Outside View: Rom Zom Com...ic

Those who know me know that my favorite film of 2004 was without question the British romantic-comedy with zombies, “Shaun of the Dead.” It’s a delightful low-budget comedy that manages to lightheartedly homage zombie horror flicks of the past, while actually being a legitimate zombie film itself. Your local Blockbuster probably has plenty of unloved copies for rent.


So what does that have to do with comics? In a recent interview that writer/director Edgar Wright, writer/actor Simon Pegg and actor Nick Frost did with Devin Faraci of Chud.com, they discussed their idea for a sequel, which may actually come into existence in comic format.


Q: Are you guys going to write any comics? You wrote some that tied into “Shaun.”

Pegg: We might do “From Dusk Til Shaun.” DC and Marvel have been in touch.

Q: For the “Shaun” title or just in general?

Pegg: In general. But I would like to do a “Shaun of the Dead” sequel as a comic book.

Q: So there may actually be a “Shaun” sequel after all.

Pegg: Yeah, but only in that format.

Q: “From Dusk Til Shaun” is maybe the best name ever.

Pegg: That’s the thing – it’s almost worth doing just for the title.


Then, no sooner had I finished reading said interview when Chud posted up another article, pointing out that the recent "Lying In The Gutters" column by Rich Johnston has some "Shaun" artwork by Horacio Domingues "commissioned as a sample for a publisher pursuing the comics gig." It's like buttah.

If you do check out the DVD, be sure to look up the two comic book inspired special features. The first is the aforementioned comic tied into the movie about one bit character’s zombification. The other, far more enjoyable feature, is simply called “Plot Holes”. The actors, while in character, narrate short one-page comics, filling in little gaps in the story with amusing anecdotes. Both were written by Wright and Pegg and drawn by director Wright’s brother, Oscar Wright.