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Interview with Berserker Comics about 'The Dead'
By Geoff Bough
When
I first saw the cover of issue #1 for 'The Dead', I knew it was going
to be something to keep an eye on. With one of the most intriguing collaborations
in the industry, Simon Bisley, Alan Grant and Glenn Fabry have joined
creative forces to bring us 'The Dead'.
We spoke with Berserker Comics about the book and here's what they had to say...
Rev: There's a short but sweet description
of the premise of the 'The Dead' on the site, can you tell us a little
more about the story and how that came about?
Berserker: The story starts
with the disaster being already seven days in getting straight into the
action. You will be mainly following a group of fire fighters whose aim
is to take back the surrounding area and eventually the city. Fire fighters
being trained as a rescue team and commonly dealing with disaster situations
was the reasoning for the character choice. The comic is based in the
U.K. as we wanted the availability of firearms to be more limited. This
factor will give the characters an opportunity to experiment with various
items as weapons. Blam your dead is just to easy.
Rev: The collaboration of Alan, Simon and Glenn
on a zombie comic like this is like combining world powers. How did everyone
come together for this project?
Berserker:
We had a wish list consisting of the industries elite and with a lot of
hard work and some luck we had three of the top players. You will be seeing
other top names included with our variant covers.
Rev: Will 'The Dead' be distributed through
an independent publisher?
Berserker: Yes. The title
will be published by our company Berserker Comics and will be available
through previews in June and will be on the shelves in August.
Rev: Will 'The Dead' be an ongoing title or
a miniseries?
Berserker: Ongoing
Rev: What sets 'The Dead' apart from other
zombie comics out there?
Berserker: I refer you
to question number two “The collaboration of Alan, Simon and Glenn
on a zombie comic like this is like combining world powers.” That
says it all.
Rev: I've read that Simon modelled one of the
characters on himself, can you elaborate on that?
Berserker: Yes Simon has
drawn a likeness of himself in there. He will be an active character in
the comic and not just a few panels. You’ll have to wait and see.
Rev: As fans of
zombies yourselves, what are some of your favorite zombie films, books,
comics etc?
Berserker:
Night of the living dead, Day of the Dead, Dawn of the
Dead old and new, Zombie Flesh eaters, 28 days later, Shaun of the Dead,
Deadworld, the walking Dead, Dead Rising, Resident evil (Game not Movie!!),
Zombie Survival Guide, and more.
Rev: How many pint glasses were drained over
the preliminary stages of 'The Dead'?
Berserker: We are Irish,
you do the math. Haha
Rev: You guys are legends in the industry,
is there anyone currently working in the industry whose work you admire?
Berserker: Yes Geof Darrow
and Joe Chiodo. Hopefully we will get to work with them in the future.
Rev: If zombies had just burst through your
door, given what's around you at this exact moment, what do you grab first?
Berserker: Well that would
be easy because we have several swords around here. Chop slash slash chop.
Rev: It's been noted that there will be a host
of variant covers by various industry artists including Vince Locke, can
you share any other names?
Berserker: Two confirmed
artists are Ashley Wood and Nate Van Dyke.
Rev: I feel a lot of the current popularity
of the zombie subgenre can be attributed to the comic industry, what do
you guys think?
Berserker:
Yes zombie comics have produced a fan base for the genre. I think the
new zombie movie craze could not have come about without the constant
growth produced by the medium.
Rev: 'The Dead' is slated for an August release,
can we expect to see you guys at trade shows and cons promoting the book
in the meantime?
Berserker: A zombie horde
is forming to overtake the Bristol Comics Expo (May 9-11).We will be handing
out goodies for all zombie lovers. We also have plans for France and Ireland
with the States finally at the end of the year. Keep checking our MySpace
page for updates on our activities - www.myspace.com/thedeadcomic
Rev: After 'The Dead', what's next for you
guys?
Berserker: We are currently
working on some other projects and will be releasing information on these
later this year.