Zombies vs Cheerleaders: St Pattty's Special

(W) Steven L. Frank, Dave Franchini
(A) David Namisato, Bill Maus
(CA) Dw Miller
Release Date: 03/04/2015
Publisher:Â ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT INC

I really don’t know what to make of this book. Â The idea of a “monster and a babe” element is as old as the sci-fi B movies of the 50’s. Â With the advent of the female action hero, a la Buffy, the tables had somewhat turned.

There are four stories in the issue, the first by Dave Franchini, with art by David Namisato, tries to be a fun straight up monster story. The cutesy art helps convey that sense of fun, but overall the cheerleaders tend to be somewhat as faceless as they are forgettable.

The next story, written by Michelle Everaert, with art by Ander Sarabia, benefits from being the second story, especially as the plot twist is used in the last story. That said , the last story is a reprint so that begs the question is this a twist or a homage? The cheerleaders in this story fall into the Buffy mold. There are a couple of “slut” references (having been alluded to in the cover) before the girls wander into zombie land. Art wise, it’s ok. Just ok.

The Peculiar Tale of Jessamine and the Zombie Horde is Â peculiar indeed. Looking, at a quick glance, like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the story, falls into an illogical stance with an abundance of anachronistic elements. I am not sure if this is a one off story or part of an ever expanding world, as there are intimations of previous character interaction. If this is so, pulling guns from pom prom’s may just be the norm.

Finally, the last story by Steven L. Frank, with art by Jim Kyle’s the one story that resembles the cover. As mentioned, it’s a reprint from a Â TPB so regular readers may feel a tad cheated. Â Story wise, with a reference to watching t.v. with her lover, I was unsure if the female lead was actually a wife or daughter. The use of a name helps to clear this confusion, but still, feel the script is a tad clumsy. Art wise, this is probably what regular readers of the book want, with stocking tops and sex scenes.

So, if this is supposed be a funny book to make me smile, I am afraid the various writers forgot to bring the “funny”. Does it work as a monster book? For me, it’s a no as mentioned in previous reviews of other zombie books, it’s a difficult task to keep this overly populated theme original. I guess, the inclusion of a reprinted story only serves to prove my point.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network