I don’t know exactly how to explain today’s comic except there is this weird lull in theaters this weekend between Spider-Man 3 coming out last week and Shrek the Third coming out next week. The only new high-profile release is 28 Weeks Later. Since I’m all about drawing Tom in the Spider-Man mask as much as possible, I decided on this weird little mash-up.

At least I know for some of you it will be weird. The comic book faithful knows there is already a precedence for a zombie Spider-Man and that would be in Marvel Comics popular maxi-series Marvel Zombies from early last year. Robert Kirkman – who is one of my favorite comic book writers – did a really excellent job with it and it has a really black sense of humor. As you can see, I’ve posted the cover to the second printing of the first issue so you could see where I picked up the visual reference.

Right now there is a very interesting Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies crossover going on right now. So if you’re a fan of the Evil Dead movies (somewhat timely considering Sam Raimi’s involvement in that franchise as well as the Spider-Man franchise), you might want to stop by your local comic book store and pick it up.

As far as the comic goes. I’m happy with it. It gave me an opportunity to do some dramatic up-lighting, which I always enjoy. Plus, you got two full comics this week instead of one while I was on vacation. Can’t complain about that! Well, that is unless you’re one of the people who took my Spider-Man 3 review personally and vowed never to visit my site again. Because – let’s face it – you’re just looking for stuff to complain about!

Some of you with less serious opinions about comic book movies will be glad to know that I’m through covering Spider-Man 3. After today’s comic, we’re moving forward. I wish I had more to say about 28 Weeks Later, but I’m not sure where I stand on it.

The first movie was amazing. To take zombies and make them faster and more aggressive than a linebacker was such a simple move that worked out so well. It finally made zombies really, REALLY scary to me. And before anyone writes in and tries to correct me that “they weren’t zombies! It was a virus!” I know that. But let’s not kid ourselves. It was a zombie movie, okay. At any rate – excellent execution (no pun).

I never really understood the appeal of zombie movies before that. Shuffling around, and whatnot. Why are they a threat? I guess it was the thrill of taking one’s head off with a shotgun that people liked to see. Of course, the social commentary between zombies and mall culture in Dawn of the Dead was cool. But beyond that, what was cool or menacing about zombies? Their numbers? Their relentlessness? I’ve never been a big horror fan, so if anyone wants to take a stab (again, no pun) at explaining the appeal in the comments, I’m all ears.

As much as I liked the original 28 Days Later, I wonder if the sequel can live up to it’s predecessor. The rumor is that the producers threw a bunch of money at Cillian Murphy to reprise his role and (I think) have him come back as a zombie. Is that right? No dice, though because he turned them down.

I don’t really think that Murphy’s involvement is a requirement to make 28 Weeks Later a success. After all, there were no real big name actors in the first movie, so this one will probably do just fine. It just makes me wonder if that would have been an insurance policy of sorts for the producers or if it’s a sign that they don’t have faith in what they have script-wise.

For me it’ll be wait-and-see. I saw the first 28 Days Later on DVD. It’ll probably be the same for 28 Weeks Later. I’m too much of a wuss. I need to pause the movie and get a soda sometimes. I can’t do that in the theater. Oh, well.

Anyone out there planning on seeing it? What’s the agenda for the weekend? Leave your comments below and I’ll see you on Monday!