That's one of the very few Essentials I don't have. Always looking for a low-price one but I really should just buy it and get it over with, cos I want it

This is one of my favorite short comic runs of all time. I'd love to see you do some more in-depth reviews on these. For example, "When the Gods Crave Flesh" is my absolute favorite of the run; I'd love to know more about why you felt it warranted a 4/10. But, more generally, it would be fun to be able to "walk" through the series with you, review by review, experiencing each story along with you.

That sounds like fun. It's been a couple of years since I read the series, so I'd love to revisit it at some point in the future.

It's great to hear back from someone about the series and their own favourite story. I'd love if others who've read the series joined in and posted their own brief reviews, too.

shaxper's #2: “When the Gods Crave Flesh!”



writer: Steve Gerber
pencils: Pablo Marcos
inks: Pablo Marcos

From: Tales of the Zombie #3
Publication Year: 1973

Explanation:

This issue is the convergence of so many great things all coming together in one ultimate horror story.

First off, you've got the rich tradition of the old Atlas monster stories written from a second person perspective, as if you yourself are the monster. I have no idea whether this started with Atlas, or whether they were borrowing from somewhere else, but there were a number of early Atlas stories that followed this tradition of inverting our expectations. Instead of spending the story being terrified of the monster, you could BE the monster, and that was often even more eerie and tragic, while also offering a far more unique escapist perspective. I've always been a sucker for those, and one of those early stories, featuring a semi-conscious zombie named Simon Garth, apparently left an impression upon folks as well; an impression strong enough to see the single-appearance character resurrected to star in his own Marvel magazine two decades later (Tales of the Zombie).

Second, there's Steve Gerber, who was slowly perfecting his mastery of telling a story from the perspective of a dim-witted but innately tragic (and somehow innocent) monster, first with Man-Thing and then, concurrently, with Simon Garth. I always felt Garth worked better for this, as the character had a little more humanity to him, some brief recollections of his previous life, a heavily symbolic meaning behind a cold-hearted industrialist becoming a zombie, a tragic backstory allowing him to seek a sort of redemption as a monster, and a touching/tragic bond with his surviving daughter. In addition, while Gerber often tried to get Man-Thing away from the horror genre (Gerber has been on record as saying he was never a fan of horror), he generally kept Garth grounded in his element and used that space to fully explore what it means to be a zombie who is vaguely aware that he is a zombie and once was something else, rather than having the character get swooped up in complicated plot lines involving interdimensional wizards, barbarians, and anthropomorphic ducks. Man-Thing was fun, but Simon Garth was where Gerber really mastered his narrative voice.

Finally, there's Simon Garth, himself. Every single Simon Garth story is an amazing one (including the first and final ones -- the only two not written by Gerber), but this third issue was where the character and series really found their center. In this issue, we have pages upon pages of Garth reflecting in his dim, barely comprehending way, upon what it's like to be a zombie, calmly musing on how he is equally indifferent to the wind, the storm, and the python trying to kill him. It's incredibly powerful stuff in it's own right, but then we proceed to an actual story where so much goes right. First off, we get our firmest sense yet of what Garth's daughter means to him, even from beyond the grave and with limited consciousness. Second, we have our cast of characters expanded to include all the figures who will play a critical role in the series by its (rushed) close. And, third, we have a hauntingly beautiful climax in which Garth, in an incredibly disturbing and touching moment, helps to put an unfortunate creature that has fallen due to her own poor judgments (much as he has) out of her misery. Unforgettable moment. That Garth seems jealous of her after doing this only further heightens the beauty of Gerber's masterful characterization for a being that is barely a being.

And that Pablo Marcos art -- WOW!

Agree about the b&w for the DC horror series; though I would prefer these reprints in color, the stories do lend themselves to the b&w format.  I do regret not getting these Showcase volumes of House of Mystery, House of Secrets, etc.

That being said, a dream come true would be if DC were to reprint these in color - maybe in a series of thick Trades.