Fans of “The Walking Dead” know that the TV show originally derived from a comic of the same name, written by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. First released in 2003, it depicted a zombipocalypse of epic proportions, where all life was reduced to surviving the zombie plague. Few fans know, however, that thirty years earlier, a comic book about surviving a zombie plague was already well established. First published in 1987, Deadworld went through several incarnations until landing in the hands of Gary Reed in 2009. He remained the publisher until his unexpected death in October, 2016.
As a tribute to the late publisher, Riverdale Avenue Books has brought out a collection of prose stories based on the comic. My story, “Rearguard”, is included. It’s a story of sacrifice and hope even at the end of the world. Edited by Lori Perkins, the anthology rejoices in the extremely descriptive title, “A Tribute Anthology to Deadworld and Comic Publisher Gary Reed“. I’m happy to be on the same title page as such excellent writers as Kevin VanHook, Thomas Monteleone, Jason Henderson, Andrew Robertson, Jennifer Williams, Ken Haigh, Jamie K. Schmidt, George Ivanoff and Jeremy Wagner. You can find the book, with its excellent cover illustration by Scott Carpenter, at Amazon or the Riverdale Avenue Books website. If you read it, I would love to hear what you think of it!