VAUGHAN, BRIAN K. 663
Th is reciprocal relationship of genre fi lm and television with comics is best exempli-
fi ed by Joss Whedon’s Buff y the Vampire series. While a comic series ran concurrently
with the television series, Whedon went on to craft a comic book continuation of the
television series after its termination called Buff y the Vampire Slayer Season Eight (2007).
Th is comic series was distinct from previous Buff y series, which did not advance the
ongoing plot of the TV show. Niles performed a similar feat as writer of 28 Days Later:
Th e Aftermath, published in April, 2007, a month after the launch of the fi rst issue of
Buff y the Vampire Slayer Season Eight. Th is graphic novel fi lled the gap between the fi lm
28 Days Later and its sequel 28 Weeks Later (2007).
30 Days of Night was the most infl uential vampire narrative in the comics of the
2000s. Meanwhile, Image Comic’s Walking Dead (2003) was the most powerful and
impressive zombie series to come out, surpassing Deadworld as the most popular ongo-
ing zombie series. Written by Robert Kirkman, the story revolves around former police
offi cer, Rick Grimes and his family as they try to live in a world where zombies have
destroyed civilization.
In 2005, Marvel Comics launched its Marvel Zombies series, which was well received
by fans and critics alike. Th e premise originated in Ultimate Fantastic Four in which
Reed Richards taps into a parallel universe where a virus has turned all of Marvel’s
superheroes into zombies who feast on the entire world (and eventually universe).
Th e zombies appeared in two short runs on Ultimate Fantastic Four and by year’s end,
Marvel Comics had hired Kirkman to write what would be the fi rst of several Marvel
Zombies series.
By the end of the decade, zombies continued to thrive with the vast majority of
narratives still focused on the zombie as villain. Very few narratives were particularly
sympathetic towards these undead, though there were a few exceptions, such as Zombie
Cop (2009), in which one “good” fi ghts against the other zombies. However, vampires
had developed much more complex narratives in large part thanks to the Rice’s Va m -
pire Chronicles, Whedon’s Buff y the Vampire Slayer and Angel series, Charlaine Harris’s
Southern Vampire Mysteries, and Stephanie Meyer’s Tw i l i g h t series. Certainly, narratives
still focus on vampires as villains such as the Blade series and 30 Days of Night, but the
shift to vampires as complex, sometimes tragic fi gures rather than clear villain continues
to infl uence comic narratives and sales.
Selected Bibliography: Kendall, David, ed. Th e Mammoth Book of Zombie Comics.
Philadelphia: Running Press, 2008; Normanton, Peter. Th e Mammoth Book of Best
Horror Comics. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2008; Reed, Gary. Deadworld—Complete
Comic Collection on CD-ROM. CD-ROM. Macomb, MI: Eagle One Media, 2007.
Lance Eaton
VAUGHAN, BRIAN K. (1976–). Writer of award-winning graphic novels and creator-
owned comic books, Vaughan was born in Cleveland, Ohio. While studying fi lm
at New York University, he participated in a Marvel Comics writers’ workshop for
