"They look like zombies. They're dead, right?"
"No they are undead."
"Oh yeah? Then let's see if we can make the undead dead again."
This book collects the four issue mini-series which is one of three published by Marvel on their MAX imprint in 2008/9 featuring modern versions of horror characters from the Marvel Universe - the others featured Man-Thing and Werewolf by Night. This one was written by horror author Brian Keene with art from Chris Samnee. Keene is a new name to me but has written a library full of books on his own. Samnee's work I know from Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale and Thor: The Mighty Avenger - and he is currently doing art duties on Daredevil.
Dan Sylva is returning for a tour of Iraq after leaving the army but finding that his girlfriend had left him and that there were no job opportunities at home. His first mission is to investigate a site where a captured American soldier is possibly being held. Dan discovers the soldier, and a lot of the civilians who had also gone missing recently, prey to a bunch of demons - both in demonic form and masquerading as part of the mercenary Bloodstone unit. With the help of a magi, Isaac, Dan alone escapes and learns that some demons and angels are plotting to bring about Armageddon early using war zones to hide their ritualistic murders. Dan learns that his uncle was a devil-slayer and that he is the next in line to assume the mantle and prevent hell on Earth.
The blurb on the back of the book says:
A radical re-imagining of Marvel's premier horror icon!which is not a good start as I had never heard of the character before - which in a way is not surprising as I am much more of a DC/Vertigo fan than I am a Marvel one. I much prefer the DC/Vertigo take on horror, magic and the supernatural. The original character was created in 1977 by Rich Buckler and this series marks an updating and rebooting of the character. Gone is the cheesy superhero costume to be replaced by fatigues and shemagh.
It would appear that the reboot did not lead on to any further series which is a bit of shame as I quite liked this book. It still had a long way to go to match the rich Vertigo universe but it had some promise. I liked the grounding of the horror within the human conflict and the conspiracy between demons and angels, although well worn, could have legs if handled correctly. The last page in the book showed how the story could be expanded out to involve corporations, religious leaderships and governments - again familiar targets but full of potential if tied to current affairs. Perhaps a missed opportunity for Marvel to try and muscle in on some of DC's action.
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