Animals vs. Zombies in Rex, Zombie Killer #1!

January 9, 2012 - In April 2012, comic book publisher Big Dog Ink will release the hounds, as three dogs, a cat, and a gorilla with a baseball bat battle the walking dead in Rex, Zombie Killer #1.

In the wake of a zombie apocalypse, a hyper-intelligent Golden Retriever named Rex, a sign language-speaking gorilla, and a small pack of animals begin a perilous cross-country journey to find safety...and a home.

"I've always wondered what happens to pets when the zombies arrive," explained writer Rob Anderson. "And I've always loved stories that show the heart and tenacity of animals, like WE3 and Homeward Bound / The Incredible Journey."

"In Rex, ZK, the animals are trying to make their way across California to an underground government bunker where the scientist who raised Rex is now in hiding. But Rex isn't necessarily revealing everything he knows about the situation to his pack."

"This is a story I've been wanting to tell since at least 2008, because it combines three of my big passions: animals, zombies and comic books," Anderson said.

"My constant writing companions are my dog and cat, and they're well trained for the coming zombie apocalypse with their patented 'play dead' routine."

The book was also a perfect fit for cover and interior artist DaFu Yu. "From an artistic standpoint, I love drawing monsters, and zombies fit in that category," Yu said. "I'm already detail-oriented in my style, but I go a little crazy when I draw zombies!"

Big Dog Ink Publisher, Tom Hutchinson, added, "This giant-sized one-shot is the latest addition to our creator-owned titles, and it's a unique, high quality story at a special price. We're very excited to add it to the BDI catalog!"

Rex, Zombie Killer #1 is written by Rob Anderson (Animal Control: Special Creatures Unit, Great Zombies in History) with interior and cover art by DaFu Yu (Grimm Fairy Tales, Wonderland Annual), colors by Kevin Volo, letters and design by E.T. Dollman, and edited by Paul Allor (Clockwork).

The double-sized, 56-page one-shot ships in April at a special price of only $3.50, and will be available for pre-order in the February 2012 Diamond Previews catalog. The comic book will be in full color in standard comic book format. It is rated PG-13 for mature themes and violence. Additional one-shots are planned for the future.

About Big Dog Ink
Founded in 2009, Big Dog Ink (www.BigDogInk.com) is the publisher of comic book properties such as Penny For Your Soul, Critter, and the upcoming werewolf/vampire horror series, Ursa Minor. Big Dog Ink's new hit series, The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West, charted in the "Diamond Top 300" list in November of 2011.

For more information on Rex, Zombie Killer, visit: www.RexZombieKiller.com

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CONTACT:
ROB ANDERSON
rob@RexZombieKiller.com

IMAGES & ONLINE MEDIA KIT: www.RexZombieKiller.com/p/press-info.html
DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE: Text / Word / PDF

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Rob Anderson Signing at Game On! Grand Opening Celebration!

If you live in the Northern Virginia area, make sure to stop by the Grand Opening Celebration of Game On! Comics in Vienna, Virginia on Saturday, December 10th.

Rob Anderson, Panda Dog Press writer and publisher, will be doing a signing at the brand new store from 3pm-6pm this Saturday.

Rob will have copies of the special zero issue of Rex, Zombie Killer for only $1!

Plus, all three issues of Great Zombies in History, as well as the preview of Animal Control: Special Creatures Unit all at special sale prices.

If you are interested in creating comics yourself, Rob will also be happy to talk about his work with Comics Experience and their comics-related courses and workshops.

Other comics creators, including Drew Moss (The Baku) and Bob Frantz (SquareBall Comics Presents) will be in attendance, plus there will be appearances by Batman and Spider-Man for the kids!

Game On! Comics is a brand new comics and gaming store located at: 310 Dominion Road Northeast, Vienna, VA 22180. Rob went by and checked it out this week, and as you can see from the earlier "in progress" picture at left, it's a great space.

The store is now open and has a comfy couch, a cool statue-filled entrance, and, of course, lots of comics!

Come by and check it out -- we hope to see you there!

Panda Dog Press at NC Comicon 2011!

Rob Anderson, Panda Dog Press writer and publisher, will be at the North Carolina Comicon, this coming weekend (November 5-6, 2011) in Morrisville, NC, just outside Durham.

Special guests at the convention include Robert Atkins, Scott Wegener, Brian Clevinger, Arthur Suydam, Howard Chaykin and many more!

Make sure to stop by and see Rob Anderson -- just look for the Panda Dog Press banner -- so you can check out the special zero issue of Rex, Zombie Killer for only $1!

Plus, Rob will have copies of all three issues of Great Zombies in History, as well as the preview of Animal Control: Special Creatures Unit.

Rob will also be showing off "in progress" pages for both the Rex, Zombie Killer and Animal Control: Special Creatures Unit books coming in 2012!

Both are in production, and we'll have more to show here on the blog soon.

We hope to see you at NC Comicon 2011!

CBR Interview & Other Coverage!

Things have been very busy here at Panda Dog Press, as we've geared up production on both the Animal Control: Special Creatures Unit and Rex, Zombie Killer miniseries. In the next couple months, we'll start sharing some characters designs, pages, and other information on these projects. We're really excited to show you what we've been up to!

But in the meantime, we were lucky enough to have some great coverage of some of our projects, starting with a Comic Book Resources interview with Rob Anderson and DaFu Yu on Rex, Zombie Killer!

Rob and DaFu talked to CBR's Alex Dueben about how their collaboration began, how the project came together, why they enjoy working on zombie books, and even shared some character designs and pages from the Zero issue. You can check it all out here:

Anderson and Yu Kill Zombies with "Rex"
Click here

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Following up on their review of the Zero issue of Rex, Zombie Killer, Kitty's Pryde was nice enough to do an in-depth interview with Rob Anderson as well.

Rob discussed how both Rex and Animal Control have ties to Andy Schmidt's Comics Experience courses, his passion for animals, and even how he "hears" the voices of the animals in Rex.

Here's a link to the article:

Rob Anderson and a Pack of Animals
Click here

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On another front, Great Zombies in History -- the anthology which Panda Dog Press founder Rob Anderson edited and contributed a story to -- also received some great reviews.

First, Comic News Insider's Jimmy Aquino was kind enough to make Great Zombies one of his "Top 3 Picks" of the week, calling it "a great collection of zombie tales."

Thanks so much for checking out the books, Jimmy!

You can hear it here, starting at about the 1:16 mark:

Comic News Insider Episode 340
Click here

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Great Zombies in History also got some love on the video podcast Exploring the Multiverse. Lucas of ETM was especially kind in discussing Rob and DaFu's "Spartan 300" zombie story, and said "if you're into zombies, definitely pick these up!"

Victor also gave a shout-out to Animal Control artist, Leandro Panganiban, who did two of the stories in the books. You can hear the review starting at the 22:08 mark:

Exploring the Multiverse Episode #73
Click here

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And, finally, A Little Dead podcast took time out to review Great Zombies, with host McPierce covering issues #1 and #2 on Episode 105.1 (at the 9:15 mark) and issue #3 in episode 107.2 (at the 4:45 mark). McPierce said "the artwork was just phenomenal," and in particular enjoyed the artwork by both Leandro and DaFu!

And he added that he'd "love to see this one get published as a regular, on-going series." Thanks, McPierce!

Check the reviews out here:

A Little Dead Podcast - Episode 105.1
Click here

A Little Dead Podcast - Episode 107.2
Click here

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Many thanks to everyone who checked out the books!

Comic News Insider Interview & Reviews

At Heroes Con 2011, Rob Anderson got to sit down with Comic News Insider's Jimmy Aquino for a quick chat about Rex, Zombie Killer, Animal Control: Special Creatures Unit, and Great Zombies in History.

Jimmy was also kind enough to name the zero issue of Rex, Zombie Killer one of his "Top 3 Picks" of the week! Thanks for that, Jimmy!

You can check it all out, starting right here, around the 1:39 mark:
Comic News Insider Episode 335 – Heroes Con


Rex, Zombie Killer #0 was also just reviewed over on the Kitty's Pryde website.

They especially had kind things to say about the artwork by DaFu Yu, calling it "tight and well executed," and saying he handled "animals and zombies equally well." Heck, Kitty's Pryde even compared DaFu's work to Tony Moore and Charlie Aldard.

Wow! Thanks for that kind praise, indeed!

You can check out the full review here:
Rex Zombie Killer #0- Review