Infestation discussion

[Sydew]

That said, GW = Games Workshop. You said you were a fan of Abnett, so I figured it was worth asking.

Sorry I haven't; I Have read his work on the big two. I specially love his work on Resurrection man.

[Shockwave]

My only guess on that would be that Jhiaxus was somehow able to escape being perpetually killed by Arcee. As I understood it he was stuck in some in between state where he would die, get resurrected and then Arcee would kill him again and that she was content to keep doing that for all eternity.

[Onslaught Six]

Told you. Arcee sucks at everything.

[andersonh1]

Infestation #1

I'm not a fan of the zombie genre. Zombies are generally stupid. What idiot would use dead, decaying corpses for anything when they are likely to just fall apart, not to mention smell bad? Right? And zombie robots? Huh?

Ok, so the premise doesn't sell it. But it's Transformers and it's G1, and it's in continuity, so it's worth a shot. And for what it is, the story isn't too bad. Interdimensional zombies invade Galvatron's ship and crew and they crash (of course) on Earth, where the Autobots and Skywatch get involved. Galvatron tries to run the show, no questions asked, which doesn't sit well with the Autobots. It's about what I expected, and it's fine as far as action plots and character interaction goes.

What I did enjoy were the links back to Furman's dead universe plotline, which I liked quite a bit but which was sadly cut short, and the link back to Spotlight Kup, also drawn by Nick Roche. Both storylines featured "zombies" of one sort or another (Kup's were in his head, while the Dead Universe bots were simply incompatible with the regular universe), so the callbacks make good sense and are good to see again. And Prime remembers Galvatron, as he should. Getting continuity correct always scores points with me.

Kup's moment of clarity at the ending and the confirmation that a certain bot under Galvatron's command wasn't who she appeared to be worked pretty well. I think I liked the book enough to get part two. This book is blatantly and obviously cross-promotion, but it makes good use of certain characters and story elements from IDW's past, and at only two issues it's short enough that the concept isn't dragged out too long so that it outstays its welcome.

Not bad. Not stellar, by any means, but a decent read. I'll be buying part two on my next visit to the comic shop.

[Onslaught Six]

What idiot would use dead, decaying corpses for anything when they are likely to just fall apart, not to mention smell bad? Right? And zombie robots? Huh?

To be fair, most zombie movies present it as an infection. I know Resident Evil's whole thing was that the virus was developed as a weapon--the zombie thing was a side effect. (And then they were developing the virus further to mutate them into stronger, more evolved forms, but that's besides the point.)

[138 Scourge]

Infestation #1

I'm not a fan of the zombie genre. Zombies are generally stupid. What idiot would use dead, decaying corpses for anything when they are likely to just fall apart, not to mention smell bad? Right? And zombie robots? Huh?

Man, I don't even know what to tell you about zombie robots. Never read the "ZvsR" book, so I dunno how it works, I'm just gonna guess it's one of those things where you just say "Friggin' crazy-ass comics" and go with it.

As for why one would "use" dead, decaying corpses, this is where I get my zombie fan hat out. Generally, they're not being used for anything, most zombie movies have 'em just showing up, the best ones don't even give you a reason. One day it's just "Hey, these dead dudes aren't staying decently dead!". Though I am partial to the original Night of the Living Dead's "space radiation brought back from a space probe mission to Venus" and the original Dawn of the Dead's "Well, there's no more room in Hell". The virus thing is okay and all, and makes sense to a point, but it's getting a bit played out. But I digress.

If one was to want a zombie army, they present several advantages. They don't need food or rest, they're extremely durable (other than the decaying thing, but for a short-term skirmish you're good to go), and they're self-replicating. They usually don't follow orders very well, but if you want 'em to just do zombie things, they're good to make that happen. And there's the psychological warfare aspect: You can send in soldiers, most people are gonna go ahead and shoot back. But you send in someone's zombified buddies, they're gonna hesitate for a minute and then you wind up with a new recruit.

Zombies in general are sort of played out these days, even I'll admit it. But I loved me some zombie apocalypses before Max Brooks or Robert Kirkman hit the scene, and I'm gonna love 'em after people have moved on the the next thing. I'll keep lovin' 'em until I'm dead and gone, and with any luck, even after I've shucked gravedirt in search of fresh, tasty brains.

Wow, I totally nerded out there. Anyway, carry on.

[Dominic]

I heard good things about "World War Z". But, Brooks' piss poor showing on "Hearts and Minds" was enough to deter me. (From what I heard, I can get the best parts of WWZ from any number of papers published by the USAWC or the SSI, or even the occasional article in "the Atlantic".)


Okay,

Star Trek Infestation #2:
This is probably the best "Infestation" cross-over of all. Granted, that is not saying much. But, that is something. The Tiptons play this like an episode of the original series, and have it trending more towards the status quo of the hosting franchise (Trek) beating the interloping franchise rather than having the interloping frachise run rough-shod over the hosting franchise. Kudos to the Tiptons for salvaging something from this mess.
Grade: D


Dom
-next week, "GI Joe"!

[138 Scourge]

I heard good things about "World War Z". But, Brooks' piss poor showing on "Hearts and Minds" was enough to deter me. (From what I heard, I can get the best parts of WWZ from any number of papers published by the USAWC or the SSI, or even the occasional article in "the Atlantic".)

You know, I have zero problem with Max Brooks (haven't read "Hearts and Minds", though). I think the "Zombie Survival Guide" was pretty good when looked at as a kind of zombie story in an extremely different format. And "World War Z", (which, again, haven't gotten to) seems to be a sequel done up as oral history, which is a format of book I quite like, actually. My only problem with Brooks is that people tend to think of his zombies as the only zombies. The "real" ones, if you will. Though, that kind of thinking was going on before the Survival Guide came out, it seems more prevalent now.

But if you go with a set of rules for zombies (or werewolves, or vampires, or giant shapeshifting space robots), then things get old real fast. I love the Bela Lugosi Dracula, but if people had to stick with that model, we wouldn't have "From Dusk Till Dawn". Or if people figured all zombies had to be "Night of the Living Dead", we wouldn't have stuff like "House By the Cemetary" or "Return of the Living Dead".

[Dominic]

Apparently Brooks wrote pretty solidly about how goverment would break down and such. But, again, I can get that in non-fiction.


Dom
-even if Brooks did not make a poor showing in "Hearts and Minds".

[andersonh1]

Infestation #1

I'm not a fan of the zombie genre. Zombies are generally stupid. What idiot would use dead, decaying corpses for anything when they are likely to just fall apart, not to mention smell bad? Right? And zombie robots? Huh?

Man, I don't even know what to tell you about zombie robots. Never read the "ZvsR" book, so I dunno how it works, I'm just gonna guess it's one of those things where you just say "Friggin' crazy-ass comics" and go with it.

Exactly. And taken on it's own terms, issue 1 is entertaining, which is what I'm looking for. So despite the fact that I just can't usually get into zombie fiction, I enjoyed this book.

The virus thing is okay and all, and makes sense to a point, but it's getting a bit played out. But I digress.

I think it's a virus in this story as well. I tend to see that as an attempt by more rational writers to avoid the idea of magic and the occult as an explanation for zombies. Maybe they just think "a virus" plays better to the modern audience.

Wow, I totally nerded out there. Anyway, carry on.

Hey, you enjoy your hobbies. Nothing wrong with that.