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Long before The Walking Dead, comic fans searching for a zombie story had DeadWorld. Debuting in 1987 (The Walking Dead didn’t hit stands until 2003) from independent publisher Caliber (later Desperado), DeadWorld managed quite a cult following despite the original series’ sporadic publishing schedule and limited distribution. The modern zombie craze, where the rotting dead equate with book, movie and television gold, made rebooting the fan favorite series a “no-brainer” and the 352-page DeadWorld Omnibus is a great place to dig back into the mythos whether you are a long-time fan or a more casual zombie aficionado.

The typical trappings for a world besieged by the reanimated dead are easily discernible: world apocalypse, dead come-to-life, now eating people, competing groups of survivors – check, check, check and check. More importantly, like The Walking Dead, DeadWorld features an ensemble cast of mostly likable (and relatable) survivors amidst a handful of really awful (but still living) villains (Dr. Enos Slaughter meet the Governor – I’m sure you’ll get along famously). But DeadWorld is far from a simple retread of Robert Kirkman (or even George Romero); in DeadWorld, the catalyst for reanimation is clearly occult, allowing for the introduction of a series of intelligent, supernatural antagonists (including the series’ hallmark character, the leather-jacketed, motorcycle-riding King Zombie) who like puppeteers direct the zombie horde toward a darker design than just a plague of the undead.

Writers Gary Reed and Mike Raicht use this distinction expertly, giving DeadWorld a distinctive feel and trauma, while at the same time being careful to avoid what could be an easy drift into B-movie camp. DeadWorld feels scary (and at times a bit sleazy), but the grittiness of the plot works and there’s plenty of cleverness, such as blanketing New York in blizzard during the zombie invasion, that keeps the series feeling fresh despite the glut of recent zombie stories currently swelling the horror genre. I have little criticism for the series’ plot other than that it could use a bit more room to breathe – quite a few good characters are shuffled on and off panel quickly and it’s a shame there isn’t more of commitment to DeadWorld the series. There’s plenty of fertile ground and character development that could have been explored -- stretching these first three stories by another ten or twenty pages would not have been out the question.

Unfortunately, where the series drops a bit of boat anchor is in the art. In the preface, Reed jokes a bit about the DeadWorld curse and the series’ inability to keep a regular artist, but it’s far from a laughing matter. The style differences between Locke and Talajic in the first arc of the omnibus are enormous – neither bad – but so jarring (like from Esher to Michelangelo) that it’s a bit of challenge to re-identify each of the main characters. It gets even worse in the last part of the book: “Slaughterhouse.” The heavy black designs of Sami Makkonen read like a muddy mess – in some panels, it’s almost impossible to distinguish the characters, shifts in scene and location, what’s going on in the action, or even the human beings from the zombies. Perhaps the original print of this material – in a graphic novel format – showcased this material better, but be prepared to squint your eyes and grit your teeth as you decipher the last third of the omnibus. It’s a shame because, while this chapter is critical to the overall DeadWorld story, the execution leaves the reader struggling to discern what is happening to whom.

The revitalization of DeadWorld is a bit of a missed opportunity. The plot is sharp enough to compete with some of the best work the zombie sub-genre has to offer and the writers give this world a voice all its own. The art, on the other hand, distracts rather than enhances the story and keeps this series a rung below where it should be.

Bough for friend he loved it; read it immediately and now wants more. Good read, if you like the series.

I love VINCE LOCKE'S work since the 1980's and it is incredible to look at , I would recommend this book to anybody..

This book was in no means bad, it has great artwork and zombie killing fun. But in terms of story and characters which are the biggest parts of a book, considerably weak.

Read this and see where "The Walking Dead" stole all its ideas from. Making the zombies smart and a real threat was an amazing idea. I remember buying these issues back in the late 1980's and sharing them at school. I've since put together a gem mint set of the original series but I buy these to read bc I hate thinking I'm going to ruin my comics.

Let me start by saying that I've been reading Deadworld for over twenty years now....its hard to believe its been so long. I was a very impressionable boy of 11 when my cousin handed me vol. 1 #13. It was a world away from the X-men and other mutant comics I was reading. It was fun, exciting, but best of all my parents HATED Deadworld. My love of horror fiction started here. Deadworld is sacred ground.

While the 05' relaunch is great, an inclusion here seems unnecessary. Seems they could have saved on the paper and ink and printed a larger book. I'll get back that. It was nice to get Frozer Over in a collection, and it kept me on the edge of my seat, but Slaughterhouse is exactly what the readers have been waiting for....tie ins galore, this book finally glues the (very bloody) pieces of the Deadworld world (hehe) together. Finally the revamped series story moves forward with Slaughterhouse!!! I had problems buying the original hardcover of Slaughterhouse from my local shop, I'm glad its been reprinted so soon!

If you've come this far with the series pick this up. Rude and crude its why you fell in love with it to begin with. Only problem aside from the reprint of the 05' relaunch is the size. 6"x9" is small...too small. It takes away from the experience.

To make this quick. This couldn't be better written or drawn, with several artists that are perfect for the mood of each story. And even some Vince lock art! This has three stores and I caught connections to the other stories that i didn't notice before. If your a zombie or horror fan just get this and for the price at 356 pages you can't beat it. Walking dead is good but imo the art and writting in this is way superior. Plus it has supernatural stuff unlike walking dead. Add a smart ass harly riding mirrored sunglassed zombie that talks and is trying to open a portal to a hell like dimension and it's a no brainer. Just get it--you will love it.

The original zombie comic