A big step in a different direction. Guess where
Originally written 5-20-10
After thwarting the zombie version of Michael Morbius plan to bring the zombie plague into the world. The real living vampire Michael Morbius re-forms the latest version of the supernatural group called The Midnight Sons, to finish off the remnants of the forces whom are still in the dimension of Earth 616. The zombies on the loose are Zombie aka Simon Garth, along with the talking head of Deadpool. The duo eventually ends up in the hands of a villain named Black Talon, whom seeks to sell the zombie plague to one of his associates named The Hood with the intention to destroy all the superheroes on their world. -summary
When compared to the previous volume this one comes off as a big disappointment. After being thoroughly impressed by the superb writing found in Marvel Zombies 3. I came into this sequel with high hopes and a fan of Mr. Lente's storytelling. However, Marvel Zombies 4 really isn't a strong sequel at all, and it's not even in the same league as its predecessor.
Marvel Zombies 4 continues the battle with the undead whom happened to invade the Marvel mainstream universe. The writing isn't exactly bad, in fact I find it to be decent. Fred does deserve credit for introducing one plot twist after the next, and forming them into one cohesive unit as well as providing a suitable conclusion. The series has a very good start and a decent finish. However, I find most of the problems to mainly be in the middle, and I will get there soon.
The first chapter begins with Morbius recording himself in a video delivering his last will and testament, and during this time The Midnight Sons are being introduced in the heat of battle. This incarnation of the Midnight Sons is made up of Jack Russell aka Werewolf by Night, Hellstrom, The Witch Jennifer Kale, and Morbius. The story has the right feel, and utilizing a supernatural group to destroy the undead seems to be the perfect fit when taking under consideration the premise. Also, during the narration by Morbius himself, he pretty much states that it takes a monster to catch one. Those words alone are more than enough to prepare the reader for a fun, dark, and gory ride. During the first few pages, it really did look that way.
My disappointment begins with the action panels. Despite very few brutal moments, nothing in this sequel is on par with any of the previous volumes. The gore and brutality is completely toned down, unimaginative, and quite frankly pretty boring. Nothing stands out here in the slightest which is a very bad thing since the gore and mayhem has been the major attraction to the series. The way I see it, Lente appears to be wingin' it here. This time around, Walker's artwork is also lacking with some bland character designs at times. Admittedly, it's still ahead of Sean Phillips artwork but that's not really saying much.
Now on to one of the biggest standouts which happens to be the comedy. I found the most interesting segments to take place with the "merc with half a mouth". Even only as a talking head, Deadpool never shuts up and this is a cool thing if you're into Deadpool. He runs off the mouth delivering one line after the next like he always does. If there's ever a reason for me to read this graphic novel again then he is it. Deadpool fans will most likely get something out of this one. However, even though the comedy is effective. I think it clashes with the dark content a little bit.
I found the character development to also be pretty sloppy, and no one really came off looking like a monster to me. I can't remember the last time I seen anti-heroes used so poorly. The villains were nothing more than stereotypical filler characters whom could have been used in any other story, which is also bad when compared to the last volume. Now granted, the villains in the last volume weren't very special, but they had their sadistic sides which fit perfectly with the personality of the franchise.
Sadly, Marvel Zombies 4 only feels as if it was meant to be a cash cow on the franchises name. It's not a lazy effort, but it appears to be a pointless one. I only recommend this one to completest and extremely die hard Deadpool fans.
Pros: Has a few brutal moments, nice build up and effective plot twists
Cons: Almost everything seems watered down