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's 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 Simpson. 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. But 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 mess! 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 favorite all-time artist: Peruvian master Boris Vallejo. I par

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