FUBAR, Vol. 1
Stories by Dominic Vivona, Steve Becker, Jeff McComsey, Stephen Lindsay, Shawn Williams, Benjamin Truman, Phil McClorey, Helaine Crawford, Mike Imboden, Kyle J. Kaczmarczyk
Art by Jeff McComsey, Steve Becker, Lonny Chant, Darrin Stephens, Jim McMunn, Dominic Vivona, Jonathan Moore, Steve Wilhite, Helaine Crawford, James Nguyen, Rob Croonenborghs
http://zombiefubar.wordpress.com
Self-Published/assist by Alterna Comics
Pre-order with Diamond code: SEP100743
Price: $11.99
FUBAR is a zombie anthology with a twist. The stories take place during World War II. The conflict and tension of war is only heightened when legions of undead monsters are thrown into the mix. This unique backdrop also proves to be a wellspring of creativity, as evidenced by the great stories being told in this collection.
There are so many interesting tales in this collection, and I wish that I could mention them all. A few stories that I really enjoyed were “Bearer of Secrets”, about a Jewish executioner, a concentration camp prisoner, and a German soldier forced to work together to escape the zombie threat. In “If God be for Us”, an American priest has a deadly encounter with zombified American soldiers. “Stalemate” is another unique story about American and German soldiers making their final stand against the Germans in a fortified bunker. In “De Guer”, two Dutch men send a blind boy out into the field to evade the zombies and help them gain their freedom. “Golem’s Last Stand” is another fascinating story about a Jewish girl who uses a dying American soldier in a very special way to destroy the zombie soldiers intent on eating her and her family. In all of these tales and the others in the book, you can feel the anguish and frustration of the humans already caught up in the grips of war and now being forced to contend with the presence of zombies.
Extra special consideration must be given to Jeff McComsey. Not only did he contribute letters and grayscales to several stories, but he also wrote and drew several stories in the book. “Kilroy Was Here” is a two part story about a tough-as-nails Sergeant who finds two privates separated from their troop and attempts to help them escape the zombies. “Mother Russia” is a very intriguing selection about a female Russian soldier who scavenged supplies and ammo before the zombie attack and stationed herself in a tall tower. She is able to survive and pick off the zombies with ease and is well protected. All that changes when she discovers a living, human child in the midst of the zombie horde. McComsey also wrote “Heroes of the Soviet Union”, a story about three Russian soldiers making their final stand against the zombies in a tank.
FUBAR combines the ugly side of combat with the fear and hopelessness of the zombie genre for a truly original reading experience. If you are a war enthusiast or zombie buff, or if you just like well-written anthologies, you should definitely pick up FUBAR. I really hope there is a second volume because I really would like to see a conclusion to the “Mother Russia” story.
FUBAR can best be summed up with this one equation: World War II plus Zombies equals awesome!!
