Last Blood (webcomic)

Last Blood is a webcomic published by Blatant Comics created by Bobby Crosby and Chris Crosby. It is written by Bobby Crosby and illustrated by Owen Gieni.

Last Blood
Author(s)Bobby Crosby
Owen Gieni
Chris Crosby
Websitehttp://www.lastblood.net/
Current status/scheduleMonday, Wednesday & Friday
Launch date25 December, 2006
Syndicate(s)Keenspot
Publisher(s)Blatant Comics

The tag-line, "After zombies take over the Earth, vampires must protect the last surviving humans so they can live off their blood," summarizes the set-up for the four-issue series. The first series was completed in December 2007.

In early 2008, a second series of Last Blood began being posted.

Plot

Issue 1

(Prologue) A World War II uniformed zombie bursts from a coffin underwater and walks across the ocean floor until he spots a beach. Rising from the water, he bites a young woman.

A month later, Murdo and Grady carry a dead zombie to a dumpster. Seeing that his dog tags and uniform belonged to WWII, they ponder on the possibility of it being The First Zombie. Mac rises in the morning and goes out to golf a little, where he is approached by April Davis, a school teacher. They discuss Mac making a supply-run to the nearby zombie-infested city that day, and he leaves, armed only with an axe.

Then, a group of approximately fifty zombies approaches the school and Murdo and Grady attempt fending them off and called the rest to help in the effort, but the other survivors cowered and didn't come to their help. As they ran out of ammunition, they desperately defended themselves with a shovel and a pipe. Suddenly two strangers appear to join them in the battle, quickly killing all the zombies with guns and swords.

After stopping the zombies, they meet with the survivors and introduce themselves as Matheson and Valerie, explaining that they are vampires that require their blood to live. April shoots Matheson out of shock and runs outside to be sick. Math follows her and explains that they are there to help, since the survival of vampires depends on the survival of humans and that it would be like donating blood to the hospital since they can live off very little blood. He reveals that she is the key to human survival, since she has been responsible for keeping everyone calm and normal by continuing to teach classes.

As it begins to rain, he convinces her to go back inside and start class 8 o'clock as usual. That day at lunch, Math tells April that The First Zombie was a vampire who had been starved of blood for 65 years, his sanity breaking down in pain and body decomposing as he turned into this new form. He also reveals that a vampire named Addison Payne has been largely responsible for many of humanity's finest medical advances over the past few centuries, and has been working on a 'cure' for the zombies. The First Zombie, the zombie shot in the head by Murdo at the beginning of the issue, is seen hiding in the bushes listening in at the end of the issue.

Issue 2

Devian, a vampire descended from the first vampire with the consequent ability to fly, arrives to tell Math that the last remaining humans in Canada have been killed. Math smells many zombies surrounding Mac and asks Devian to go rescue him before heading to Mexico to help protect the survivors there. Devian doesn't make promises since she is blessed with flight and not strength.

Math meets with principal Howard and explains some false myths about vampires, revealing that they aren't related to the Devil, they can walk in sunlight, they reflect on a mirror.

As zombies are about to kill Mac, he accidentally shoots Devian and she rescues him by shooting the zombies and opening a way to escape. April tells Math that the day the outbreak started, a tornado destroyed the communication lines and because of that the children don't know about the zombies.

That night, Valerie unsuccessfully attempts to seduce Math. He later tells Murdo, who finds Val attractive, that his best chance is right now. Jimmy, one of the children, asks for a gun because he suspects that there are zombies after seeing the bodies in the dumpster. Murdo refuses, but Grady gives him one that evening in secret explaining him that the zombies are real. Murdo and Val sleep together while Math drifts off to sleep in the presence of April. That night zombies attack the school through an underground passageway. Jimmy makes a brave defense but is turned into a zombie and bites his mother, Murdo's sister while Murdo's mother dies of a heart-attack.

Issue 3

Math kills Jimmy and his mother. Murdo mourns for his mother, and is approached by Math who tells him that both he and Val will need to feed off his mother, since her blood is untainted. The principal confesses that he is to blame for Jimmy's death, since he shouted his name when zombies were about to kill him and Jimmy bravely rescued him, but when escaping he hit a zombie and his knuckles were scraped by the zombie's teeth. They amputate his arm hoping to stop the spread of the infection.

April tells Math about her grandfather, Sullivan Davis, and he begins to suspect that he is The First Zombie. Murdo blocks the tunnel with a secret buried switch, revealing that the tunnel is named after Sullivan, and that its existence is a secret only known by the town's people that served in the army.

Devian and Mac sit in a tree, and she tells him about a similar outbreak that happened in the 12th century. She explains that the zombies are controlled by a so-called schaemiac. The zombies beneath them begin heading toward the school all of a sudden and Devian leaves to find Addison Payne.

Murdo buries his mother, his sister, and his nephew, Jimmy. Val expresses her sorrow and asks if there's anything she can do and Murdo asks her to turn him into a vampire so he can be strong enough to protect the survivors. Math goes after Mac, whom wants to get his truck with supplies before returning.

The entire zombie army approaches the school, but before the battle has even begun, Addison Payne crashes his plane into the first ranks of the zombies, a few thousand. The rest of the vampires come out of the wreckage, back from unsuccessfully defending the humans in Mexico. Addison Payne reveals that this group are the only remaining humans on Earth.

Issue 4

Murdo is turned into a vampire by Val, and Val forces him to drink a pint of his mother's blood to end his first hunger. Murdo finds Grady with the Principal, and tells Grady to watch him since his blood is tainted and will turn soon. Then he changes his mind and decapitates the principal, before jumping off the roof to join Rage, who is having fun killing zombies with his bare hands. Addison Payne and the rest discuss tactics and make note of The First Zombie's plan to chain the vampires, torturing them with the hunger pangs for 65 years till they too become schaemiacs. Math notes that a small group of 3000 zombies is approaching fast from the west, which suggests that The First Zombie is leading them, so he leaves with two other vampires to find him, but his car is destroyed by The First Zombie with a rocket launcher. The zombie army charges, forcing him and the others to go back to the battle.

After hours of fighting the pile of dead zombies is taller than the school (The First Zombie's plan is to wear the vampires out). They are eventually chained by armored zombies and led into the school. Val breaks free and cuts Murdo loose as well before being staked by The First Zombie. Murdo is chained again, The First Zombie orders his minions to kill the humans but he stops after April yells at him, thinking that he is her grandfather.

He reveals that he isn't Sullivan Davis, he is Francis Murdo Senior, the grandfather of Murdo. Seeing Addison Payne as a threat to his plans, The First Zombie stakes Payne and kills him. He then comments to April that she smells like her grandmother, the woman he loved. He approaches her, saying that he would allow her and the children to live. April thanks him and hugs him, using the opportunity to kill him with a concealed stake.

Immediately after The First Zombie is dead, his zombie army is unbound and chases the humans. The vampires take the humans and jump out the windows. Devian follows Payne's instructions: to take the youngest boy and girl away. The children's squirming, however, forces her to drop the girl, who is saved by Sullivan Davis who has become a schaemiac. Sullivan has 3,000 armed zombies with him. The reinforcements help the vampires and humans win the day. It is revealed the note that Payne gave to Devian, presumably containing instructions for repopulating the human race, really said "Thank Sullivan for me."

Hours later April and Math sit at the edge of the pond, taking a count of the surviving humans, which amount to 23. They discuss the repopulation issue. After April asks whether it is possible for humans and vampires to conceive, Math comments cryptically that the child "wouldn't be human." He then retrieves the briefcase Addison carried with him. Inside it is the cure for vampires, an unknown mixture contained in otherwise ordinary-looking vodka bottles. Drinking a mouthful will make a vampire human again, provided that they were not born a vampire. Math tests the cure, and it works, making him the 24th human.

Issue 5

Issue Five was announced in late 2008 and is being updated slowly. Page 20 was posted on the website in July 2010.

Cast

Primary characters
  • Davis, April – A young teacher at the school, April is the main reason complete panic has not devastated the group of survivors since she insists on continuing classes and keeping the kids in the dark about the zombies. She is generally cool-headed, but has bursts of impulsiveness under pressure. She shot Matheson in the chest when he first arrived but has been his closest link to the humans since. She 'dropped an F bomb' for the first time in her life after meeting Math.
  • Matheson – Matheson has more sympathy for humans than the average vampire and is one of the most eager to protect them, trying his best to uphold a calm picture to gain the humans trust. He killed Hitler during World War II and was turned by Valerie, inheriting part of her extraordinary ability to smell blood. He was turned against his will, and Val broke his heart. At the end of the story, he is turned back into a human by the cure Addison Paine provided. Implied to have become April's lover
  • Murdo III, Francis – Simply called "Murdo" by most people. A young ex Marine largely responsible for the school's defenses along with Mac and Grady. He falls for Valerie and shares the bed with her the night Zombies manage to move unnoticed into the school gym through Sullivan's Tunnel. In the ensuring battle he loses his sister, and nephew to the undead horde; his mother dies of a heart attack during the same event. Ridden by guilt, he asks Valerie to turn him into a vampire to protect the last remaining humans as best as he can. He believes himself to be responsible for the deaths, since that was the first night he didn't sleep in the gym to ensure the safety of the children.
  • Payne, Addison – Addison Payne appeared to be the generally accepted leader of the vampires fighting off the zombie hordes. He was responsible for many of the medical advances and cures that have been credited to humans over the ages and generally regarded as an infallible genius in his own right. Addison arrived at the school carrying a briefcase, the contents of which were revealed to be vodka bottles containing a vampire cure. Addison was killed by The First Zombie with a stake.
  • Valerie – A female vampire who sported an incredibly well developed sense of smell, even for a vampire, but appeared to have given up all hope on the survival of mankind and her own kin as well. Valerie no longer believed that they would be able to save the world and only thought about making the best of her last days, showing little care for anything including her own life. Valerie was the vampire who turned The First Zombie. She was planning to commit suicide and the schaemiac ordered the attack through the tunnel to kidnap her in order to stop her from escaping the torture. Valerie was killed by The First Zombie with a stake.
  • The First Zombie – also known as Francis Murdo, Sr.. A blood-starved vampire, also known as a schaemiac, who was responsible for the destruction of the entire world. He hated vampires even before actually meeting one, and wanted revenge on all of them, especially Valerie. He intended to torture the vampires by starving them until they would become scheamiacs like him and then kill them. He killed Valerie because he realised that he didn't love her anymore and turned his unwelcome attention on April because she resembled her grandmother. He was subsequently killed by April with a stake.

Secondary characters
  • Devian – A vampire born with the ability to fly, although she doesn't have the strength other vampires do. She helps out Mac when he is being attacked by a large horde of zombies when searching for supplies, and was entrusted a secret task by Payne in case they failed to protect the school.
  • Mac – Mac is one of the last surviving humans along with April Davis. He is the one who is sent out to look for supplies on the day that the vampires appeared. He is attacked by a large horde of zombies in the town and fights until Devian comes to rescue him. He was the only human who fought alongside the vampires in the big battle, using an axe as his only weapon.

Minor characters
  • Davis, Sullivan – April's grandfather who fought in World War II. It was at first believed that he is The First Zombie, but is actually a different schaemiac. He rescues the remaining humans and vampires from Francis's zombies at the end of the story.
  • Grady – An older man who helps Murdo defend the school during zombie attacks. He gives Jimmy the gun he uses to defend his friends. Grady also has a fondness for scotch. He is, like most of the other characters, not terribly intelligent. He joined the Army for the sole purpose of hanging out in Sullivan's Tunnel.
  • Principal Howard – An older man with a penchant for being annoying to everyone around him. He disliked the vampires for what they are. He punched a zombie woman in the mouth towards the middle of the first graphic novel and slowly began to turn into a zombie. He was killed by Murdo the next day, after the other humans amputated his arm in an attempt to hold off the infection. Also known as "Mustache Man" due to his large mustache.
  • Jimmy – A young boy, Murdo's nephew, who was the first child to discover the existence of zombies. Grady gave him a gun to fight with should the occasion arise, and shortly afterwards, it did. He defended his friends in the gym with the gun before succumbing to the zombie attack when returning to save Principal Howard. He attacked and tore out the throat of his mother shortly after being turned. He is killed by Matheson to prevent him from killing anyone else.
  • Rage – A former professional wrestler, with the ability to run 120 miles per hour, he is highly sadomasochistic, seemingly welcoming the zombie outbreak as it gives him ample opportunity to fight and kill at his own leisure. According to Addison Payne, he will not even mind the hunger pangs awaiting the vampires should they lose the last fight since he loves being tortured as well, in his words it's a "win-win situation".

Distribution

Last Blood has been published in print as four comic books, the first appearing in May 2007 as part of Free Comic Book Day.

It is also available in full as an online archive[1] and was once available as free PDFs from Wowio.[2]

Film adaptation

Crosby originally planned on filming the story as a movie himself, and considered the comic more of a storyboard. In 2008 it was announced[3] that The Hangover franchise producer Benderspink had optioned the property, and they had signed Family Guy showrunner David A. Goodman to script the adaptation.[4]

In 2011, it was learned that Red Giant Entertainment now holds the rights to produce the film, and that they have attached Simon Hunter (Mutant Chronicles) to direct.[5] In 2012, Real Steel producer Rick Benattar signed on to co-finance the film.[6]

References
  1. Last Blood
  2. Last Blood #1 at Wowio
  3. "Benderspink to adapt 'Last Blood'". Variety. 1 April 2008.
  4. "'Blood' work for 'Family Guy' scribe". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 July 2008.
  5. "Simon Hunter Helms Vampiric 'Last Blood'". Deadline Hollywood. 22 July 2011.
  6. "Comic-Con: 'Last Blood' Movie Secures Co-Financing". Deadline Hollywood. 14 July 2012.
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