The Zombie Marge Comix Blog

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When last we saw Marge, she was in police custody and investigating a strange disturbance at the old Gummfungus farm...

UNMAIMED LOVE part 8

And there you have it. Just like in life, the story didn't end happily ever after for anyone but Disney.

It should also be pointed out that Frazetta colored his own work on this story, which was an unusual practice for the time. Even with the limited color palette at he disposal, he still did an exceptional job.

UNMAIMED LOVE part 1

The original story appeared in Personal Love #32 in April 1955 as "Untamed Love." Often cited by comic historians as one of the finest drawn stories of the golden age, it is obvious that Frank Frazetta was not interested in telling a typical love story. The romance takes a back seat to adventure in the lush jungle setting. An interesting side note was Frazetta's choice of models for this story. He used his friend Al Williamson as the central character. Williamson was close friend and, like Frank, was a young artist just breaking into the comics field at the time. Al would go on to produce amazing comics, including one of the best versions of Flash Gordon outside the original news paper strip.

As I mentioned the other day, most of these romance comics from the fifties have fallen into the public domain and are fair game for a smartass like me to use them as I see fit. In my rewritten version of the story, the action takes place in Anaheim, California in 1954, just months before the grand opening of Disneyland. In fairness to Walt Disney, who was a difficult boss, by all accounts, there are no stories that paint him as a womanizer. Except this one.

Stop by every day this week for a new page of Unmaimed Love!

Behind the scenes

I thought I’d take a minute to pull back the curtain and discuss some recent events that are affecting the Zombie Marge strip. It’s been busy over the last few weeks, and by busy I mean disruptive. Since I started the Mothman storyline on March 15^th, I have posted a new strip every Monday like clockwork. But there will not be a Marge strip this Monday. Life has gotten in the way.

Several weeks ago I began serving jury duty, which is proving to be much more intrusive than I would have guessed. I’ve used up my cushion of strips I had built up. I need to draw more as time allows.

Also a few weeks ago I got the news that ComiXpress was closing it’s doors suddenly and unexpectedly. Most of the books listed on this page were printed at ComiXpress, so that meant I had to scramble to find another printer to do the job. After much research, I've decided to print all the books with KaBlam and offer them for sale through Indy Planet and Indy Planet Digital.

But this will take time, the printer files from ComiXpress are not compatible with the specifications for KaBlam. This means that each and every book needs to be remade to the new specs. And that takes time away for the weekly strip. Currently only two links on this page are active. The Little Olden Book is already available from Indy Planet and Zombie Marge #1 is available, as of today. I will continue to place books one at a time until I have them all up. Stay tuned.

So, no Marge for a week or two as I get ahead again. But you don’t have to go empty handed. In its place I will post a very special SHAM Comics story, featuring an amazing artist you might have heard of. Frank Frazetta did a handful of romance stories in the mid-fifties. All have fallen into public domain. One of them appears in SHAM Comics #2. But the most famous by far was “Untamed Love.” It was more of a lush jungle adventure than a typical love story.

So beginning Monday, and appearing every day next week, stop by to read my take on this fantastic story. See you then.

Episode 34

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Episode 33

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Oh, no!! There's trouble brewin' at the ol' Gumfungus place!

Episode 32

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Hey, isn’t that the guy from that thing? Why, yes. Yes it is. That’s Patrolman Kelton as played by actor Paul Marco, who appeared in Ed Wood’s “Bride of the Monster,” “Night of the Ghouls,” and, best of all, ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space,” his finest performance. It seemed fitting for Officer Kelton to join Marge in her quest for aliens, for reasons that will become obvious later. Marco died in 2006. To learn more visit his website at: http://www.winvisual.com/marco/index.html

Episode 31

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Well, there you have it! Definitive proof a zombie can beat a bunch of Men In Black. But can a law-abiding zombie like Marge get the best of the cops? Join us next week to see.

Episode 30

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At last, the Men In Black have arrived! But these MIBs, unlike the ones in the popular films, are not here to help. In fact, they are not quite human! Certainly, they are from no government agency on this planet. Most of the literature dealing with this phenomenon suggests that these mysterious creatures as closely related to the UFOs that they are “investigating.” They are often described as having a strange appearance, wearing clothes and driving cars that are out of date, yet in pristine condition. They sometimes have difficulty speaking or breathing. Some sound as if the words they say are only memorized and are foreign to them. Some reports mention that they do not move their lips but their robotic-like voices are heard telepathically. Simple concepts are unknown to them, and they generally act strange. They come and go quickly, leaving no trace.

That describes these MIBs. The poor dopes don’t realize what they are up against, never having threatened a cranky old zombie before. Join us next time and see who intimidates who.

Episode 29

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Now it’s a party! The Grays have arrived, let the fun begin.

These little creatures have been popping up for decades. They were first described in literature by H.G. Wells in his 1901 book The First Men in the Moon. They were frequently portrayed throughout the 1930s in science fiction pulp magazines, like Amazing Stories. But by the early 1950s, they were closely associated with UFO-related phenomenon. Stories of the Roswell crash include claims that small pilots were recovered in the wreckage.

Many cases of alien abduction include these greys carrying out the tasks of experimenting on helpless victims. As if they were not already ingrained into pop culture, they got a boost in popularity in 1987 in the book, Communion by Whitley Strieber, who claimed repeated visitations from them.

Extraterrestrial anal probers or mass hallucinations? Whatever these strange creatures may be, it seems likely that they have had many disguises down through recorded history. Could this same phenomenon be responsible for stories of angels, demons, fairies and leprechauns? Could be! Could be!

Episode 28

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One of the common elements of the alien abduction encounters is the trip in the space ship to other worlds. It was first suggested in the 1930s in the science fiction pulp stories. Then abruptly in 1946 the fiction became real when George Adamski began seeing flying craft regularly in and around his home at the Palomar Mountain area. George was an unremarkable Polish immigrant who settled in California and an avid reader of pulp magazines.

On November 20, 1952, Adamski claimed he was given a ride in a flying saucer by a friendly Venusian named Orthon. He wrote about his voyages in many books. He was never deterred by those who insisted he was a fraud. Until his death in 1965, George made a successful career lecturing about the experiences.

Since we are touching on all facets of the UFO phenomenon, it’s only fair that Marge gets a lift in an alien craft. For a zombie, she gets around. Next week, Marge has a close encounter of her own. Will there be any probing involved? Join us and see!

Episode 27

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Though less well known to the general public, holes in the ice are a phenomenon closely linked to UFO appearances. Like crop circles, large perfectly round holes in the ice have appeared in areas of unexplained activity.

Fortean author Ivan T. Sanderson made the connection between UFOs and bodies of water in his book “Invisible Residents” in 1970. While others were watching the skies for signs of the unknown lights, Sanderson speculated that their point of origin was below the oceans. He saw the strange craft as a terrestrial phenomenon and tied it to the appearances of elusive monsters like the Loch Ness monster and other strange lake creatures.

This seemed like a dramatic entrance for Marge’s first encounter with these unknown forces. I also wanted this flashback to be a different style than the rest of the story and chose to render it entirely in Adobe Illustrator, without ink lines and in a blue monochrome. Her tale continues next week.

Episode 26

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Boy! Compared to last week, was this strip ever hard work. But loads of fun. I don’t think there’s been a Zombie Marge episode with as many different characters on one page.

From the beginning, I’ve dropped hints that Purgatory Park, and Tanglefoot Cenetery in particular, were special locations that just invited the paranormal to come on in and make itself at home. Strange things are always happening there. That’s why Marge is so comfortable in the town. Suddenly all that paranormal activity has taken the form of unusual lights in the sky and all the related phenomenon. The locals have gathered at the pub to swap stories of the latest odd events, in this case, the UFO sightings and extraterrestrial visitations. Everybody is trying to one-up the others. It seems like the whole town has had some sort of unexplainable experience or another. But Zombie Marge has them all beat. With a little luck, this story will try to get around to answering all of these various mysteries. Except maybe how to make a proper Manhattan. The truth is out there!

Episode 25

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Oh boy! This new format is liberating. I'm moving at such speeds that I'm seven strips ahead already. At this rate I should be able to post once a week, at least until I slow down.

So join us next time as the town is buzzing about all the strange events. Even Marge has a story to tell.