Tales of the Zombie

Tales of the Zombie was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics.[1] The series ran 10 issues and one annual publication from 1973 to 1975, many featuring stories of the zombie Simon Garth by writer Steve Gerber and artist Pablo Marcos.[2]

Tales of the Zombie
Tales of the Zombie #1 (Aug. 1973).
Art by Boris Vallejo.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
Schedulequarterly
FormatOngoing series
Genre
Publication dateAugust 1973 – March 1975
No. of issues10, and 1 annual publication
Main character(s)Simon Garth
Brother Voodoo
Creative team
Written bySteve Gerber, Tony Isabella, Doug Moench, Carl Wessler, Chris Claremont
Artist(s)Pablo Marcos, Alfredo Alcala, Ernie Chan, Win Mortimer, Tony DiPreta, Crusty Bunkers
Penciller(s)Syd Shores, Dick Ayers, John Buscema, Virgilio Redondo, Yong Montano, Ron Wilson, Rich Buckler
Inker(s)Tom Palmer, Pablo Marcos, Alfredo Alcala
Editor(s)Roy Thomas (issues #1–10)
Marv Wolfman (#3–10)
Tony Isabella (#7 & 8)
David Anthony Kraft (#9 & 10)
Don McGregor (#9 & 10)
John Warner (#10)
Collected editions
Tales of the ZombieISBN 0-7851-1916-7

A magazine rather than a comic book, it did not fall under the purview of the comics industry's self-censorship Comics Code Authority, allowing the title to feature stronger content — such as moderate profanity, partial nudity, and more graphic violence — than color comics of the time.

Publication history

Copyrighted as simply Zombie and commonly known by its trademarked cover title, Tales of the Zombie, the magazine ran 10 issues cover-dated 1973 - March 1975. With sister titles including Dracula Lives!, Monsters Unleashed and Vampire Tales, it was published by Marvel Comics' parent company, Magazine Management, and related corporations, under the brand emblem Marvel Monster Group.[3][4]

To star in the new title, Marvel's then-editor-in-chief Roy Thomas plucked Simon Garth, a character from a standalone, 1950s horror tale created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, introduced in Marvel predecessor Atlas Comics' Menace #5 (July 1953). This was a story published prior to the comics industry's self-censorship Comics Code Authority, which among other strictures forbade zombies. This seven-page story was reprinted in Tales of the Zombie #1 (with the art slightly altered to give Simon Garth shoulder-length rather than short hair) as the continuation of a new, 12-page prequel story co-scripted by Thomas and Steve Gerber and drawn by John Buscema and Tom Palmer.[5]

Following the premiere, all the Zombie stories were by Gerber and artist Pablo Marcos (one of these in collaboration with writer Doug Moench and artist Alfredo Alcala). The original series' finale, set at Garth's daughter's wedding in issue #9, was a three-chapter story written by Tony Isabella (chapter 2 with co-scripter Chris Claremont), drawn by pencilers Virgilio Redondo, Yong Montano, and Ron Wilson, respectively, and inker by Alcala (chapters 1-2) and Marcos (chapter 3). Simon Garth was laid to peaceful rest in Tales of the Zombie #9; the following, final issue contained a Brother Voodoo story and three anthological tales. (Brother Voodoo also appeared in a backup feature in issue #6.)[3]

In addition to reprinting the original 1950s Simon Garth story, the magazine reprinted other pre-Comics Code stories, including work by artists Win Mortimer and Tony DiPreta.[3] Painted covers to the series were done by artists including Boris Vallejo and Earl Norem.[3]

An annual publication formally titled Tales of the Zombie Annual was published in 1975, reprinting stories from the magazine.[6]

Collections

All 10 issues of Tales of the Zombie and the annual were collected in an Essential Marvel edition in 2006.[7]

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References
  1. Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 978-1605490564.
  2. Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 978-1465455505.
  3. Zombie at the Grand Comics Database.
  4. Marvel Monster Group (brand emblem) at the Grand Comics Database.
  5. Zombie #1 at the Grand Comics Database.
  6. Tales of the Zombie Annual at the Grand Comics Database.
  7. Essential Tales of the Zombie at the Grand Comics Database.
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