Home > COMICS > [WWPhilly] FRED VAN LENTE TAKES A BITE OF 'MARVEL ZOMBIES'
[WWPhilly] FRED VAN LENTE TAKES A BITE OF 'MARVEL ZOMBIES'
Wizard interviews 'Wolverine First Class' writer Fred Van Lente on his upcoming miniseries 'Marvel Zombies 3', the third helping of the fan-favorite flesh-eaters!
By Kevin Mahadeo
Posted 5/31/2008
During Saturday's Marvel Cup O' Joe panel, Editor-in-chief Joe Quesada announced the return of the super-powered living dead with Marvel Zombies 3, this time helmed by up-and-coming writer Fred Van Lente (Wolverine First Class, Incredible Herc). We nabbed Van Lente for a few questions about his zombie-filled gig.
WIZARD: First off, how'd you get involved with this project?
VAN LENTE: Well, I came home one day to find a very intriguing message from Bill Rosemann on my machine. He said he had an "opportunity" for me. When I called him back, I was delighted to find I was being offered to do the next installment of Marvel Zombies.
Are you a fan of zombies in general? Do you watch a lot of zombie films?
VAN LENTE: You know, what's funny is that my best friend from college is a guy named David Wellington, who is a very famous zombie novelist. We actually worked together at—of all places—the United Nations while he was writing the novel. He would talk through a lot of plot points, and in Monster Island a zombie plague takes over Manhattan. So, we were able to bounce a lot of plot points off each other. So, I'm just going to steal from him mercilessly. I'm going to name something after him somewhere in Marvel Zombies New York. Maybe a hospital or something.
Is he a comic book fan?
VAN LENTE: He is. Yeah.
So, when you got this project did you call him up going, "Guess what I got?"
VAN LENTE: Yeah. [Laughs] I was totally like, "I'm in your world now, sucka!" And he loved the Marvel Zombies books. So, he was both excited and jealous of me.
What is your game plan for this installment of the series? Where is it taking place? Who is eating who?
VAN LENTE: Well, I'm going to be taking them straight into the Marvel Universe. Yes, that's right kids. Marvel Zombies 3 is the Marvel Zombies invading the Marvel Universe. This is an in-continuity series involving registered heroes going into the Marvel Zombies-verse in a desperate attempt to save our own beloved 616.
Wow. That should be pretty intense. Any particular character you can talk about that you'll be using from the regular universe?
VAN LENTE: I am actually going to be coy about that and not tell you which ones I'm using. They will all be recognizable. Let's just say the Florida Initiative team has a really bad day.
The Florida Initiative team? That's too bad. I have family there.
VAN LENTE: As do I. Tampa happens to be where the U.S. Armed Forces central command is. So, we're thinking about calling the team The Commands, which I thought would be cool in a generic sort of way.
For their short-lived career.
VAN LENTE: Yes. Wait, wait! I mean, maybe. I don't know. They'll have their own series, maybe. The team is largely consisted of Man-Thing characters, of course, because that's the most famous Marvel series to be set in the state of Florida. And let's just say that sequence gives the phrase "Merc with a Mouth" a whole new meaning. We're going to see lots and lots of new zombies. I'm not going to be focusing on the same folks that Robert [Kirkman] and Sean [Phillips] did. It's hard for me to say these are zombies you haven't seen before because so much ground was covered in the past series. It's like, "Oh. There they are in the background [of the previous series]. There's Forbush Man eating somebody under that pot he wears as a hat." We're definitely focusing on villains and heroes. What's fun about how we're treating the zombie-verse is that you have some unusual alliances between heroes and villains you wouldn't normally see, if only because heroes and villains are united in their love of sweet, sweet human flesh.
That's the real way to bring about peace.
VAN LENTE: Exactly! We turn everyone into undead cannibals.
Marvel Zombies is cool. And Marvel Apes is coming up. Is there any type of monster or animal you'd like to do?
VAN LENTE: Well, I can tease you some more by saying Marvel Zombies 3 can also be called "Marvel Robots."
Very interesting. Are they robots in disguise?
VAN LENTE: [Laughs] That'd be Marvel Transformers, which might get us into a lot of legal trouble. We probably should avoid that.
So, are the Marvel Zombies really robots? Because that would blow my mind.
VAN LENTE: [Laughs] No. They are Marvel Robots in the Marvel Zombies series—one or two of whom may or may not like beer.
That's b-e-e-r?
VAN LENTE: Yes. The Marvel Zombies on the other hand like bier as in b-i-e-r. There's a little, unintentional morbid humor.
Anything else you'd like to add?
VAN LENTE: The comparison I keep making, or at least fostering on people, is that this series is going to be to what came before it the same way that "Aliens" was to "Alien." We're taking the same concepts and characters and continuity and we're going in a completely different direction with them. Even though it's retaining the same type of morbid humor, I really wanted this to be an actually scary, high octane, balls-to-the-wall horror comic. Where you really are terrified about what's going to be awaiting you when you turn the next page.
In that regard, is there a death scene you are particularly happy about?
VAN LENTE: Oh yes. It's on page nine of the first issue. I'm 90 percent sure it's page nine. Of course, the script has not been completely [approved] yet. But if it gets in, and it's anywhere near page nine, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Trust me.
