“This is the end…

…beautiful friend, the end. No safety or surprise, the end.”

Following the shocking cliffhanger at the end of The Last Zombie: Before the After #5 (on sale in comic shops this week, or available online HERE) we come to the final story-arc in this long-running saga. I’ve said before that this title is called The Last Zombie for reasons other than just Ian’s condition. It’s called that because this is, without a doubt, my final word on zombies. After these final five issues, I’ll have said everything about them that I have to say. What started with The Rising and continued through City of the Dead, The Rising: Selected Scenes From the End of the World, The Rising: Deliverance, Dead Sea, Entombed, and Clickers vs. Zombies ends here. I really can’t see myself ever writing about zombies again (other than Ob and the Siqqusim’s mandatory involvement in the forthcoming Labyrinth series).

But I’m going out with a bang (just in case The Last Zombie: Before the After’s conclusion wasn’t enough of a bang for you). In these final five issues of the series, Frankie from The Rising joins the cast, Ian’s secret is finally revealed to his teammates, Planters is fully unleashed, there’s a gun-battle in the streets of post-apocalyptic Chicago, danger in the hills of post-apocalyptic Kentucky, and a reunion (or not) at the FEMA bunker in West Virginia.

You can pre-order The Last Zombie: The End (as well as purchase back issues and trade paperbacks of the entire series) RIGHT HERE.

I’m damn proud of this series. No, we never set Diamond’s sales charts on fire, but we placed in the Top 300 several times, and got some critical acclaim. What’s important to me is that Antarctic Press were pleased with the sales figures, readers enjoyed the story immensely, and I had an opportunity to deliver my last words on zombies. Thanks to all of you who have supported this series.

And stay tuned for High Plains Clickers, an original five-issue comic series (set in Clickers continuity) from the same team that brought you The Last Zombie, coming later this year. (And while we’re on the subject of comics, don’t forget to pre-order a copy of Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Hordak which you can get right here).