Zombies Vs. Robots
"Zombies Vs. Robots" is a horror comic series created by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood, released by IDW Publishing. The series centers on a world ravaged by a war between zombies and robots, stemming from a disastrous experiment at the Kirtland Underground Munitions Storage Complex in New Mexico. This experiment involves three scientists who inadvertently unleash a zombie outbreak while developing advanced robotic technology. The narrative unfolds through a mix of dramatic art and dark humor, showcasing the chaos that ensues as zombies overrun humanity and robots struggle for survival.
The main characters include various scientists, robots like the cocksure Bertie, and the Amazons, who face their own challenges in the wake of the zombie infestation. The series explores themes of human-technology relations and the unpredictable nature of war. The artistic style combines expressionist sketches with a color palette that reflects despair and violence, enhancing the story's dark atmosphere. Since its debut in 2006, "Zombies Vs. Robots" has gained popularity, contributing to the resurgence of zombie narratives in contemporary media and influencing subsequent works in horror and science fiction. Film rights for an adaptation have also been secured by notable filmmakers.
Zombies Vs. Robots
AUTHOR: Ryall, Chris
ARTIST: Ashley Wood (illustrator); Robbie Robbins (letterer)
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 2006, 2007-2008
FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2008
Publication History
Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood, cocreators of the Eisner Award-nominated horror series Doomed (2005-2006), developed the miniseries Zombies Vs. Robots for IDW Publishing. According to Ryall, Wood had a simple idea: a series about zombies fighting robots. At the time, Ryall was the editor in chief and a regular writer at IDW, and Wood was a prominent artist for the company, working on such series as Metal Gear Solid (2004-2005) and 30 Days of Night (2002).
IDW released Zombies Vs. Robots, issues 1 and 2, in October and December, 2006. In 2007, the company published Ryall and Wood’s three-part prequel titled “Which Came First?,” featured in the miniseries D’Airain Aventure (2007).
In response to the reception of the Zombies Vs. Robots stories, IDW debuted Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons, issue 1, in September, 2007, a follow-up to the original series. Issues 2 and 3 were released in October, 2007, and February, 2008.“Which Came First?” and Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons have been released as hardcover collections and collected in trade paperbacks.
Plot
Revealed through dramatic art and darkly humorous text, the seemingly never-ending war between zombies (“braindead automatons”) and robots (“brainless automatons”) stems from an experiment at the Kirtland Underground Munitions Storage Complex in New Mexico, where three scientists (Herbert Throckmorton, Fritz Winterbottom, and Philippe Satterfield) have built various robots and developed a “trans-dimensional gateway.” At the helm of the project is Satterfield, who embarks on a journey to the future. When Satterfield’s plans go awry, Winterbottom, the second bravest of the three, dons a hulking “supersuit” akin to the one worn by Iron Man and passes through the gateway. Soon after, he encounters a group of zombies and retreats to the present. Meanwhile, Throckmorton activates his collection of robots, including one that seals the scientists’ fate, and indirectly readies the robots for impending invasion of the zombie horde.
In the events that follow, the zombie outbreak consumes the human race, except for one baby girl, in the care of “guardbots,” “warbots,” and “docbots.” As explained by an omniscient pressbot, the baby is labeled the last hope for humans. However, when the child’s future takes a turn for the worse, one war-minded robot, “Bertie,” tries to annihilate Earth’s life-forms.
Surviving zombies make their way to the land of the Amazons. Soon after a group of young Amazons pry into the Queen’s rituals, the undead infestation causes a royal shake-up and several significant deaths. The Amazons look to Bertie for protection, and the robot relies on help from Lady Vyssa, the Amazons’ divine spectral intelligence. In the end, another race has been destroyed, but the robots’ war does not seem to be over.
Volumes
•Zombies Vs. Robots (2007). Collects issues 1-2, or “Ghost in the Machine” and “Be All, End All.” In this small collection, the human race has been destroyed by its advanced technology and the mysterious arrival of the undead commences.
•Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons (2008). Collects issues 1-3, or “Group Sects,” “Bull Fight,” and “Heir Force.” This three-part installment centers on the unraveling of the Amazons, who, thanks to their gods, survived a nuclear holocaust aimed at destroying the zombies.
•The Complete Zombies Vs. Robots (2008). Collects “Which Came First?” from D’Airain Adventure, parts 1-3; Zombies Vs. Robots, issues 1-2; and Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons, issues 1-3. An expanded look at Ryall and Wood’s mythology, collecting the complete Zombies Vs. Robots series and a three-part prequel featuring the origins of the zombie-robot war.
•Zomnibus,Volume 1 (2009). Collects Zombies! Feast, issues 1-5 (written by Shane McCarthy and illustrated by Chris Bolton); Zombies! Eclipse of the Undead, issues 1-4 (written by El Torres and illustrated by Yair Herrera); “Which Came First?” from D’Airain Adventure, parts 1-3; Zombies Vs. Robots, issues 1-2; and Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons, issues 1-3. This omnibus demonstrates the various approaches to zombie mythos and centers on the humans’ futile efforts against the undead.
Characters
•Philippe Satterfield, an antagonist, is a stodgy scientist who, along with two other scientists, develops a time machine. His stubbornness and condescending attitude lead him to become the first to use the machine.
•Fritz Winterbottom, an antagonist, is a balding, relatively tall scientist who learns from Phillippe Satterfield’s botched experiment, using a “supersuit” for his explorations. His voyage in time is said to be a cause of the zombie outbreak, in that he encounters the undead and tries to retreat to his former dimension.
•Herbert Throckmorton, a protagonist, is a bespectacled, timid scientist who works with Satterfield and Winterbottom. He befriends robots at Kirtland until the hulking Warbot-7G is activated. He designed the robot, which is “faster and more mentally acute” than most robots.
•Pressbot-5, a protagonist, is an omniscient robot who reports on the ongoing war between robots and zombies.
•Zombies, a collection of antagonists, are a variety of humans infected by an unknown virus, originating in another dimension. They shuffle slowly yet attack fiercely, infecting robots and anyone who is bitten or comes in contact with their blood.
•Bertie, a protagonist, is a cocksure warbot who is immune to the zombie virus. Always ready for battle, he is responsible for the destruction of most zombies and robots on Earth, and he is a saving grace for the Amazons when they are invaded by zombies.
•Lady Vyssa, a protagonist, is the Amazons’ version of a robot, watching over the race’s security since “the great bombs” fell on Earth. After befriending Bertie, she helps the robot resurrect other robots destroyed by the bombs.
•Dhysa, a protagonist, is the oldest daughter of the Amazon queen. She feels responsible for the zombie infestation, helping the surviving Amazons fight an uphill battle against their enemy.
Artistic Style
As the sole artist of Zombies Vs. Robots and Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons, Wood offers a mix of loosely defined expressionist sketches and paintings. He has a penchant for employing cool hues, favoring grays and blues, which align with the story’s themes of despair and death as well as the artificial nature of the robots. Warm hues, accenting the darkness, pop up as a way to draw attention to bloodshed, zombie attacks, and other surprises.
In terms of pacing, Wood’s sequential approach primarily consists of splash pages and large panels, creating room for battle sequences and exposition. Smaller panels are scattered throughout the story and, when created in a cluster, highlight smaller moments in time. Wood’s approach to sound effects has a comical flair but also reflects the endless chaos on Earth.
Themes
The most prominent theme of Zombies Vs. Robots is the relationship between humans and technology. As the prequel shows, scientists devised artificially intelligent robots for war, time travel, medicine, and other tasks, such as sweeping and babysitting. The robots are aware of their abilities, establishing classes based on them and developing tensions among themselves as a result. Bertie, for example, loathes the weakness of older robot models. In the wake of the zombie outbreak, the robots outlive their makers, yet some seek to resurrect their creators. This type of irony plays up the humor of Zombies Vs. Robots.
War is a strong theme in the series. Though highly advanced, robots struggle against the unpredictable tactics of the undead’s “brainlust.”
Impact
The success of the Zombies Vs. Robots series helped fuel the trend of zombie stories common in the 2000’s. Contemporary zombies stories include Image Comics’ postapocalyptic series The Walking Dead (2003- ); Shaun of the Dead (2004), a comical film about a zombie outbreak; and Marvel Comics’ Marvel Zombies (2006-2010). Pride and Prejudice and Zombies came out in 2009, and several video games, including Resident Evil 5 and Dead Nation, were released about the same time.
The success of Zombies Vs. Robots also fueled IDW’s move further toward horror and science-fiction stories--particularly the Zombies Vs. Robots universe. In 2010, IDW released Zombies Vs. Robots: Aventure, a four-part anthology chronicling various human and robotic factions facing zombies before the nuclear holocaust; Ryall wrote the stories, and artists Menton Matthews III, Paul McCaffrey, and Gabriel Hernandez illustrated them. Wood contributed cover art. Wood also contributed covers to Aventure’s follow-up, Zombies Vs. Robots: Undercity (2011), a four-part story (penned by Ryall and illustrated by Mark Torres) centering on the U.S. president and his handpicked population.
Wood’s other major work, World War Robot (2009), features industrialized military robots fighting alongside and against humans in a multi-front war on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. The story is told through Wood’s oil paintings and accompanying text in the form of letters, field reports, and other accounts of the fictional war. Filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer holds the rights to produce a film based on the series. Michael Bay, director of the Transformers (2007, 2009, 2011) movie series, has film rights to Zombies Vs. Robots.
Further Reading
Ryall, Chris, and Mark Torres. Zombies Vs. Robots: Undercity (2011).
Ryall, Chris, et al. Zombies Vs. Robots: Aventure (2010).
Wood, Ashley. World War Robot (2009).
Bibliography
Ryall, Chris. “In-Depth with IDW Publisher Chris Ryall.” Interview by Alex Dueben. Comic Book Resources, January 17th, 2008. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12330.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “Chris Ryall’s Zombies Vs. Robots Returns.” Comic Book Resources, March 8, 2011. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=31209.
Manning, Shaun. “Ryall Vs. Zombies Vs. Robots:Aventure.” Comic Book Resources, December 9, 2009. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23991.
Voger, Mark, et al. The Dark Age: Grim, Great, and Gimmicky Post-Modern Comics. Raleigh, N.C.: TwoMorrows, 2006.