This week sees the release of Zak vs. Zombies, a new, all-ages graphic novel from writer Elisa Eliot and artist Circe Rosales. The book, which centers on a zombie plague brought on by cell phone use, pits a young, phone-less hero against the drooling hordes. While it's Eliot's first graphic novel, it's not unlikely you've heard of her before. The writer/producer/actress has been working in Hollywood for a few years, on projects ranging from indie kids' movies to mainstream shows like Happy Endings.
She is also currently working on developing a movie version of Zak vs. Zombies. In the meantime, she's embarking on a promotional tour to help get as many kids as she can into the graphic novel.
Eliot also contributed a tiny bit of art to her comic: in the book, there's a cartoonish map of the story's locale -- not too dissimilar to what Tolkien included, if you crossed it with one of those play rugs that you see in some toddlers' rooms, where a whole small city themed after PAW Patrol or Richard Scarry is printed onto the floor.
"That was an idea I had, and it's the only part I actually drew," Eliot told ComicBook, adding that she liked that it gave a sense of place to the rest of the book without having to break up the action to establish geography.
She also noted that part of the book's challenge was nailing the tone -- something she credits in no small part to Rosales.
"I didn't want it to be something only a kid would want to read," Eliot said, comparing the tone to '80s and '90s kid movies that had a broad family appeal. "I wanted anybody to be able to find something they love about it."
Eliot is doing a signing event on June 2 at Barnes & Noble at The Grove, including a kid-friendly zombie costume contest and every kid will go home with a surprise in addition to the book. Later this week (on Saturday, May 18), she's having a launch party featuring a signing and play tickets at Dave and Buster's in Los Angeles.
Below, you can check out a number of preview pages, but first -- here's the book's official synopsis: Zak vs. Zombies is the story of a cellphone-less boy in a cellphone-crazed world. When a strange, techno-fied virus spreads through the town via cellphone calls and texts turning everyone into mumbling, stumbling, drooling zombies, Zak and a handful of kids from his class must come together despite their differences and embark on the adventure of a lifetime to save their town (and possibly the world) from the digital Zombie apocalypse!
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