Set Description:
The Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies, Rise of the Black Lanterns, Night of the Living Dead, World War Z... Zombies are everywhere! They're an undeniable cultural phenomenon, almost on the verge of being a pandemic, and quite frankly, it's making me sick! Enough already!
But for all you animated-corpse fans, let's tip our hats to one of the earliest zombie ever to grace a four-color page: Stan Lee's and Bill Everett's creation: Simon Garth.
Simon Garth, the long departed cyanotic former shell of a man we have all come to know and love as "The Zombie", made his first appearance in the Golden Age, in Lee's and Everett's standalone story "Zombie", in the July 1953 issue of Menace No. 5, published by Atlas Comics. Atlas Comics, the comic book division of publisher Martin Goodman, was the 50's successor to Timely Comics (once home to the Golden Age Captain America, the Sub Mariner, and the android Human Torch). By the early 60's, Atlas would become Marvel Comics, and the rest is history.
I'm a horror fan and was weaned on all sorts of horror movies and literature, but when it came to comics, I was totally fixated on only one genre: Superheroes. That all changed with an article featured in the 80's periodical: Comic Collectors. Krause Publications, best known for the Comic Buyers Guide and a multitude of books covering every conceivable hobby and craft, published Comic Collector. This wonderful and informative magazine was edited by the husband and wife duo of Don and Maggie Thompson. Issues number 7 (Spring 1985) and 8 (Summer 1985), ran a two-part article that would have a lasting impact on me: "The Monsters Shall Rise". This nostalgic look-back, written by Lou Mougin, covered Marvel's greatest 70's monsters: Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Morbius The Living Vampire, Frankenstein, Godzilla, The Living Mummy, Manphibian, The Scarecrow, The Golem, and the one who would eventually become my favorite: Simon Garth... the Zombie.
I wish I could transcribe the entire segment of the article from Issue 8 devoted to Tales of the Zombie, to exemplify why it piqued my interests over all the other featured monsters, but instead I will take excerpts as a sample... and hopefully I won't get sued for not obtaining permission from the author or publisher. So here goes...
..."Tales of the Zombie rose from the black-and-white racks in 1973 and featured a character who was one of the "walking dead" who could never be portrayed in Code-approved color comics. The Zombie existed in his own universe, made a 10-issue stand, and ended his story in a totally satisfying manner. The guiding light behind this dark saga was Steve Gerber".
Just a minor interruption... but I must add a few words about Steve Gerber... Gerber was the genius and co-creator of Howard the Duck and was notable for his works on Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown (a really cool concept and way ahead of its time).
Anyway... back to the article...
"The initial Zombie story was built around an old '50s horror story by Bill Everett, reprinted in the first issue. But Gerber, John Buscema, and Syd Shores added a framework that overwhelmed the cut-and-dried formula horror shortie and transformed the walking dead man into an intriguing character, almost rivaling The Man-Thing".
Another interruption: I was already hooked by the second paragraph... but it went on and so let's get back to it...
"In life he had been Simon Garth, king of a coffee empire, ruthless, selfish, and as uncaring as he was tyrannical. He had lorded it over his daughter, driven his wife away, and... most importantly for our purposes... abused his slovenly, shifty-eyed gardener. Thus our tale began.
Gyps, the gardener, had a taste for revenge and sold his employer to a voodoo sect. (One happened to be in town at the time.) The opening scene showed Garth trussed up, gagged, and about to be done in by the crazed cultists, while he sweated and made 'prayers to a God he did not believe in.' Garth succeeded in breaking his bonds and bolting, but Gyps, ever helpful, tracked him down and stabbed him to death with a pair of shears."
Interruption #3 (and counting): Now that's some heavy shit! Imagine you're a 16 year-old reading this for the first time... and all you've known for most of your comic book collecting life was the innocent Marvel and DC superhero fluff... reading that last line literally blew me away. But yet there's more...
"The voodoo-men raised him from the dead as a zombie. It was as simple as that. The story jumped into the Everett reprint, in which Gyps got his, and then exited for the final chapter. Simon Garth had as little intelligence as the Man-Thing and was the slave of anyone who held the mate of the voodoo medallion he wore on his chest. Physically he looked like a decaying corpse-like being, as tall as Doc Savage and twice as strong. But, as a zombie, he had no soul... which wasn't much of a change from his businessman's life. The theme of the series was Garth's journey to find his spirit, to go from dehumanized man to humanized zombie to full humanity just before the end. It was a long trip, but step by mechanical step, the Zombie made it all the way."
Interruption #4: Wow! I was intrigued! Aren't you? I was reading this a few years before I read any of Wein's and Wrightson's Swamp Thing which has a similar story pattern. The whole idea of a comic series devoted to such a concept was absolutely mind-blowing! It was unheard of in my opinion... amazingly unique and different and so distant and alien to all those banal superhero titles. I'm going to jump ahead and avoid any spoilers from the article and quote the very last paragraph concerning TOTZ...
"Tales of the Zombie stands as one of the strongest Marvel monster series. The art often wasn't the greatest, and the stories may have been gore-spattered. But the storytelling of Gerber, Moench, and Isabella lifted this book from the run-of-the-mill black-and-white ghetto into the realm of such titles as Man-Thing and Dracula. Zombie remains as one of the most overlooked titles by collectors, but monster fans who give this one a look can expect some unanticipated delights."
That was the final nail in the coffin. I had to not only know more about Simon Garth... the Zombie... but I had to get my filthy hands on a genuine Tales of the Zombie magazine!
Sadly and ironically, Comic Collector also ceased publication after just ten issues... coming to unceremonious end in the winter of 1986. Thankfully, I still own the seven newsstand issues I bought back in the day, including the first and last issues.
However, as fate would have it, sometime in 1985, fortune smiled upon me and my best friend, Leonard Mosley. One Saturday afternoon, probably in the summer, we took a carefree jaunt to a local comic shop in Kew Gardens, Queens, called Bishop Comics. It was a tiny little storefront that always seemed empty, and policed by a mustached blue-collar type, who I presumed was the proprietor... and I don't ever recall asking his name... but I'm not good with names. Anyway... on this particular visit, Leonard and I sifted through the Dollar Bins and to my delight and utter joy, found some decent reading copies of Tales of the Zombie. Somehow, instead of tearing each other apart... choking the dear life of one another over a comic book... we came to a diplomatic and amicable agreement and split the treasure trove of available TOTZ's. Leonard made away with the issues which featured covers painted by his all-time favorite artist: Peruvian master Boris Vallejo. I parted with issues 5, 6, 9, and King Size Annual 1, whose photo-realistic covers were painted by the unsung master and Savage Sword of Conan staple: Earl Norem.
After 28 years, I still have these black & whites TOTZ's, and I always hoped the day would come when I would finally collect mint versions of this run. In my opinion, for whatever reason, these magazines are very hard to find in high grade, let alone in third party graded slabs. Don't believe me? Take a gander at the CGC census and the number of sets which appear on the Collectors Society and that revelation will justify my statement. Thankfully, even after much failure, I managed to track a few which I now posses (TOTZ's 2, 7, and 8, and King Size Annual 1). One day I hope to complete the entire set!
Now this may come off as a spoiler, but I am going to highlight, or list, the very bizarre things which occurred in Tales of the Zombie, issue by issue, but without going into great detail...
TOTZ #1: Simon Garth is murdered with garden shears and is turned into a zombie (but you already know that).
TOTZ #2: The Zombie goes from your average clean cut-looking business man to a zombified version of Conan the Barbarian... courtesy of the wizardry of another Peruvian Master: Pablo Marcos, and incidentally, another Savage Sword of Conan staple. But that's not really the bizarre part... on the island country of Haiti, the Zombie takes on a woman who's been turned into a giant spider!
TOTZ #3: Simon Garth takes on a giant venomous snake (from Spider to Snake? Really?) and a Voodoo Sect!
TOTZ#4: The Zombie travels from Haiti to New Orleans... by walking the ocean floor!
TOTZ#5: Simon Garth battles a levitating double-amputee Voodoo priest.
TOTZ#6: The Zombie encounters "Teddy"... a back-woods hump-back Man-Beast!
TOTZ#7: Simon Garth witnesses a genuine and grisly murder mystery.
TOTZ#8: The Zombie dances at a party (yeah... you read that right... dances).
TOTZ#9: Simon Garth is given back his precious humanity... but just for 24 hours!
TOTZ#10: The Zombie does not appear.
Going back to my original question... "Whatever Happened to Simon Garth?"...
...the Zombie has popped up here and there... in Bizarre Adventures #33, Daredevil Annual #9, Peter Parker: Spider-Man Annual '97, Spider-Man Unlimited #20, in a stand-alone story printed in the 2007 hardcover "Legion of Monsters", and most recently as the main attraction in 2009's four-issue limited series Marvel Zombies 4.
Back in 2006, Marvel also published, under its mature-readers Max imprint, a revamped version of Simon Garth, in the four-issue mini-series Zombie, followed-up by a second four-issue mini, written by Eric Powell, creator of the indie gem, The Goon.
Sadly, I don't see a future for Simon amid the glut of all these other more popular zombies... unless Marvel/Disney decides to bring his tale to the big screen... which I think would make a dynamite movie!
And, for any interested reader, if I managed to do for you what Lou Mougin did for me... you can read the entire Tales of the Zombie #'s 1 -- 10, in the 2006 collected omnibus: Essential Tales of the Zombie Volume 1, cover priced for a mere $16.99 USD ($27.25 CAN).
Well... it's after Midnight... the Moon hangs high... her mercurial countenance peeking behind a gray veil of clouds. And as I peer out my bedroom window, I hear a faint murmuring in the distance... carried on the chill of the night... the rhythmic beating of drums... a chanting of a spell... calling... calling me!... I'm compelled... summoned... to go off into the night... guided by supernatural forces beyond man's understanding... guided by a diabolical hand... an agent of misfortune... I... a Zombie... must obey!
SW3D
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