In This Month’s Zuda Comics Competition, Hypergeek Endorses Where Evils Dare!

Zuda Comics is a web imprint of DC Comics. Every month Zuda holds a competition where creators are invited to submit an eight-page strip, to be voted on by readers of the website. At the end of the competition period, the comic which wins the popular vote becomes a new ongoing series, and the creators are given a contract with Zuda Comics.

This month there are several great entries into the competition, all by wonderfully talented writers and artists. It was an incredibly tough decision to choose who to vote for, but in the end I chose to go with Where Evils Dare, which is a strip written by Tony Lee, with artwork by Stefano Martino.

Where Evils Dare is a World War II horror story. The story features a special division of the SS known as 666 platoon that is made up of Zombies, Werewolves, and Vampires, all led by Colonel Dracule (yeah, you guessed it!) Platoon 666 has just obtained a gnostic text called the Book of Antrioch, which contains an activation ritual for the fabled staff of the Sun God Ra. Now the 666 platoon are on their way to retrieve the spear, and the allied troops must stop them from getting it at all costs! The allies have called in their special paranormal squadron, led by Captain Harker (yes that Harker!)

There has been some controversy about the originality of this tale, with comparisons being made to books like Lost Squad, and Fiends of the Eastern Front. I could name several other stories that are set in this time period and feature nazi zombies and vampires etc, but I would say that is because this is becoming a genre of story all of its own rather than one person ripping off another. Look at the Steampunk genre, people love Steampunk, but there is hardly any originality left in the genre at all. When Steampunk started it wasn’t called Steampunk, there were just a bunch of stories set in Victorian times that featured noted luminaries of the period, and current day technology constructed out of period technology. Were those early writers guilty of ripping each other off?

This story actually features a few of the hooks of Steampunk stories, such as featuring several famous figures from Dracula, including Count Dracula himself, the grandson of Jonathan and Mina Harker, and the grandson of R. M. Renfield who, like his grandfather, can sense the presence of the vampire lord.

It may not be dripping in originality, but what is these days?! All I know is that I enjoyed it a lot more than any of the other entries, and really dug its tongue-in-cheek cheesiness and it’s rather hilarious title.

And really, which of these submission are truly original? One of them is a fantasy, full of the clichés of that Genre; another is a 1950s story featuring aliens (Roswell anyone?); one of them is even a Cthulu rehash! They are all great stories, but my point is that unoriginal doesn’t necessarily equal bad! Comics is a medium dominated by superheroes, and they are hardly the most original of concepts!

I am endorsing Where Evils Dare in this month’s competition, and I urge you to follow this link, and vote on the comic to win. Where Evils Dare is currently at #2 in the rankings, so it needs your votes!

Remember, voting closes at noon on Friday 30th October, so make sure to vote sooner, rather than later