For the uninitiated, Zombo: I’m a Good Boy, Really is a great introduction to a beloved 2000 AD character whose name isn’t Judge Dredd, but some fans may be disappointed the stories included here can all be found in a previously published compendium.
Making his debut in April 2009, Zombo is a human-zombie hybrid with an appetite for human flesh and a propensity towards politeness. This latest digest brings together Zombo (2000 AD #1632-1639, 2009), Merry Christmas, Mr Zombo (2000 AD #2010, 2009) and Zombo’s Eleven (2000 AD #1675-1684, 2010). They previously appear together in 2010’s Zombo: Can I Eat You Please?
In Zombo, a group of passengers crash-lands on the deathworld Chronos. As they’re being led to safety by government agents through an entire planet trying to kill them, they learn their flight was carrying a biological weapon: Zombo. He wants to eat your brains, but he’ll ask you nicely first.
Just in time for the holidays, the second story, Merry Christmas, Mr Zombo is a quick-read about a TV crew attempting to film a Christmas special on Chronos. Clearly a mistake. This is when writer Henry Flint really starts exploring deeper themes that become more apparent in the last and strongest story in this digest: Zombo’s Eleven. This sees our hero chase his dreams of pop-stardom while visiting a space station, and it’s by far the best of this collection. Chock-full of social commentary this one rings just as true today as it did ten years ago, perhaps even more so.
Zombo’s utterly-bananas blending of horror, science fiction and humour is unafraid to be offensive while making us laugh, something incredibly refreshing today. This new edition includes a feature by Michael Molcher, ‘Behind the Thrills: Zombo‘ with reflections from Flint and Ewing about the evolution of the character. That’s the only Zombo-related extra included in this digest, though there are also one-page ‘Tharg’s Alien Invasions‘ strips by Flint.
Just as gory, funny and thought-provoking as ever, this is a great read for anyone looking for a good horror-comedy mashup. But since this is the character’s tenth anniversary some fans may feel they missed an opportunity to celebrate an important milestone.
ZOMBO: I’M A GOOD BOY, REALLY / AUTHOR: HENRY FLINT, AL EWING / PUBLISHER: 2000 AD / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 24TH
