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I think it’s because it’s a different sort of look at zombies. Most traditional zombies are either:
1. Slow and brainless
2. Fast and brainless

Instead we see a plague where people retain who and what they are, except there’s now this horrifying monster inside of them that makes them do horrible things. Spider-Man’s constant angsting in the series could be seen as satire of Spidey still being a down-on-his-luck hero kind of guy, but on the other hand it could also be saying something that these were once human beings, good people, but their morals have been subverted for their survival.

I’m disgusted by the whole Marvel Zombies concept, so I do my best to avoid it.

But it doesn’t annoy me that other people might like it so much. More power to them. I save my rage for more important things, like ranting about the overabundance of reality shows on TV.

Skrulls are the new Zombies.

And what about Zombie Skrulls? Or would that be Skrull Zombies?

Is it weird that you, Greg H., Joe Rice (when he was here), and I all work (or worked) in education in some capacity? And heck, it could be more of us - those are just the ones I know about.

Wait - what’s the topic here?

My issue is that most of the time Marvel does a Zombie Wolverine, his claws are metal, but not the rest of his bones…

I bought the first Marvel Zombies HC. Didn’t really enjoy it. I gave it to one of my friends that had read the first issue at the shop, and nothing after that. He loved it.

People love Marvel characters. People love zombies (and, by extension, horror movies). They are two beloved concepts that typically never cross paths (at least they didn’t before all this madness began). Thus, much like the “shock value” of crossing an innocent concept with a mature concept, the Marvel Zombies have taken hold of pop culture. Obviously, Hot Topic loves marketing Marvel stuff, and the zombie part comes naturally too. Thus, Hot Topic has become the portal from which all this MZ merchandise pours into the world, although I’m willing to bet that at least 25% of the people wearing that Secret War parody hoodie have never read the book.

From that point, it became academic to revisit. Dead Days gave us a prequel, and MZ v. AoD gave us a crossover that, while not being obvious, is definitely appealing. Then, it was natural to ask “what happens next?” Good thing MZ2 was released, otherwise we (and by we, I mean not me) would never know the answer to that question.

Short answer: Marketing synergy, genre mashups, Hot Topic, and sequels (or the greater need for a trilogy).

Marvel Zombies was alright at first, but now I just feel as if I’m being hit over the head with it. The original story as presented in Ultimate FF was interesting, and the follow-up miniseries was fun. It was a nice twisted look at our beloved Marvel heroes, but now it’s just a cash-in and that’s why it makes me sick.

I think its totally wrong to have a Marvel Zombie cover on any bok that does bot contain actual Marvel Zombies.

I like the arc in Ultimate FF, the first mini-series, the arc in Black Panther and I love MZ vs AOD, so chances are I’m a little bit of a fan. When I just see the zombie covers on random books it’s overkill, even for me. Thats pretty much what they’re doing with the skrulls now.

Well…they wouldn’t do it if people didn’t keep encouraging them by buying the books…

And that…is one to grow on…

Marvel=chocolate ; Zombie=peanut butter. as in,
“You got Zombie in my Marvel!” “Yeah, well you got Marvel in my Zombie!”

Marvel Zombies=Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
“They taste great together!”

(Not applicable if you are allergic to peanuts)

The overabundance of the zombie cover variant can get annoying indeed. The ‘Marvel zombieverse’ itself has produced some pretty entertaining comical horror though, imo. I still think it’s funny when Galactus shows up in the first mini-series and asks “Where is my herald?” to which the Marvel zombies simply reply “We ate him.”.

I think Lothor got it right, but of course, too much of any snack can eventually upset your bowels. Just stop eating when you’re full. And if you don’t like the taste to begin with, that’s cool too, nobody’s forcing you to eat. I do believe you’re overthinking it a bit.

I think the issue here is, as usual with us the consumer. (Most) people latch onto any new/exciting trend or idea, and Marvel Zombies is no exception. While I personally am not sick of it (I don’t buy the variant covers unless I really like the art), I do think it might refresh the idea if Marvel let it rest for a bit. I loved the first and the AoD crossover, but Marvel Zombies 2 just sucked.

Sooooo, what about The Walking Dead, Zombie Tales?

Any complaints. anybody?

Zombie movies have always been a niche market, just like comics are. They both have their die-hard fans, and have both gone through periods of more and less popularity. Just like every other genre on the big screen, Zombie comics were bound to pop up sooner or later. That they poped up whe zombie movies are fairly popular right now should come as no big surprise.

What should ALSO come as no surprise is that Marvel is going to ride this cash cow to the very end. How can they do anything else? They know how fickle fans of ANY type are. Sooner or later, the saturation point will be exceeded and interest, therefore sales, will decrease. Like any other fad, it’ll die sooner or later, or at least decrease to the point of fading into the background.

Until then, it’s just one more evil we have to endure. I remember a point in the 90’s when there were more X-related books than all other Marvel combined. It slowed down, this will too.

On a related note, I’ve never read Dragonlance, and I never will. The series debuted when I was in high school. Everyone read it, then insisted I read it too. Obviously, it was good ennough to be a sustained franchise for 20+ years, so I DO believe it would be a good read. But… it was pushed so dang hard I got completely turned off by the whole thing. Kinda like you & the zombies right now.

avengers63, I concur. That’s why I can’t get into Buffy, Angel, Spike, Firefly, Serenity, or any of Joss Whedon’s original concepts. Everyone I know has hyped them into oblivion, given me dirty looks when I say I’m unfamiliar with their obscure references, and loaned me countless DVDs so I can “catch up”. I have no reason not to, except that I’m already tired of the concepts without having ever enjoyed them.

It’s totally on my last damn nerve, and I’ve never read a full issue of it.

This statement bugs me more than anything. It seems to be a consistent complaint all over the comic blog intarweb. “I hate it. No I haven’t read it.” If this had been an essay on the inherent problems with the actual mini-serie’s themselves and not just an attack on merchandise and branding, I would have been impressed. Instead, this is just tilting at windmills.

“Instead, this is just tilting at windmills.”

But that windmill had it coming!

Seriouisly, it just feels good to vent sometimes. Aside of not buying all the zombie stuff, this is really among the best options to get your voice heard. Creators, editors, and executives read this blog. I’ve seen a post by a Marvel editor here more than once.

@avengers63

Sure it’s great to vent. We all love to vent. But let’s vent about something besides, “The kids at the school I teach at wear stupid shirts.”

So….. out of 5 paragraphs, that and “I hate it. No I haven’t read it.” is all you could pull out? I thin kyou’re missing the whole point. Brian, and doubtlessly others, are sick of the overmarketing and overexposrue of the zombies. He’s unable to turn his head without seeing them, and it’s just driving him nuts.

@avengers63

Isn’t “I hate. No I haven’t read it” essentially the point of those five paragraphs? I’m just saying that an examination of why it’s so popular, rather than a “I hate a popular thing” post, would have been much more interesting and fruitful. The articles on this site are usually pretty in depth(mostly). This one was lacking.

Fair enough, I suppose.

I thought it was a weak joke in the first place. Repeating it over and over again isn’t making it any funnier.

It’s striking imagery. It ties into this strange zombie zeitgeist — a movement that oscillates between a serious zombie revival (The Walking Dead) and outright zombie silliness (Marvel Zombies), both of which Kirkman dabbles in, although I think he does the former better than the latter. Steampunk is running the same course, although I think it’s mostly stayed out of the malls. It will be there soon enough, though.

To the guy who mentioned that 25% of the people with the Secret War parody shirts probably didn’t read the book: I think you’d be hard pressed to find 25% out of the people wearing those shirts who DID read the book! This phenomenon isn’t entirely tired into Kirkman and Phillips’ work, after all. And that’s exactly why it shows up where it really is uncalled for.

One more thing, about the saturation point: Marvel is definitely making a mistake by throwing the variant covers where they don’t belong, without at least coming up with some better marketing reason for them to be there besides “well, here is a zombie cover for this book.” It’s never a good idea to push fans into turning on certain marketing ideas en masse. It’s one thing to have lots of people annoying fans by pushing something popular, I.E., Buffy. It’s another to have fans turning on the company itself because they can’t get a goddamn copy of Power Pack without a rotting corpse on the cover.

I agree with you completely, I couldn’t believe it when it came out, all your favorite superheroes in totally gross zombie forms cannabilzing everything they see! Great… and everyone likes them too. Its like tons of people think its an instant cult classic thats so likable and are willing to put money in the pockets of Marvel. I don’t really think its the fault of people for supporting the craze though, Marvel came up with the marketing scheme and used their characters to detriment for money, and as it seems all for money