by Randy Lander

BOGUS DEAD Recommended (7/10) Jeroman Empire Writer/Artists: Jeff Wilson, Jim Mahfood, Tom Hart, James Kochalka & Jason X-12, Zak Sally, Jake Austen, Leela Corman, Graham Annable, Todd Webb, Gabrielle Bell, Danno, K. Thor Jensen, Ezra Claverie, Jeremy Wabiszczewicz, Megan Kelso, John Connolly, Urban Folk Art, Ariel Bordeaux, Mr. Mike, Paul Lyons, Chris Cilla, Eli Bishop, Robyn Chapman, Ted May, Matt Schultz, Jerome Gaynor, Kevin Huizenga, Mark Cunningham, Mark Early, Lee Kennedy, Anchovy Sciarrino, Dave Lasky, Janelle Hessig, Jenny Zervakis, Souther Salazar, Dan Zettwoch, Erik Farseth & Dave Kiersh Editor: Jerome Gaynor Price: $9.95 US Jerome Gaynor is not a name that's terribly familiar to me, but the solicitation for Bogus Dead caught my eye, promising a lot of alternative and mini-comics creators working around a zombie-themed anthology. This is the perfect Halloween gift for the comic fan who likes his or her comic stories out there, and anyone who enjoys zombie movies and stories will find plenty to like as well. As the book goes on, the limits of the format do begin to make it feel a little bit repetitive, and some of the artists created works that were too surreal for my tastes. However, the balance of the stories are a lot of fun, running the gamut from horror to comedy to slice-of-life and science-fiction with zombie elements, and it's not a bad buy for $10. Gaynor seems to aim his comics at sort of a weird niche market, the kind of folks who like George Romero and John Carpenter and maybe a touch of Tim Burton. His previous effort, which I have not read, focused on alien invasions, and this one focuses on zombies. The rules, laid out in an amusing flyer sent to numerous cartoonists, are very simple. Giving the cartoonists the premise and basic rules of zombies, and then letting them do what they want from there, provides a solid focus to get the creators started but plenty of freedom as well. It's a genius idea, and it seems like it would be as much fun as a challenge for the creators as it is for the reader. The quality of the contributions ranges from professional to very amateurish, and from relatively straightforward to what my reviewing partner Don would call "fuckin' out there." I confess that, as always, I lean toward the relatively straightforward, but this is a genre which works with some "out there" ideas. It also works pretty well as a vehicle for humor: Graham Annable's almost-whimsical "revenge" is hilarious in its understated style and both "The Prelude" by Jeff Wilson and "Big Ass Zombie Take Over" by Jim Mahfood are laugh-out-loud funny. What surprised me was that some of these creators were able to evoke genuine horror, as well as sadness and melancholy, from zombie stories. "My New Girlfriend" by Zak Sally has an ironic twist ending, but it's also terrifying, and points out the horror at the heart of zombies, as you could be forced to kill someone you love to save yourself. "Untitled" by Leela Corman, while not technically a zombie story, is wistful and sad. "Fever Cabin" by Ezra Claverie features fantastic dialogue and a creepy transformation from human to monster, although I can only think of how much cooler it might have been with some artwork. And "No Reply" by Robyn Chapman is a slice-of-life story with a zombie twist, which serves up some haunting ideas that exist in real life as well as the fantasy zombie realm. There's a core of "survivalist" stories running through the book, which is a perfectly solid area of zombie-centered fiction to explore as well. I particularly enjoyed "Parenting in Wartime" by Jerome Gaynor, but there are several ideas that play off the seemingly hopeless nature of a zombie apocalypse. While not every story in this volume worked for me, and some were just downright bizarre, I came away from Bogus Dead both satisfied and oddly interested in popping a copy of the Night of the Living Dead into my DVD player sometime soon. Ah, well... at least I didn't come away with a craving for fresh brains. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.