Zombie Tramp #1

History

Dan Mendoza — a CalArts animation graduate who often worked under the moniker 'Toxic Candie' — conceived Zombie Tramp by blending grindhouse cinema, Russ Meyer films, Tokyo Shock horror, anime aesthetics, and classic horror-movie tropes into a single character. He self-published three graphic novel volumes through his own label between 2009 and 2011, with later Super Real Graphics distribution, before Action Lab Comics — guided by editor and friend Jason Martin — recognized the built-up cult following and brought the series into its Danger Zone mature-readers imprint in 2013. The 2013 Action Lab issue is a remastered, full-color reformatting of material that originally appeared in black and white, making it both a new-reader entry point and the first time that content had been professionally repackaged into single-issue, direct-market format. Creative-ownership tensions between Mendoza and Action Lab eventually culminated in a 2020 lawsuit and a 2021 settlement that returned full rights to the character to Mendoza, who subsequently took the series to his own imprint, Still ILL Princess Studios.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance (in the self-published original, 2009): Janey Belle (Zombie Tramp), Madame George Sumero, and the voodoo figure Xula — all three debut in the storyline reprinted beginning with this Action Lab volume.
• The 2013 Action Lab #1 is the first single-issue, direct-market release of the Janey Belle origin story; prior to this, the material had only been available as self-published black-and-white graphic novels sold at conventions and through Super Real Graphics.
• The Action Lab edition is remastered and presented in full color for the first time, with re-lettering throughout.
• Sole creator, writer, and artist: Dan Mendoza (CalArts animation program graduate), who produced both story and art for the original material; editor Jason Martin provided editorial guidance during the transition to Action Lab.
• Published under Action Lab's Danger Zone mature-readers imprint; rated M for Mature — content includes graphic violence, strong language, sexual situations, and nudity.
• The series established the recurring story device of Janey possessing and using the Necronomicon as her primary supernatural instrument, enabling her to raise and control the dead and practice dark magic.
• The Action Lab run grew into one of the imprint's longest-running titles, eventually producing over 84 issues across multiple volumes, plus spin-off series (including Zombie Tramp vs. Vampblade and Dollface).
• A 2017 reprint initiative, Zombie Tramp: Origins, revisited this same origin material again in single-issue format with a suite of variant covers (regular, risqué, gory, sexy, replica, and blank sketch variants), demonstrating the enduring collector demand for the foundational story.