Here’s the gruesome but powerful cover art by Graeme Neil Reid to a new anthology, Overload, edited by Martin Conaghan, which will be launched at Kapow this weekend, priced £4.
Yes, as if the very memory of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wasn’t bad enough – the darling of our current leadership – now she’s back as a zombie*.
Contributors to this new title include Gordon Rennie, Emma Beeby, Eoin Coveney, Martin Hayes, Graeme Howard, Dave Cook, Gary Crutchley, Geoffrey D. Wessel, Steve Penfold, Matt Gibbs, James Reekie, Jacen Burrows, Paul McClaren and Jim Campbell.
The cover depicts the Iron Lady in all her zombified glory, attacking the good people of London, taken from the inaugural issue’s headline story ‘Primus Inter Pares’ (“First Among Equals”), written by Gordon Rennie (Judge Dredd, Doctor Who, Dept of Monsterology) and Emma Beeby with art by Eoin Coveney, which sees the UK overcome by the dead returning from the grave and former prime ministers attempting to re-take 10 Downing Street. It’s described as a ‘biting’ satire on the country’s current political decline at the hands of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat alliance.
“The Prime Minister must be aware of the fear sweeping the nation about the coming zombie apocalypse,” Rennie and Beeby outlined in a short teaser statement. “Will he now release HM Government’s plans to deal with this matter? This comic is a call to action. The people need to know the truth; need reassured that they have thought of every eventuality. No matter how terrifying. We hope Overload‘s readers will follow suit, and email their MP to ask what they intend we do when the dead rise. We all know it’s going to happen.”
Overload is also looking for contributors for future issues – you can bring along your portfolio or story ideas to table 34 on Saturday 19th May at Kapow at 1300BST and on Sunday 20th May at 1300 BST.
– View a preview online at: www.copydesk.co.uk/overload1
• Graeme Neil Reid reveals the work behind this cover here (link added in September 2026)
* Margaret Thatcher is not yet dead.
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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.
Categories: British Comics, Comic Previews, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News
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