Web comic review: Wilson and Garrett's Zombie Jackson

   Zombie Jackson and Robot Lincoln on his trusty robotic steed, Bob.

Have you ever wanted to see a robot Abraham Lincoln fight an undead Andrew Jackson? Sure. We all have. Reading Robot Lincoln and Zombie Jackson is like eating M&Ms in the pool while getting a haircut. You have history, humor, and horror. Does a comic book need anything else? Well, it’s a web comic. So I can’t read it in the shower, but other than that its fine.

The first issue takes place in the year 1865, and opens with Abraham Lincoln being henpecked by his nagging wife before being shot down in Ford's Theatre.

Thanks to the most advanced pre-industrial technology from the 19th century, and the scientific genius of Thomas Edison. Abraham Lincoln’s brain is transplanted into a mechanical body.

Lincoln awakens disoriented and looks like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, only he‘s stylin‘ a metal top hat and he has a gun instead of an ax. Shortly after, the guys tell Robo-Abe about a situation at The Hermitage, to which he responds by calling Andrew Jackson an ‘old dirty bastard’. This is totally awesome on many levels, but a much more fitting nickname for Andrew Jackson would be ‘ Drooling genocidal back-stabbing maniac’, which is his name loosely translated in the native Cherokee tongue.

Well, it turns out the ‘situation’ is that Andrew Jackson has been transformed into a zombie due to a long overdue Native American curse ( Jackson was already a monster, he‘s just an undead monster now), and Robot Lincoln is charged with the task of delivering a serum that will quench Zombie Jackson’s ghoulish appetite.

Upon arriving at The Hermitage, Robot Lincoln faces off against a small army of zombies, and eventually confronts the undead ex-prez in mortal combat minus the fatality. Jackson is portrayed as unreasonable, violent, and he comes across as a simple minded savage. In that respect, the comic gets a nod for accuracy.

Eating brains is Zombie Jackson’s only pleasure in his cursed state (other than cheap zombie hookers), so he’s furious when he’s forced to drink the ‘cure’ , and he challenges Robot Lincoln to a duel. Which is completely pointless, because Lincoln is now bullet proof. Silly Andrew!

There are some great moments when Jackson and Lincoln are interacting in a very awkward manner. Jeff Wilson’s artwork delivers these quiet moments perfectly, and Craig Garrett inserts snippets of dialogue at just the right moments. The artwork, pacing, and humor are very reminiscent of Kevin Rubio’s work, but the story’s refreshingly crisp. The writing has great comedic timing that perfectly complements the detailed and expressive inks.

To date, I can’t think of anyone who’s tackling the “ex-president robot-zombie” genre. Is that a genre? If not, then it should be. This comic is awesome and you can read the entire first issue for free, at robot-zombie.com. Also it’s downloadable as a PDF file, and it can be printed in two page increments directly from the website for old-schoolers who prefer to read comics the old fashioned way (or if you're a total freak and you have to read it in the shower).
 

Is it just me or does Edison Sound like Jimmy Carter in this video?

As always, If you have a comic book (old or new) that you would like for me to review please contact me by clicking the links in the sidebar under Contact Joshua Jones.

Click here for Zombie Jackson's Myspace
Click here to read the web comic