Veteran comics writer Frank Tieri is teaming with artist Oleg Okunev for Pestilence at AfterShock Comics, an alternate history horror story set during the Black Death. Except in this world, the Black Death isn't the bubonic plague --- it's a zombie virus!

Tieri offered this explanation of the comic and its cast:

Our main character is an ex Crusader named Roderick Helms. He leads a sort of medieval black ops team of knights called Fiat Lux—and what they essentially are is the cleaners for the Church of that era. Think of them like if Mr Wolf from Pulp Fiction was a group from the middle ages. And had really big f***ing swords.

Anyway, they’re the ones who get tasked with stopping the zombie outbreak… but what they find along the way is that zombies are not their only problem. That elements within the Church itself may actually be the bigger issue they have to deal with.

It's traditional in zombie stories that the real horror comes from what humans do to each other, rather than from the mindless hordes. Like the bikers in Dawn of the Dead or the army in 28 Days Later, it sounds like the Catholic Church are the real problem in Pestilence.

The series also features covers by the legendary Tim Bradstreet. Check out the preview pages below.

 

Art by Oleg Okunev
Art by Oleg Okunev / AfterShock
loading...
Art by Oleg Okunev
AfterShock
loading...
Art by Oleg Okunev
AfterShock
loading...
Art by Oleg Okunev
AfterShock
loading...
Art by Oleg Okunev
AfterShock
loading...
Art by Oleg Okunev
AfterShock
loading...

 

PESTILENCE #1 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color

writer: Frank Tieri

artist: Oleg Okunev

colors: Rob Schwager

letters: TBD

cover: Tim Bradstreet

incentive cover 1:10: Szymon Kudranski

NEW SERIES!

It’s the late 14th Century, and a Great Pestilence—the “Black Death”— is sweeping across Europe, killing over 100 million people. BUT, what if history as we know it was a lie? What if, in reality, this was no straightforward plague, but the FIRST non-recorded Zombie Infestation of man? Ex-Crusader Roderick Helms and his fellow “black ops” agents for the Church, Fiat Lux, must seek out the cause of this undead outbreak and vanquish it before mankind ceases to exist!

Written by the master of violence, gore, and mayhem, Frank Tieri (Marvel vs Capcom, Wolverine, Deadpool), with spectacular art from Disney illustrator, Oleg Okunev, and covers by Eisner Award-nominated artist Tim Bradstreet (The Punisher, Hellblazer)!

More From ComicsAlliance