Marvel Zombies #3

History

Marvel Zombies was conceived after Marvel Comics saw the success of Mark Millar and Greg Land's zombie-infested alternate Earth introduced in Ultimate Fantastic Four #21–23, and the publisher sought pitches for a dedicated spin-off miniseries. Robert Kirkman — then riding high on The Walking Dead — was Marvel's first choice to write it, an offer he accepted immediately given his enthusiasm for both zombies and Marvel's characters; he was also a longtime admirer of Sean Phillips's work from their time on Ed Brubaker's Sleeper at DC, and the two were paired for interiors. Phillips drew the zombie heroes consistently with how Greg Land had depicted them in the Ultimate Fantastic Four arc, preserving visual continuity while applying his own style, and Arthur Suydam provided painted cover art that paid homage to classic Marvel covers with zombie reimaginings — the first-print cover of issue #3 riffs on Todd McFarlane's Incredible Hulk #340, while the second printing references Frank Miller's Daredevil #179. Ralph Macchio edited the series, with June Chung on colors and Randy Gentile on letters.

Trivia · 7 facts

• Written by Robert Kirkman with interior art by Sean Phillips (pencils and inks), colors by June Chung, letters by Randy Gentile, and edited by Ralph Macchio; cover art by Arthur Suydam.
• Published February 8, 2006 (cover-dated April 2006) as the third of five issues in the Marvel Zombies limited series, set in the alternate reality designated Earth-2149.
• The issue's central event is the zombie horde's battle with the Silver Surfer: after Thor knocks him from his board and the Hulk bites off his head, seven zombies — Colonel America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Hulk, and Wolverine — consume the Surfer's body and absorb a portion of the Power Cosmic.
• The issue ends with the first full appearance of Galactus in the series on Earth-2149; upon arriving to devour the planet, he demands to know where his herald is, and Giant-Man's deadpan reply — that they ate him, and are still hungry — sets up the cosmic confrontation of the final two issues.
• A parallel subplot shows Wasp's severed, still-sentient head helping Black Panther escape Giant-Man's lab; Panther subsequently encounters Magneto's Acolytes, who have come to Earth from Asteroid M in search of their leader.
• The first-print cover by Arthur Suydam is a zombified homage to Todd McFarlane's iconic Incredible Hulk #340 cover; the second-printing variant homages Frank Miller's Daredevil #179.
• The complete five-issue series, including this issue, was collected in hardcover (August 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2277-X) and later included in the Marvel Zomnibus (2012); the franchise it launched directly inspired the Disney+ animated Marvel Zombies series, which premiered September 24, 2025.

Cast · 31 characters

Full credits

Variants (1)