I just finished reading the first issue of “Zero Killer” from Darkhorse comics, and I’m going to review it, but first let me talk about myself a bit.
When I graduated from college, I was not expecting to enter the workforce. Being a physics major does very little to prepare you for it, because they kind of expect you to just continue on in school until you get a PhD or off yourself from frustration. Consequently, when I decided not to pursue further studies, in my early final semester, I had no idea what I would do. So i decided that I could draw, and I created a short sample to send to various comic book companies.
It was a 4 page “Flash” sample in which he battles Gorilla Grodd. In my youthful insanity this made perfect sense to me, despite never having read a Flash book, or anything involving Gorilla Grodd. I also decided it was a good idea to draw exactly 4 comic pages — the only 4 I’d ever drawn — and send them in, like a 5 year old might. Not exactly what one would expect from a rocket scientist, but hey.
So I sent them to 3 publishers: DC, Crossgen, and Darkhorse. I did not send them to Marvel, as it was the tail end of the 90s and I just couldn’t draw that many pockets.
So, DC sent me a form letter on DC Stationary, which was awesome.
Crossgen, in what I’m sure is a clear sign of why they went out of business, sent me a long hand typed letter from the head of the art department extolling the virtues of sticking to it, and how he had been rejected time and time again, etc. It was a very nice letter, and undoubtedly the best rejection letter I have ever gotten out of the hundreds and hundreds [Note: I used to laugh when I heard people say they could wallpaper their house with rejections -- I could wallpaper the Capitol building].
Then I got the Darkhorse rejection. Now, I feel privileged, because Darkhorse no longer sends rejection letters, due to the costs, and also it was a full letter, where so many I’ve gotten have been barely legible scrawled sentences on the other side of my query letter. But it was the single most evil thing I’ve ever gotten back from a publisher. I really want to find it, but it’s not in my rejection letter file [Note: actually it's my rejection letter and death file, where I keep rejection letters, and programs I get at funerals -- they just seemed to belong together, as it's a reminder of something you feel you should remember, but just don't want to] I’ve just discovered. The message of the letter was pretty clear — “You, sir, have no talent. You must realize this by now.”
Now, admittedly, I didn’t have any talent at the time, and to be honest, if you look at my work now (which is much improved, and not the first 4 pages I’ve ever done), I may be able to pull drawing duty on a small press book, but I’m not really ever going to be a big time player in the drawing world (I’m really a writer who draws, not an artist who writes). All the same, it came as a nasty blow at the time.
So, I’ve tended to avoid Darkhorse since. I am reading “Buffy” now, and will probably submit a project idea or 2 to the venerable independent company at some point in the future, but over all, there’s still kind a bad taste in my mouth because of that reject letter. I hope you take that into consideration as I write this very short review, because these creators had nothing to do with that rejection letter.
“Zero Killer” is set in a strange dystopian post-apocalyptic present. That’s right, no future for these guys. The apocalypse happened, and it happened on Nixon’s watch. This book sets up a number of very interesting possibilities, and seems like a combination of “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” and “Kamandi,” with the sensibilities of “A Boy and His Dog” thrown in.
The story seemed to start of slow, with a number of memes which will be familiar to anyone who is familiar with the post-apocalyptic literature of the last 50 years. Devastated city [Note: in what might be a little unsettling to some, due to the timeline of the apocalypse in the story, the Twin Towers are still standing, and are in fact the first image in the book], damsel in distress, the one good man who acts bad and is inevitable unbeatable, and the attractive woman who dominates something, and wears very little.
The art is great, and the all the elements are there. I think where they go from here is crucial, and it could be similar to Kirkman’s “Walking Dead,” which started in the same way with the zombie memes but kept going, or it could flounder. I’m hoping for the former, as I like what I’ve seen thus far, and it has great potential.
Thanks for the compliment and sorry about the rejection letter. My entry in the comix industry has been a series of events that I see as good luck, and less to do with talent. I’ve also heard of people that were and are much more talented than myself getting letters while employed at various companies that were just nasty.
You know, the internet amazes me… the last thing I expected upon waking up this morning was for the artist on something I wrote about to have made a comment on my blog. Thanks, Matt, you rock! I wish I had written more about the art… hmmmm…. nothing to say I can’t in a future post.