Last time I read Crime Does Not Pay, which was an excellent collection of Golden Age stories. While I enjoyed that book, this week I wanted to read something completely different. I decided to read the best zombie humor book I could think of, which was THE ZOMBIES THAT ATE THE WORLD, written by Jerry Frissen, art by Guy Davis, published by Humanoids.

Set in Los Angeles in the year 2064, the dead have risen and in order to maintain peace the government has declared them the "living impaired" with limited rights. They’re alive enough that you can’t shoot them but they can’t vote! Since you can’t legally get rid of zombies and many people aren’t thrilled that Grandpa returned from the dead and is now living with them, a black market "removal service" has emerged. Karl, our hero, helps people dispose of unwanted loved ones who have returned from the grave. Karl is assisted in his job by his sister and his buddy Freddie, who occasionally thinks he’s a superhero. To say that their jobs never go according to plan is an understatement.

The book is a series of shorts that build off of each other with ever increasing levels of silliness. I can’t say enough good things but I can provide an example of some of the insanity. In a continuing subplot, Karl, who is bad with girls, finally gets a girlfriend of sorts. When presented the opportunity to dispose of a good looking woman… well… he just takes her home instead. And keeps her under his bed (much like a nudie magazine) until he… well… well… his sister implies that he does things with her. You can imagine how upset he is later in the book when his long dead father returns and starts making moves on his "girlfriend." That doesn’t sound funny but it’s handled with such a straight face that you can’t help but laugh at the insanity of it.

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