Out now in Heavy Metal Magazine, writer George C. Romero is detailing the gruesome origins of his father’s seminal plague of zombies in The Rise. A true prologue to the original zombie apocalypse in his father George Romero’s landmark film Night of the Living Dead, The Rise follows “morally flexible” scientist Dr. Ryan Cartwright down a tunnel to absolute hell, as the younger Romero documents the very events that led to the original outbreak in stunningly clarifying detail, not the least provided by artist Diego Yapur. And it’s just as brutal and tragic as fans of the fabled zombie saga might expect.
Setting the stage amidst the Cold War political intrigue of the 1960s, Romero said that his “origin story for the ghouls my father brought into focus,” is a fully-fleshed out labor of love dedicated in many ways to the fan base that has remained so constant for more than five decades. “Art inspires art,” said Romero. “The Rise is inspired by my personal perspective on my father, his work, and the pop culture entry that his work created.” As such, the dark series of events that gave pop culture its first taste of a world haunted by reanimated corpses is presented in a stark, monochromatic realm of political realism. Romero explained this synthesis of story and design alongside Yapur:
We are dealing in a world that exists in grey areas. People’s character, motivation, and goals are not exactly pure and when you’re dealing in the world of shadow governments, morality, corruption, and greed, everyone in the story is essentially navigating a monochrome existence. In a world like this, detail matters at every turn, but vibrancy from any direction can become a distraction.
Traveling through the tumultuous ‘60s in riveting cinematic style, The Rise is set to climax at just about the time when the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead premiered in the real world. The groundbreaking indie film used racial division as a metaphor for the fragility to be found in the tenuous bonds of contemporary society, a fragility that might just result in said society’s collapse should it be ignored. In total, the elder Romero made six films documenting the dissolution of civilization at the hands and teeth of zombies in increasingly satirical terms. Check out exclusive preview art for The Rise below:
Romero also spoke on the revealed progenitor of the end of the world, de facto villain of the opus Dr. Cartwright, an obsessed scientist who, using ancient voodoo traditions, develops the original zombie virus ostensibly at the behest of the United States Army. “While The Rise is an origin story, I would say that it’s actually more than that; it’s the story of a creator,” Romero said, perhaps alluding in some ways to his father, the creator of the zombie craze itself.
Cartwright is not so much a villain as he is like a lot of people in the world today; he stands on a moral high ground as long as it serves him, and he’s willing to compromise a lot of himself in the name of what he views as necessary to reach his goals. He’s a walking case study of how opportunity and moral flexibility can, and often do, create corruption in people who start out altruistically.
Recalling an old quote by writer Ernest Hemingway, Romero said that Cartwright, follows a certain cynical adage that “all things truly wicked start from an innocence.”
The younger Romero’s explanation for the mystery of the creation of zombies as a Cold War-era vanity run amuck is right in line with his father’s way of thinking, and thus proves a worthy addition to the sprawling story. Later films in the franchise, such as 1985’s Day of the Dead, do hint at the darker aspects of the military’s capabilities in dealing with such a threat. To write a story where the desire for global control can only lead to horrific consequences strikes a tone true to the original concept, and harkens back to fears of nuclear holocaust from the time when the original Night of the Living Dead film premiered.
Up for more zombie hijinks? George C. Romero‘s The Rise is currently on sale in the pages of Heavy Metal Magazine and in standalone Elements editions.
