Bill Jemas, former President of Marvel Comics and propagator of the Ultimate Universe, has created his own publishing company: Double Take!! This is extremely nascent in the world of comics. Double Take is an extension of video-game giant Take-Two Interactive. Mr. Jemas has unleashed his most ambitious project yet: an elaborate painting of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead film which brought the zombie genre to life [natch!]
How to make a lasting impression?? Releasing ten number ones in the same week. How to appease the masses?? Offering them at the low cost of $2.50!! That’s a buck fifty less expensive than the standard 32-page comic even though some are offered at $2.99. These ten issues have glossy covers and a few extras in each issue. This is beyond bargain!! Ten terrifying tales!!
(Un)Officially dubbed the ULTIMATE NIGHT of the LIVING DEAD franchise by Mr. Jemas himself, the books are cross-sectional as some characters appear in other titles or are mentioned. It was fun to categorize them. There’s alphabetical, chronological, and cultural. The alphabetical are for organizing and ordering. The culture pages were an unexpected pleasant surprise. These five ‘ads’ are a definite throwback to the 60’s. Ingenious and informative!! Progress has accelerated in the last 47 years!! I got a major kick out of these.
There’s satire and social commentary aplenty as well as taking liberties with politics. LBJ was POTUS at the time of the film’s release (1968) and he is smack dab in the middle of this impending crisis. Mr. Johnson’s presidency was saturated with no less than sixteen major historical events. The 60’s were an uncontainable powderkeg, surcharged with tensions from within and without. A smidge of sci-fi/fact is inserted with the mention of the Venus space probe and how the crash may be correlated to the infection that brings about ghouls.
I’ve decided to break this down into two parts, appropriately enough 😉 Double Take, Take Two, get it?? The first five will be highlighted here as to not overwhelm. This begs the questions: which five? Who’s first? I was going to proceed by the actual timeline – the date is Sunday, Apr. 24, 1966 for nine of the ten with the aftermath being the day after. For the particular day (and night) of the living dead, there’s a 12-hour window from noon til near midnight, and presumably after. The reasons for the selections will be given.
DEDICATION #1
“Dead Stock” (22 pages)
Story: Michael Coast, Matthew Summo, Bill Jemas
Script: Matthew Summo, Mike Soviero
Pencils & Layouts: Young Heller, JJ Dzialowski
Inks: Leonardo Paciarotti, Alejandro Sicat
Colors: Leonardo Paciarotti
Letters: Caroline Flanagan
Cover: Ruiz Burgos
Editors: Caroline Flanagan
[Sunday, Apr. 24, 1966 6:45 p.m. Evans County, PA]
This comes first simply because it features none other than George Romero!!! What an honour to have his likeness illustrated in the inaugural issue!! It’s unmistakably him! There’s the eponymous supermarket as well as blazer. Compare if you dare!
It’s closing time on a sunny Sunday. The owner and manager wants to ensure that the staff have all the produce and products up to snuff for the following day. Two employees are tasked with guarding the doors to prevent other customers from entering after hours. One man desperately wants in. When he’s refused, he uses a rock to break through. In come a horde of hungry individuals. These employees are in for the shock of their lives!! Everything is consumed including flowers, cardboard, and plastic.
News footage has reporters asking government officials about the sudden appearance of ghouls in western Pennsylvania. The theory is that an infection caused this epidemic. The estimates are one thousand. The media have all the facts: quasi or downright cannibalism, impossible revivals, increasing numbers. Typical of the higher-ups, they assure the reporters that measures have been taken. Trip failed in stopping the ravenous ‘shoppers’. Dee, a buxom blonde scolds one of the door crashers. She’s about to have her finger bitten off. Another newsreel has a medical expert relaying the story of an amputated cadaver that has been reanimated. He stresses that the dead be burnt to a crisp. George is relaxed at his desk watching the segment. Three employees walk into his office. Time for din-din!! [8.5/10]
Extra features:
SPRING #1
“Born Again” (26 pages)
Story: Bill Jemas
Script: Jenn Sodini, John Flynn, Bill Jemas
Pencils: Derlis Santacruz
Layouts: Young Heller, Kurt Tiede
Colors: Marta Martinez
Letters: Charlotte Greenbaum
Cover: Federica Manfredi
Editor: Charlotte Greenbaum
[Sunday, Apr. 24, 1966 12:00 p.m. Evans County, PA]
Let’s go to the lake!! What better way to spend a sun-soaked Sunday?? The bulk of the story is presented from Rita’s P.O.V. She’s an African-American young woman with her Caucasian boyfriend. She rambles on about her childhood and frolics in the water. A pair of lifeguards: a buff blonde boy and a red-haired cutey carefully keep watch. Another P.O.V. is from an unidentified girl and a bunch of her friends who travel to a secluded area for skinny dipping. Some teens are on a wooden raft drinking beer and toking up. The fun in the sun is interrupted when a woman shrieks in panic stating that her husband has disappeared. She is pulled under immediately after. The lifeguard sees her vanish and dives in after her. Others have cleared the area, either they were snatched or made it to shore. The unnamed girl appears and states that her friends have all have gone under. [7.5/10]
This is the official start in terms of the timeline. There is no safe place from these flesh-eaters!!
Extra features:
[B&W illustration]
HONOR #1
“Protect. Serve. Beat. Burn.” (23 pages)
Story: Bill Jemas, Julian Rowe
Script: Frank Ortega, Bill Jemas
Pencils: Carlos Rodriguez
Layouts: Julian Rowe
Colors: Peter Pantazis
Letters: Charlotte Greenbaum
Cover: Apple Qingyang Zhang
Editor: Charlotte Greenbaum
[Sunday, Apr. 24, 1966 12:00 p.m. Evans County, PA]
Two cops, male and female, hide in waiting with the radar gun. The goal is to nab speeders. All the local vehicles get a free pass even if they have lead feet. When a car from New York is clocked at 63 in a 50 zone, the two pursue it. Chief McClelland is one of the officers. He deliberately lies about the limit and issues a hefty fine to the visitors. Ron is upset but his wife knows just how to improve his mood. Back to the cop car.
The Chief barely gets back in when a red blur passes by him and his partner. It’s the hillbilly Santa zipping along in his tractor trying to break the record. He’s going at 71 mph and not stopping. The old geezer is so gung ho on his accomplishment that he doesn’t notice the NY auto in time. He crashes right into it and doesn’t make it. The couple have been banged up pretty badly but their fate is to be determined off-panel. The Chief is shaken up at his friend Freddy meeting an untimely death especially in a foolish manner. When the two depart, the body bag containing the old rube rises!!
There is an extremely funny scene with Ron and Emily (the New Yorkers) that is rated I for ‘use your imagination’! It’s not exactly NSFW but there’s the implication. [8.5/10]
Extra features:
Z-MEN #1
“Nervous in the Service” (23 pages)
Story: Jeff McComsey, Bill Jemas
Script: Jeff McComsey
Pencils & Layouts: Kurt Tiede
Inks: Allisson Rodrigues
Colors: Maxflan Araújo
Letters: Caroline Flanagan
Cover: Kurt Tiede
Editor: Elysia Liang
[Sunday, Apr. 24, 1966 7:30 p.m. Evans County, PA]
News of the outbreak has hit Washington, D.C. I’m sure it was immediate. President LBJ has his hands beyond full due to various tensions. A domestic crisis is the last thing he needs piled up on his docket. Two of the worst agents in the Secret Service are reassigned to PA to investigate the mysterious goings-on.
Hold up. I gotta backtrack. A local man is in a tizzy. He needs to get home to his wife but some volunteers have set up a roadblock. When the man doesn’t cooperate, he storms off in his car and is shot by another townsman. Reckless!!
Clancy and Stuart are thrilled with their new mission. They are instructed to bring shotguns for protection.
Arriving in PA, they hear a report of NASA shooting down the Venus probe due to a radiation leak. Clancy ruffles the volunteer’s feathers. Stuart wins him over with honey. They are given directions to the police station. The nitwits get seriously lost. They notice a passerby and ask for assistance. It’s a zombie!! He’s been fully turned with yellow eyes and blood pouring out of his mouth. Clancy blasts the reanimated corpse right through the chest. Stuart is relieved and thinks he’s out of the woods when the muncher rises again. This time, Stuart shoots him square in the head, effectively killing him.
Jeff McComesy, one of the writers for this series, has mentioned there is a direct connection between this title and the last one on this list that he also handles: RISE. [9/10]
Extra features:
• “Today: brains.” [B&W illustration]
• Ultimate Technology Buyer’s Guide – Honda S-600, Motorola pocket radio,
AT&T Princess phone, RCA color television, Olivetti Programma 101
RISE #1
“Sister’s Keeper” (29 pages)
Story: Bill Jemas, Michael Coast
Script: Michael Coast, Jeff McComsey
Pencils: Federica Manfredi
Layouts: Kurt Tiede
Colors: Vladimir Popov
Letters: Darren Sanchez, Elysia Liang
Cover: Apple Qingyang Zhang
Editor: Elysia Liang
[Sunday, Apr. 24, 1966 7:45 p.m. Evans County, PA]
Siblings Johnny and Barbara head to the cemetery to visit their father’s grave. Johnny asks Barbara if she recalls him scaring her at the site when they were younger. He resumes that tactic which unsettles her. The joke goes sour when a full-fledged dead walker lunges at her!! Johnny tries valiantly to fend him off but is overtaken and knocked out. Barbara runs for cover. Foolish girl!! She should have gone into the car and sped off.
The interlude shows the government officials dodging questions from reporters. It’s almost identical to the segment in DEDICATION. There are three significant differences: (a) it’s in colour since it’s ‘live’ and ‘on scene’; (b) it’s expanded by mentioning the Venus probe; (c) the actual view is shifted to first-person perspective.
Johnny awakens a short time later. He stumbles on to a church. The good reverend has a shotgun on the ready blasting the brains of the eerie intruders. Some nuns are left closer to God since the holy ground does nothing to fend off these unearthly creatures. Johnny walks in a daze calmly looking for his sister. He’s surrounded by chaos. One car is afire, flesh is being consumed at a rapid rate, the radio reports the possible cause of the infection from the Venus probe.
Johnny finds Barbara in the nick of time! She panics since she thinks he has turned to the blood dripping from his left temple. Johnny is eerily calm. He assures his sisters that their pursuers are slow-moving. Plus, he himself is starving. What an odd time to bring up that. The one zombie that attacked Barbara is quite determined!! He reappears ready to feast. Johnny tests a theory: he tosses candy at the ghoul. This stops him dead in his tracks [natch!] and spares Barbara a horrific outcome. Johnny strongly suggests they bolt before the monster regains his appetite.
Jeff McComesy has stated that Barbara directly comes from the movie! Johnny had a bit part in the first five minutes but he’s featured more prominently here. He lived to tell the tale in this issue! How interesting!! [9/10]
Extra features:
• No B&W illustration
