Revenant Media's Review of Contagion #1

CONTAGION#1 REVIEW
BY ADAM TIBBOTT

Z.M. Thomas and Cliff Richards have breathed new life into the zombie/horror genre. What I had initially thought to was going to be a Dawn Of The Dead knock-off turned out to be a refreshing new take on a genre that has been beaten to death, literally. Maybe Thomas needs to hook-up with Romero on his next Dead flick. After seeing Richards' art on the last page, you'll understand why.

Richards really captured the dark mood of this horror story. Having this story set in Minneapolis is more reason to invest. With the first issue, we're introduced to 3 of the main characters, Ryan, Tyler and Kate; and all hell is breaking loose.

Can the market handle another zombie apocalypse series? Depends on how this one is handled. Is it worth the $4.99 cover price. Yes. Richards' art is top notch and Thomas is finding his niche in this genre. With the obvious initial comparison being to Kirkman's Walking Dead, CONTAGION takes the outbreak to a whole new level. Contagion doesn't pick up a few weeks after the initial outbreak, we're thrown into the midst of the first few days, something that's not been well documented since the 2004 remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD.

It's 4/20

And you know what that means...

Sevendust's new album "Cold Day Memory" has been released. You probably thought I was gonna make a pot joke, didn't you? ... like that hasn't been done before today.

Sure Sevendust comes out with an album nearly every year, and in some cases, the effort is barely visible. However, I am happy to say for the first time since Alpha, this is an album really worth the money. Don't get me wrong, I still like both Next and Chapter VII, but this album seems to really bring the elements of Sevendust that I feel have been too sparse. "Cold Day Memory" captures a lot of the best moments throughout their long career and their eight studio albums, and combines everything into an extremely solid package. Highlights are of course their two singles "Unraveling" & "Forever," but there is much more to this album than those two songs. Some of my favorites also include "Last Breath," "Ride Insane," and "Confessions (Without Faith)." Of course, there really isn't a song on the album that I don't enjoy, so a solid effort that is by my favorite Sevendust album to date.

Also, being that it's Tuesday, that also means that it's multi-media day, and that seems to be a widly known fact throughout the industry for books, movies, music and video games (recently as VG's used to launch on Wed). However, apparently James Cameron didn't get that fucking memo. Instead, he decided to street date his 300 million dollar ego trip to fall on earth day, and a Thursday. Now, I don't have a problem with the movie Avatar, being as I saw it in IMAX 3d and look forward to watching it again in my home theater. However, I do have a problem with someone who takes pleasure in making me drive out on Thursday (two days after the day I go out to collect any new release) which is about a 40 minute round trip. It's a 40 minute round trip because I live 13 minutes to a Target or Best Buy in any direction. So, no offense James Cameron, but you're an asshole for that. Now, I'll still drive out on Thursday to pick my copy up on Blu-Ray like the fucking tool I am... But I'm not terribly thrilled about it. At least with movies like "Twilight" that have Friday releases, I don't give a shit about... Mainly because they are awful films... but still Friday is still Friday, and not some obscure day of the week to force a release like Thursday or Sunday (That one is directed at you, Nintendo). But fuck... Whatever.

In other non media related news, May 1st the new Echoes of Dawn issue #5 is released. What makes this issue most noteworthy (other than the copious amounts of violence) is that this book was featured in Dez Skinn & Mark Millar's (Kick-Ass & Wanted) Comic Art Now book. That's right kiddies, a page from this upcoming book was featured along with several legendary artists (3 of which that have done work with me have been featured inside that collection including Contagion's Cris Bolson, Echoes of Dawn's Cliff Richards and Abe the Aborted Fetus's Anthony Tan.) So, I'll go ahead and post some new images of the new Echoes of Dawn book on the website.

New Abe the Aborted Fetus: #2 Images

That's right folks, here they are... Four new images for the upcoming chapter #2 of Abe the Aborted Fetus: In Roe VS Abe.

Call of Duty MW2 vs Battlefield Bad Company 2 vs MAG

So it's been quite the year for me in respect to online shooters that have hit the market in the past few months. Most notably is the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (CoDMW2), Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BBC2), and MAG which is a PS3 exclusive.

Now, needless to say I've probably clocked more time into those 3 games collectively than I have in any modern video game within the past few years (with the exception of WoW). Namely, I've spent the majority of my time from the month of November - February on Call of Duty, until equally dividing my time between both Battlefield and MAG. Which one is the best for online experience?

Well you're probably thinking that, since I've spent the majority of my time on Call of Duty, that clearly MW2 is the clear winner. Naturally that logic seems to be the case more often than not, but is it in this instance?

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2: For the first few months of MW2's release, I was simply incapable of putting the game down for any other game. Hell, I didn't bother going through the campaign until the middle of January, because I wasn't able to pull myself away from the fast paced online action. Truth be told, I never touched my Assassins Creed 2 game (which I got the same night) and happened to ignore a game I've been looking forward to for years, Darksiders. Sadly however, everything seemed to have changed, and not for the best in the month of January for the Call of Duty series. Some negatives of this game is that there really is no teamwork so to speak. Everyone is instead trying to be their own action star and generates a lot of lone wolves. My biggest complaint with the design of the game are the kill-streak rewards. Any game that rewards someone for doing well while systematically punishing those who do not, removes any balance this game has. Also, noobtubes... the sure fire irritant of many players from the most OP weapon ever created in a game... add that with the Scavenger perk and you have the most irritating person on the map, next to the guy who lunges 15 feet with a knife and the glitch-ridden dual shotgun Model that will kill you with a single shot halfway across the map. Of course, this goes without saying...

Exploits and Hacks seemed to become a prominent issue with the game, specifically the care package exploit which allowed the majority of games I've been in ending with a nuke. And even to this day, the exploit hasn't been properly fixed. Interface manipulations have become a major issue for MW2 as manipulating the appearance of the characters and their names to try and cause a momentary sense of confusion when you're killed from what looks like a member of your own team. Needless to say. Combine all the technical issues that both Activision and Infinityward (who seem to care more about their self inflicted legal woes than actually trying to fix these issues) are ignoring. Then to follow up with a threat to start charging a subscription fee for future MW games to play online (according to Game Informer Magazine) because they don't have enough financial resources to dedicate to the game? No, I don't think so. I don't buy that for a moment, mainly in part because MW2 is one of the highest grossing video games of ALL TIME. I'm sorry, if the independent title Fairytale Fighters is able to patch their game, than I don't see any reason that a multi-billion dollar corporation can't fix the glitches. So as it stands now, Call of Duty has alienated me, and seemingly a lot of their fans based on their unwillingness to improve the online community, punish hackers, fix the exploits, charge a future subscription fee and on top of that release 3 NEW glitch filled maps and 2 recycled ones from CoD4 for a rip-off of $15.00, I can safely say that unless some SEVERE changes are made to the Call of Duty franchise, I will not be buying MW3. A six hour campaign doesn't justify a $59.99 purchase, when I in turn have to hand over on top of that a $50.00 a year subscription to Xbox Live, and then a monthly subscription fee in order to actually play the game.

MAG: MAG, oh where do I begin? Made by the same company that brought us the Socom series (another series plagued with hacks and errors) and promised a battleground of 256 players at a single time... And it works. And what also works, and works extremely well for MAG is the fact that you have to work with your squad in order to even stand a chance in succeeding. As a member of Raven Squad, one of the most fun games to play is Acquisition (a team based capture and destroy the vehicles from opposing factions.) Now, being that I LOVE having objectives and am more of a team player than a lone wolf, I absolutely can't enough out of this game. This game makes you work with other members of your squad and rewards you for doing so, something that Call of Duty severely lacks. Sure the graphics aren't the best, considering that they have to try and keep a game of 256 online players at a time blowing tons of shit up running as smooth as possible (and it does beautifully), but that's a minor complaint on the whole spectrum of things. However, this game is not perfect, and has a lot of things going against it. For instance, the potential for a 20 second respawn is amongst the top of the list. Another complaint is the sound isn't the best, as I felt that the guns aren't nearly as meaty sounding as some other games and really detracts from the overall feel. There is NO killcam to speak of (which is both a plus and negative, cause nothing sucks more than having your awesome position being handed over to the poor sonuvabitch you just killed.) However, the largest, most irritable problem with this game is a lack of variety in the maps. I have found that in a period of about four hours, the map had never changed and I was stuck trying to sabotage Valor's base every game. The only other complaint I can really think of is that there really is no solid team death match, but being that I enjoy Acquisition as much as I do, it's not the biggest deal.

Battlefield Bad Company 2: I've been a fan of this franchise since 1942... at least, the game 1942. Rightfully, I think this game singlehandedly is by far the best of the shooters on the market at this moment. Team based missions filled with fun little vehicles, both ground and air really bury the competition in this game. Rush is by far the most entertaining element of the game, as (much like MAG) FORCES you to work as a team. Lone wolves in this game are worthless. There are no gimmicky perks that MW2 try and shell out, but instead a fast paced in your face kind of experience. Other than Red Faction, this is one of the only online games I've played with destructible environments I have seen. And I'll tell you, it makes the world of difference. Having to run inside to escape from a tank, only to have the entire structure come down on you when a tank blows the building a part is something that has to be seen to believed. I honestly can't say enough positive things about this game. However, it is not perfect. I play this game on my PS3, and I notice a lot of latency issues. I am constantly being kicked from the server from it timing out, which is the #1 reason why this game isn't perfect. I will try this game on Xbox Live to see if the latency issues are more of a console issue, however I don't have nearly this many problems with either MW2 or MAG on my PS3.

While each game has their pluses and negatives, to me Battlefield Bad Company 2 is the one that remains the strongest of the 3. It has the most balanced team play, various game modes, an upgrade system that works for you and just doesn't unlock a weapon you're never going to use. While not perfect by any means, I find that Bad Company 2 was created with the player in mind, and really helps create one of the most intense online experiences around.

*****UPDATE: Nope, the Xbox Live version of Battlefield loses connection as frequently, if not more so than the PS3. So far the ratio for dropped games on XBL is every other game dropped. Similar to the PS3, however I've had better luck on the PS3 with only 1/3rd of them being dropped.

Contagion now at Comixpress.com

Contagion "Preview Issue" is now available for sale at Comixpress.com for $4.95. My first zombie story which is becoming a bit of a pet project for me. Check out the preview pages at http://www.trepidation-comics.com/Contagion.html

Available Now At:Comixpress & Ka-blam


Standard Comic
Full Color
Page Count: 24

The dead have come back to life and are destroying everything and everyone in their path. Unfortunately, this isn't the worst part of the night for Minneapolis Police Officer Ryan Gavin... When his brother in-law is bit by one of the undead, Ryan is forced to make a decision that could either save one life, or end them all.

From the creative team of Echoes of Dawn featuring:
Story: Z.M.Thomas (Abe the Aborted Fetus)
Pencils: Cliff Richards (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Colors: Mike Bartollo (Echoes of Dawn)
Letters: Zach Matheny (Red Sonja)
Cover: Cris Bolson (Battlestar Galatica)

Also Available At: www.Trepidation-Comics.com

Abe chapter 2 update

I suppose one could call me selfish, holding onto 25 pages of completed Abe the Aborted Fetus artwork that has yet to be seen by the eyes of anyone other than myself, Anthony Tan and Santosh Rath. Yes, that's right, Chapter two is in its full colored glory, only now waiting in line to be lettered by the very talented Zach Matheny.

But before I go off promising anything, things are moving along quite nicely for the project and I'm hoping that there will be some big announcements in the coming weeks. But as it is now, I can only tell you that the book looks amazing, and I am in the process of receiving some amazing new inks for Chapter 3.

Perhaps I'll post some exclusive pinups of the new artwork on this blog in the next few days.

Anyway, I will be attending the MNCBA's Springcon convention this May 15th and 16th and the Minnesota Fairgrounds for those interested in attending.

Z.M.Thomas

Burger King.

Ok, so there's a lot of 'Beef' going on with the new Burger King ad, and quite honestly I don't understand why. Mental health advocates are complaining that Burger King, quoting that the ad is ""blatantly offensive" and say it's perpetuating the stigma that a brain-chemistry disorder inevitably leads to arson, destruction of property and public endangerment."

While at the other end of the spectrum, the writer of this article from Wallet Pop is trying to enforce healthy eating by insinuating that the King should serve the same fate as Eddie Antar, who went to jail for crimes of 'creative finance."

Now, that doesn't make any sense to me, seeing as how I don't think eating a 970 calorie meal with 61 grams of fat (according to both the article and Burger King's website) is in the same category of 'creative financing.' In fact, I don't think creating a food meant for the occasional consumer to enjoy on his own dollar and time is a crime at all. Instead, I find this asshole who wrote the article much of the same people who like taking personal freedoms and indulgences and pissing all over them while trying to shove their two inch barbed cock up your ass in the hopes of ruining your right as a consumer to choose which product you will and will not support.

Personally, I enjoy Burger King from time to time, and I also enjoy their ads. Sure they're often ridiculous and creepy, but they're always amusing. It's unfortunate however, that Burger King has pulled the ad due to pressure from the hardcore liberal doctors who try and find fault with anything that is in some way focusing on a little bit of a stereotype. I mean, let's face it... Crazy people aren't going to be offended by this ad, because there's an old adage that says something along the lines of those who are actually crazy don't believe that they are. Now, who are offended? Doctors. Doctors who don't like it when you use the word crazy, or retarded, but then again I don't care.

I understand the promoting of healthy eating, and I am all for it. There are too many fat kids nowadays anyway, and not enough ventilation to mask the odor of the under-folds of fat sweat. (Yes, if you've been in a waiting room with a bunch of fat kids, that's an odor you won't soon forget.) However, do it by creating alternatives, and not just by saying someone else should do it for you. That's just lazy. Those who complain about things without doing anything about it are mentally fat, they're so used to bitching about something until someone else does something about it, so they can continue doing the one thing they've done all along... NOTHING.

Anyway here's the website to read the article: Ad Rant: Mental health advocates not so nuts about cheesy Burger King ad

Healthcare(less?)

It's ironic. A urologist in Florida is trying to deny service to those who have voted for Obama, and in turn is only going to treat fellow republicans because he opposes Socialism. Now, here's the irony... a one party system in which he supports (so long as its the republican party) is socialism.

His reasoning was that he was afraid that the new Obamacare would turn patients away from clinics.... IRONY NUMBER 2! I won't even spoon feed you that one.

I'm seriously at a loss of what to say. I hope that in violation of the Hippocratic Oath he gave, that his medical license is revoked and not able to be reinstated.

Further use of the word irony is that the GOP is condemning the very thing its trying to become itself. AND PEOPLE ARE NONE THE WISER? Now, here I could spurt off the tired phrase "WAKE UP AMERICA," or I could just say this...

If you are in fact that fucking stupid to drink the punch they're serving, you deserve whatever is in it. Which in this case means that if this asshole wants to LIE about what's in the bill, than he should reap the consequences of doing so.

Zombie Stuff

With all this recent talk about Abe the Aborted Fetus, one would think I have completely forgotten about my little zombie adventure, "Contagion." That is a mistake however! I have not forgotten about it, but have instead been vigorously working on the next installments. Yes, plural. This is becoming a bit of a pet project for me as I have had a HUGE love for the walking dead for as long as I can remember.

You might be saying "The market is over saturated with zombie comics," and I will have to be inclined to agree with you. And not just in comics, but as well as movies and other books. Far be it for me to complain necessarily, however I must say that the majority of which refuse to step out from the very cookie-cutter structure they are made from. BUT NOT I! I refuse. I absolutely refuse, and not because I have anything against the 50 year redundancy of movies that seem to blur all together as one... But rather because if I was going to go about remaking the same product that has been remade to death (pun not intended), than I wouldn't bother wasting my time. However, I refuse to create another George A. Romero inspired cash cow based on the same principal that every other story is based on.

Now, before you get all in a tizzy, I am a HUGE Romero fan, and I have been in love with both Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead since as long as I can remember. Sure, I enjoyed his other films as well, but let's face it... They pale in comparison. And to that point, Tom Savini's 1991 remake of Night of the Living Dead, and Zach Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead are also on my top list of favorite films. It's no secret that I have an obsessive compulsion with these creatures of the undead, especially since it's now become a huge hobby of mine to collect even the most obscure film. And to my benefit, not all have been as much of a disappointment as I would be lead to believe, looking at budget and synopsis. Among one of my all time favorite finds of the Indy Zombie films is a little movie called "Severed." Sure it involves loggers and tree hugging hippies and a genetically altered trees, and while that my sound absolutely ridiculous... It works, and so much so that it is definitely included into my top 10 zombie films of all time.

Another gem is the Italian made "City of the Dead" by Lucio Fulci. Sure, that's one of the movie's BILLION titles, but it's getting too late for me to rummage through my thoughts to recall the rest of them. Boyle's reinvention of the zombies in 28 Days Later is another top on my list, as the idea was fresh and horrifying. 28 Weeks Later had the potential, but much like Land of the Dead really never got there for me as any move that revolves an entire plot point on a single zombie in a world of billions loses much of its credibility.

But back to the main point, I am choosing to make my book unlike the majority of zombie stories ahead of me. I don't want to make another Robert Kirkman's "Walking Dead" series (as much as his story has inspired me throughout the years). Instead, I want to tread down a different path, a path not often traveled. I can't say exactly, however I do intend to ad something both familiar, something new and also very real. The preview issue of Contagion that was released in November was a small taste of what I have in store, but doesn't even scratch the surface of my intentions of what I plan on doing to the world I'm creating. I will however work diligently on this project so that you will not be disappointed. However, I CAN say that Cliff Richards is still attached to the project, and it will not disappoint.

In response to some of the Abe FAQs about the Pope in my comic.

It's ironic. Almost daily I receive e-mails and letters from those who tell me that I am going to go to Hell for my "exploitation" of the abortion issue through my book, horrified that I am showing the Pope as an evil entity in the book. Now, below are just two e-mails I've actually received. I selected these ones specifically due to the reference of the Pope.

"I pretty much found your characterization of Catholicism and the Pope to be ignorant..."

"I read the FAQ's. You claim to not bring politics or religion in to this. I see where you have a Pope Palpitine that appears to be evil. The Pope represents the Catholic religion. So why use a religious character that is so dear to the Catholic people?"

My characterization of the Pope is ignorant? The Pope represents the Catholic religion? Ok... I'm going to try and remain objective about this, so here we go.

Fuck you. My characterization of the Pope is EVERYTHING that I have claimed thus far, and the recent scandals in the media have only validated my claims. The Pope is supposed to be the HIGHEST moral standard for Catholics as he claims to be appointed by God for the people to pass a message of purity. Instead this pope served (willingly) as a Nazi in Germany, and has protected several pedophiles to safely operate inside the church without prosecution. The prior Pope had also served the Nazi's as a salesman selling zyklon b, which the Nazi's used to murder millions of Jews in concentration camps. He (much like the current Pope) protected countless pedophiles while preaching the exact opposite. And we want to deify this motherfucker and turn him into a saint?

I'm going to be blunt... Protecting pedophiles from prosecution and willingly assist the Nazi's in the slaughter of Jews is not a high moral standard. In fact, the Vatican has never publicly condemned the Nazi's for their actions. Every single communist had been excommunicated from the Catholic Church, while ZERO Nazi's have been, including Adolf Hitler (who contrary to public belief was actually a Christian and NOT an Atheist.)

Now, people claim that I am quite ignorant when it comes to Catholicism and the religion thereof. Oh how little you know of me. Let me explain. I've read the Bible, the Qua-ran, Torah, Dead Sea Scrolls which includes: The Book of Enoch, Gnostic Bible, and various other forms of religious media because it is important for me to do research based on a topic that I am going to write about. And there is one thing I can tell you above anything else, all you Catholics who e-mail me about how the Pope is the representation of the Catholic Religion. FUCK YOU. He is not. Jesus Christ is the representation to your faith, and more importantly, the symbolism that he had died on a cross for your sins. Are you that fucking stupid that you would forsake the entire foundation of YOUR own religion for some false prophet in a stupid fucking hat?

In closing, I will not define my religious beliefs to those who ask, because it's none of your goddamned business. Just know that when you go ahead and claim that I am ignorant on religion, keep in mind that you don't know a fucking thing about me, and your claims are baseless and prejudice. And to further prove my point, I'm providing a video below on the widening sex scandal of your beloved Pope that you refuse to admit is a Nazi and a Pedophile.