Shaun of the Dead #1 (of 4)
Writer – Chris Ryall
Artist – Zach Howard
Publisher – IDW Publishing
Release date - 29th June 2005
Price - $3.99
IDW Publishing is in the business of obtaining as many licences as possible and then producing comics from those said licences. Shaun of the Dead is the latest in their expanding collection that also includes Metal Gear Solid , CSI and Land of the Dead.
For those of you who don’t know, Shaun of the Dead is possibly one of the funniest films ever committed to celluloid. It also happens to be the best (and only) romantic-zombie-comedy (rom-zom-com) in the world; even Tarantino gave it the thumbs up.
The basis for the film is quite simple: If zombies walked the earth, what would you do? Go to the pub, of course. It’s the British way. Pegg devised the idea for Shaun whilst in his local pub a few years ago (the Shepherd’s Arms in Highgate, London – now renamed The Boogaloo) with his friends. They mused over warm pints just what would be the plan of action if the undead start stumbling around looking to snack on you? The Boogaloo is just up the road from me, and I actually live 3 doors down from The Winchester (the pub used in Shaun) and it’s no coincidence that there is a gun shop a few doors further down. Mr. Pegg realised he had weapons, food and more importantly, beer; all enough to last out a zombie invasion. Beer truly is the mother of all invention.
Fast forward a few years and Pegg and director Edgar Wright are in the midst of creating the greatest sit-com ever made, Spaced. One episode involves Pegg’s character playing Resident Evil whilst rather the worse for wear; he starts to hallucinate he is being attacked by real zombies and the seeds to create Shaun were sown.
The comic is being produced with the full blessing of creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and is hailed as a “Director’s Cut” because it is to include deleted scenes from the film which writer Chris Ryall has adapted for the comic.
The first issue of this four issue run manages to bring across some of the humour of the film. Conveying the comedy was always going to be tricky part of adapting the film. Comedy is difficult to do on the page, they’ve made a good attempt here, but it is very difficult to match the comedy timing of the film. For those Shaun fans out there, I can confirm that the swearwords are all there, including “Can I get…any of you ***** a drink?”
Zach Howards’ artwork is of a decent standard, the likenesses of the actors are quite evident, and he makes good use of focal points in the panels, again in an attempt to reflect the layering of the film. Colour is a bonus after the 2000AD issue and the comic that came free with limited editions of the DVD, both of which were written by Wright and Pegg and looked at some of the stories of the zombies from the film and how they come to interact with Shaun and Ed. It’s not all roses though; a lot has been lost from the film to fit into 22 pages for the first issue. I believe this will be balanced by the inclusion of these apparently deleted scenes we are promised in later issues.
If you have never seen the film, this first issue tells you all you need to know, and I guarantee it would lead you to want to see the film, if only to see how a cricket bat should really be used. Fans of the film maybe, just maybe, might want to wait for the inevitable trade - I can smell a possible Pegg or Wright introduction for it.
By the way, you appear to have some red on you.