Although FUBAR Press has been publishing war-themed zombie comics since 2010, my first encounter with their work was in May of this year at the annual “Free Comic Book Day” event with their FUBAR Sampler given away at retailers across the nation. The sampler featured several stories from their current “FUBAR: American History Z” (FUBAR Volume 3) anthology collection which hooked me instantly! I actually feel bad that I had not been aware of their books for the last few years as I could have been enjoying these great comics all of this time. Better late than never though.
After reading the sampler, meeting the very cool guys of FUBAR High Command at the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con 2013 and email correspondences with FUBAR High Commander Jeff McComsey himself, with I knew I had to order their entire catalogue via their online store (
http://www.FUBARpress.com ). I received the books in two different packages due to the collections being far smaller in height than the standard-sized individual issues about a week after ordering them and they were very well packed with no damage to any of the books within. The collections came with historically themed zombie sketches on the inside title pages by the talented artists in FUBAR Press’ stable of contributors making each book ordered a truly unique and individual piece as no two will have the exact same sketch.
In my packages I received:
The New York Times Best Selling first collection- “FUBAR: European Theater Of The Damned” (FUBAR Volume 1), currently in it’s third printing, focusing on zombie outbreaks during the second World War. The 17 stories contained in this 188 page volume show soldiers and world leaders from both sides of the European theatre conflict dealing with the undead throughout the entirety of the war. The sketch on the inside title page was a zombified Adolf Hitler.
“FUBAR: Empire Of The Rising Dead” (FUBAR Volume 2) moves the zombie outbreak into the Pacific theatre of the war and it’s 27 short stories across 274 pages show both the Allies and the Japanese dealing with the horror of enemies that just won’t stay dead. The sketch on the inside title page was a zombified G.I.
The “FUBAR Winter Special” was a smaller release containing four short stories, one of which- “Kindern”- is unique to this book and not available in any of the collected volumes. My favorite story in the FUBAR Press library is found within this book- “The War At Home” (also found in the “FUBAR: American History Z“) which tells the tense story of a family dealing with a violent zombie outbreak as the Mercury Theatre’s broadcast of the “War Of The Worlds” terrifies the nation.
“FUBAR: The Devil’s Dance Floor” is a stand alone issue produced through Kickstarter that has a single 32 page story- the longest story in FUBAR Press’s library- following the British SAS in northern Africa battling an undead Afrika Corps. This book is formatted in an unusual horizontal format where the book is far wider than it is tall, a unique presentation for a unique story.
The most recent collection- “FUBAR: American History Z” (FUBAR Volume 3) is a mammoth 432 page tome containing 43 short stories showing the impact the living dead had on our great nation’s history ranging from the earliest Viking explorers to the presidency of Barak Obama. The sketch on the inside title page was a zombified Edgar Allen Poe.
There is also a “FUBAR Summer Special” available that I did not order as all of the stories in it are available in the collected volumes. I am presenting the cover image in my review for the sake of completeness.
Digging into my newly acquired tomes, I was transported back to my youth reading the old Warren Publishing horror magazines “Creepy” and “Eerie” in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The stories contained within FUBAR Press’ volumes would be right at home among these classic horror comics. The stories range from gripping, tense stories of soldiers facing hordes of the living dead to light hearted satirical zombie-themed romps through world history. There were even a pair of quasi-sci-fi stories that felt as if they had come straight out of the seminal British “2000AD” series. The writing across the board is top notch, as every writer puts their all into every tale they tell. The art varies from story to story ranging from “classic horror comic” art (think Gene Colan or Bernie Wrightson) to the more eclectic cartoony styles made famous by comics like “Tank Girl”, but almost every story’s art style fits it’s accompanying script quite comfortably.
As with any anthology, not every story will be stellar, there will always be one or two that do not resonate with the reader, but I can honestly say that in the entirety of the five books I read (three thick collected volumes and two individual issues containing stories not found in the collected volumes- almost 90 stories in total), there were only two stories that I felt under whelmed by and it was not that they were sub par, just that they were such departures from the formats and storytelling styles of the other stories that I felt they didn’t fit very well in the volumes they were in. One of the stories, “The Buzzard”- found in both “FUBAR: American History Z“ and the FUBAR Sampler, should have been in a volume dedicated to super heroes fighting the living dead (an idea that I hope FUBAR Press will visit in the future) instead of in a volume exploring more “real world“ response to zombie outbreaks throughout history. The other story, “Fukushuu”- found in “FUBAR: Empire Of The Rising Dead” (FUBAR Volume 2) felt too “out there” as it told the tale of a Hiroshima victim that rises as an intelligent, radioactive superpowered zombie who travels the world systematically killing off members of the Manhattan Project that designed the bomb- a far cry from the shambling undead ghouls seen everywhere else in the books.
All in all, I highly recommend these books to zombie lovers, old school horror comic enthusiasts or just anyone looking for some great reads. I am eagerly looking forward to FUBAR Press’ next release- the two issue “FUBAR: By The Sword” (medieval zombie stories) this fall.
