gone on to work on a comic title for Scattered Comics Studios with Jason Dube called Shadow Hunters.  I learned a lot while doing that book.  Though the two books are completely different in art styles, I've taken what I've learned, as well as taking into consideration all the great reviews and critiques for the first Zombie Outlaw book, and have applied it to the second issue of "ZO".  My style is still quite similar to the first issue but the characters flow a little smoother, my panel layout is considerably better, and my backgrounds are going to be more than just negative space. So, for those who have read the first issue, the characters in issue 2 will have some slight differences.  I look at the first issue as being somewhat of a pilot episode, realizing what changes need to be made and applying them to the next.




Geek Happenings: Brian, did you have an idea where the story was going to go, or how many issues you wanted to do? Did you have a planned end spot?


Brian Apodaca: Ben and I have an idea for where the story is going to go, but no set-in-stone endpoint.    We have the feeling of it being open-ended, like a sitcom or classic animated series, like Transformers or G.I. Joe, with a fair helping of the classic Apatow comedies
like Freaks and Geeks or Undeclared influencing the style as well.   There's definitely some Undeclared in there, and I'm a big fan of Freaks and Geeks as well, so that naturally bleeds into the college-based story. I think with the artwork, as Benny has said, there's a lot of animated cartoon influence - maybe not so specific, but more of a general nostalgia for old cartoons we enjoyed watching - not just Transformers and G.I. Joe, but even Thundercats, Silverhawks, and even the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon and the Dragonslayer video game.   We're also both fans of the Scott Pilgrim books and the film adaptation.
  
    The College setting is the main base of the story, but the second issue is in production at this point, and there's a trip to a nearby Tiki-Bar that is frequented by some of the college students that becomes important as the story goes on.
   
    The second issue will introduce several new characters, and flesh out one of the characters we only saw briefly at the end of Issue #1 - Scooter Donatelli.   
   
    As to your question about the green creatures:   Yes, they were Zombies!   And we will see more of them as time goes on. There will also be another flashback/storytelling sequence from the Western Occult History book, which will reveal more about the 1870s (original!) Zombie Outlaw, Edward Dransby.

If you want to learn more about the Zombie Outlaw movement there are plenty of ways to get in touch and give comments.

1) Zombie Outlaw Facebook Page:     http://www.facebook.com/zombieoutlawcomic

2) The "Zombie Outlaw" creative team will be appearing at the ComiKaze Expo on November 5th and 6th  http://www.comikazeexpo.com

3) There is a "Zombie Outlaw - OUTBREAK" Cosplay Event happening October 23rd -  (Facebook-accessible link)  -  https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=253199048057438


So get your Zombie on.