MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #3, from Second Sight Publishing and Caliber Comics on January 17th, 2022, delivers six flesh-eating tales of terror from the fine state of Mississippi.
The Details
- Written By: Bradley Golden, Peter Breau, Jeff Carroll, Paul Carberry, Marcus H. Roberts
- Art By: Dan Gorman, Harrison Wood, Jorge Cabotto, Bento Tovar Jr., Emi Utrera
- Letters By: Brian Dunphy, Francisco Zamora, Emi Utrera
- Cover Art By: Luciano Fleitas
- Cover Price: $13.99
- Release Date: January 17, 2022
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Was It Good?
At the risk of sounding cheeky, this is the absolute greatest B&W, zombie, horror anthology comic set in Mississippi you can find on the market anywhere.
In all seriousness, MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #3 looks and reads like a labor of love from a collective of creators who are passionate about horror comics. If the greatest horror anthology in the world? No. It needs more than a little spit and polish to hammer out spelling errors, grammar errors, weird panel transitions, and a whole host of little technical flaws.
But what this anthology lacks in technical polish, it more than makes up in a few key areas.
As the title implies, this book is set in and around Mississippi, and you can tell extra attention went into making sure each short reflected points of interest, historical figures of importance, and an overall feeling of authenticity about the state. A reader will genuinely feel like they’ve been to Mississippi in a way that’s entertaining and memorable in a bloody zombie horror kind of way.
Next, each short does its darnedest to take a well-worn horror topic (a zombie uprising) and look for a new spin or a fresh perspective. Some of the themes will sound vaguely familiar. Others will not. But whether or not you’ve seen it before, the earnestness is front and center. This is a heartfelt effort by creators who love horror to tell the best zombie stories they can muster, and the determination shows.
So, what should you take from this review? MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #3 is a diamond in the rough. If you can spare the time and a few dollars, give it a chance.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
As with all our anthology reviews, we’ll describe each short briefly and note what worked or didn’t
Dog Eat Dog Life
A delivery man struggles to fulfill the last drop-offs on a double shift when he encounters an over-aggressive poodle. Armed with pepper spray and the courage to use it, the delivery man drives the dog off. However, the delivery man soon finds out the dog’s bite is much worse than its bark.
This is a cute short which is an extended scene rather than a complete chapter. The storybook nature of the art gives the short a slightly comical (no pun intended) feel that makes it perfect as an opening prologue.
All About Commerce
After the zombie apocalypse, pirates roam the Mississippi river in search of supplies and survivors to pillage or add to their crew. One stop leads the pirates to pick up a new passenger with a deep and dangerous connection to the town of Commerce.
Of all the shorts, this chapter was the most confusing in terms of panel transitions and general flow. The art and concepts are some of the strongest of the entire anthology, but to be blunt, it was hard to follow what was going on.
40oz of Death
A group of frat pledges gets the hazing of their lives when they’re tasked with resisting an onslaught of lustful enticements or getting the paddle. Unfortunately, the Viagra Beer they’re served does more than awaken their passions, and the ringleaders of the hazing get a little punishment of their own.
Of all the shorts, this one has the most original concept and the most interesting zombie designs. You could picture this story getting expanded into a full-sized one-shot.
Samhain’s Gate
Amid the American Civil War, a group of soldiers is captured by n evil cult bent on using their sacrifice to raise a little Hell. When the local sheriff is hired to find them for a large gold bounty, the sheriff and his men soon learn that even gold is not enough for the price they’re about to pay.
Good old-fashioned Southern horror as a period piece. You can’t go wrong with that setting, and this story is the only one that mixes zombies with the occult for a short that stays on topic for the anthology but throws in a little extra supernatural for good measure.
Zombie Heist
A gang of bank robbers concocts a plan to rob a bank in the heart of Pascagoula when the entire state is locked down due to a zombie outbreak. As Murphy’s Law shows yet again, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
This short feels the most familiar in that there have been similar ideas offered in the films of George Romero and, more recently, Zack Snyder. There’s nothing wrong with familiar as long as the details hold your attention, and the details in this short sink their teeth into you right from the start.
The Dead Don’t Die
A cabal of bad actors in a nefarious pharmaceutical company intentionally kicks off a zombie apocalypse through a batch of tainted flu vaccines. The more people get jabbed, the faster the infection spreads until civilization devolves into chaos.
This short is possible the second most confusing and also one of the best shorts of the bunch. It’s confusing because it’s not clear why a pharmaceutical company would intentionally want to end the world. It feels like there’s a key element missing. On the other hand, this short has the best art of the bunch by a country mile, and the action scenes of desperate people fighting zombies and each other are tense and dramatic.
Final Thoughts
MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #3 is an earnest labor of love from a collection of creators that enjoy both horror and the fine state of Mississippi. While the technical aspects put this comic in the “diamond in the rough” category, it’s filled with creative ideas, a genuine flavor of local Mississippi culture, and more zombies than you can shake a 12-gauge shotgun at.
Score: 7/10
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