British Zombies Boom!

By John Freeman on 21 November 2008

A few months ago, up and coming British comics artist Paul Harrison-Davies promised a sneak peak of a comic he was working on before finding out sneak peaks were not allowed.

“Well, I’m told the comic’s out so I guess I can talk about it,” he announces on his blog. “The story is called ‘Etc’ and it’s in Boom Studio’s Zombie Tales #7. I’ve not had a copy yet, but you might be able to find it in your local comic shop.

“The script was written by Shane Oakley and I was happy to find Shane’s scripts have the same dark over the top humour as his awesome artwork.

I’m not going to give anything away more than this first page shows, if you like it, track down a copy of Zombie tales to find out how it ends.”

Shane, who has had his comp copies, also provided an alternate cover for the issue, which he’s featured on his blog and also reveals of his script: “I scribbled it down in response to my increasing disenchantment with the ever-uninspiring glut of zombie movies/comics. The genre ran outta ideas a long time back, and really, the majority haven’t moved past Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Same story, same idea, same stock characters. Stories that seem to take an age just to lead you nowhere, and stories that deliver nothing but a dreary sense of deja vu…

“i wanted to have some fun with the undead, play around, try to add a little invention to the genre, and do it quick (only six pages)!”

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.