Broken Frontier

IDW Publishing today announced its agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to publish a special five-part adaptation of a comic book miniseries based on Universal Pictures’ upcoming horror film George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead, which hits theaters June 24th 2005.  The Land of the Dead comic is a monthly, full color, 32-page five-issue miniseries, with issue #1 debuting in August.

The comic is set years in the future after the end of Romero’s original Dead Trilogy, where the walking dead roam an uninhabited wasteland while those still alive struggle to lead “normal” lives behind the walls of a fortified city. A new society has been established by a handful of enterprising, yet ruthless opportunists. They live high in the skyscrapers above the hardscrabble existence of those on the streets below. Outside the city walls an army of the living dead is evolving, while inside anarchy is on the rise. With the very survival of the city at stake, a group of hardened mercenaries is called into action to protect the living from the dead.

The Land of the Dead adaptation is written by Chris Ryall (Shaun of the Dead) with art by Gabriel Rodriguez (CSI: Secret Identity). The first issue will feature two variant covers–one by talented newcomer Chris Bolton and one with a special photo cover.

“Like all Romero fans, I’ve been waiting two decades to see George revisit this world,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Editor-in-Chief. “And I’m happy to have a chance to bring the movie to life on the comics page, too. Especially with Gabe Rodriguez to help make me look good. Our whole goal is to help the reader, as George himself is fond of saying, ‘stay scared!’”