Dee-See
Zombies
LARVAL ZOMBIES
Membership: Jim Salamander (aka Larval Zombie
#1),
Betty Brant-Eater, other anthrotoons; briefly Peter Porker (aka
Spider-Ham)
Purpose: Worship of Larval Comics heroes;
conversion of others to their cause (usually using a Zombieizer)
Aliases: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Dee-See Zombies
(Bat-Bird, others),
De-Programmers, Spider-Ham, Mary Jane
Waterbuffalo
Base of Operations: An estate in New York State, USA (Earth-8311)
First Appearance: Marvel Tales II#230/2 (Mid-November, 1989)
History:
(Marvel Tales II#230/2 (fb) - BTS) - Jim Salamander established the
cult of the Larval Zombies, dedicated to the worship of Larval Comics
heroes, on an estate outside of New York State. The helmet device
Zombieizer helped convert people into new "True Believers"; the slowly
increasing number of numbed Larval Zombies revered Salamander as their
Master (Larval Zombie #1) and bowed to large statues of their Larval
Comic idols like
Deerdevil, Croctor Strange and Wolverine. By unrevealed means, the
Larval Zombie cult was able to recruit Daily Beagle staffer Betty
Brant-Eater.
(Marvel Tales II#230/2) - A van pulled up and five
dedicated Larval Zombies grabbed Betty and took her onboard.
Coincidentally nearby, Peter Porker was shocked to see his friend
nabbed and secretly clambered on top of the van, changing into his
heroic Spider-Ham guise. The van entered the Larval Zombie estate and
Spider-Ham was dismayed to see comic fanatics literally worshiping the
statues. One was distracted by the clever Spider-ham, who knocked out
the cultist and took his robes to infiltrate the group and escape with
Betty. But Betty instead raised the alarm and Porker was overwhelmed by
Zombies with the Zombieizer helmet quickly turning him into a Larval
Zombie. The fanatics took Porker to Salamander, who already knew
Porker's superhero identity from Larval Comics. Meanwhile, Porker's
beloved, Mary Jane Waterbuffalo, was suspicious of his long absence and
the
insidious Dee-See Zombies lurked in the shadows, waiting to take on the
Larval Zombies.
(Marvel Tales II#233/2 (fb) - BTS) - Porker sent a
postcard to Mary Jane to leave him alone at the cultist colony and not
rescue him. This alarmed her and she quickly organized a group of
De-Programmers to counter the cult brainwashing.
(Marvel Tales II#233/2) - Mary Jane drove the bus through the cult estate's gates and the De-Programmers ran after the scattering Larval Zombies, who sought their Master for help. Mary Jane found the zombified Porker obsessively polishing the statue idols, but a gas grenade weakened his strength and De-Programmers forced him to watch video footage of supposed deadly enemies as shown in Larval Comics instead enjoying friendly times together. This shocked Porker back to reality and he changed into his Spider-Ham guise to fight Salamander, but the Dee-See Zombies, led by Bat-Bird, opportunistically swooped in seeking to replace Larval Zombies with Batmaniacs. Confused how to fight both cults, Spider-Ham was confronted by Salamander, who duplicitously offered Spider-Ham his own graphic novel and limited bookshelf series. Spider-Ham submitted to his pride and drove away the Dee-See Zombies and knocked down the De-Programmers, as well as chasing Mary Jan away. Victorious, Spider-Ham pursued Salamander and suggested various creative teams for his graphic novel, but Salamander was overwhelmed and used a giant boot to kick Spider-Ham far far out of the compound.
Comments: Created by Danny Fingeroth, Alan Kupperberg, Joe Albelo.
"Larval Zombies" is an Earth-8311 reference to the original meaning of "Marvel Zombies" -- initially a half-affectionate, half-derogatory nickname for obsessive Marvel super-fans who would usually read no other titles than Marvel. Such Marvel fans began to own the term, the same way Star Trek fans now own "Trekkie" (or "Trekker"). These Marvel mega-fans would also embrace the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (especially the Deluxe Edition with the snazzy connecting running covers), referenced in this story as the "Official Handbook of the Larval Universe (Deluxe)". So these original zombies aren't the mindless infectious flesh-eating kind now associated with Marvel Zombies through comics and TV.
Spider-Ham distracts a Larval Zombie by pretending he
has a mint copy of Giant-Size
X-Animals #94; this is a reference to the highly collectible
milestones Giant Size X-Men
#1 & [Uncanny] X-Men #94, which introduced the
"all-new all-different" X-Men team that included Wolverine, Storm,
Nightcrawler and Colossus in 1975, and which revived the title.
Jim Salamander is a homage/parody of illustrious Marvel editor Jim Salicrup. He'll get his own profile soon.
And of course Dee-See Zombies refers to Marvel's
distinguished competition: DC Comics. Bat-Bird: The Lark Knight is
Batman: The Dark Knight.
The Zombieizer has a nice Kirby-esque design to it; maybe it's made from Kirbyvanium, a metal found only on Earth-8311, but often requiring up to a fourth weld to make a join.
Peter Porker polishes a statue of superhero Wolverine
(a proper wolverine anthrotoon with claws), a character from Larval
Comics. As far as I know, a live version of this Wolverine has not
appeared in Spider-Ham adventures. Earth-8311 versions of Wolverine
seen so far include Wolverine-Bug (of the X-Bugs) and an unnamed
bull-like one. So Larval Comics don't fully reflect actual Earth-8311
super-folk.
The whole story finished off a bit crazy. I
half-wonder if it was a type of day-dream or possibly a hallucination
between being gassed at the cult's estate and landing in Mary Jane's
hot-tub at the tale's end.
The legendary Mark Gruenwald was the editor of the
Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe. What name would his
Earth-8311 counterpart have? Mark Gruenwildebeest? Gruenwhale?
Grrrrowlwolf?
Gnuwild? With Jim Shoebill (Jim Shooter) as editor-in-chief?
Profile by Grendel Prime (definitely not Zombie Prime).
CLARIFICATIONS:
Larval Zombies have no known connections to:
Dee-See Zombies were the bat-like counterparts to the
Larval Zombies cult. Led by Bat-Bird (the Lark Knight), the
opportunistic predators
swooped in amidst the chaos as Larval Zombie cultists were being
de-programmed, hoping to turn the ex-Larval Zombies to Batmania and its
creed of merchandising. However, manipulative Larval Zombie cult leader
Jim Salamander convinced the heroic Spider-Ham to fight them and send
them away.
--Marvel Tales II#230/2 (233/2
The De-Programmers were a group quickly gathered
together by Mary Jane Waterbuffalo to rescue her beloved Peter Porker
(secretly the heroic Spider-Ham) from the cult of the Larval Zombies
and to reduce the influence of Larval Zombie #1 on the other followers.
The De-Programmers restrained the cultists and showed them footage of
supposed deadly enemies as shown in Larval Comics instead enjoying
friendly times together. The footage shocked Porker back to reality.
However, the ominous approach of opportunistic bat-like predators the
Dee-See Zombies resulted in Porker (now in his Spider-Ham guise) siding
again with the Zombies against the De-Programmers and the Dee-See
Zombies, especially when cult leader Jim Salamander promised Spider-Ham
his own graphic novel.
--Marvel Tales II#233/2
The Zombieizer was a complex data matrix with an instantaneous neural interface that contained the entire contents of the Official Handbook of the Larval Universe (Deluxe Edition), a fact-packed encyclopedic guide to the Larval Universe (Earth-8311) comprising in-depth profiles of its greatest heroes and villains, places, items, teams, races and more. Once placed on the head and activated, the Zombieizer downloaded the entire contents directly into the wearer's brain, converting the wearer into a True Believer and Larval Zombie.
When the heroic Peter Porker was found
to have infiltrated the cult of Larval Zombies, the cultists placed the
device on Porker's head and he was unwillingly converted
to a Larval Zombie.
--Marvel Tales II#230/2
images: (without ads)
Marvel Tales II#230/2,
p1, pan3 (main image)
Marvel Tales II#230/2, p4, pan2 (Larval Zombie #1 on throne)
Marvel Tales II#233/2, p3, pan1 (Dee-See Zombies led by Bat-Bird)
Marvel Tales II#233/2, p1, pan2 (De-Programmers)
Marvel Tales II#230/2, p3, pan4 (Zombieizer)
Appearances:
Marvel Tales II#230/2 (Mid-November, 1989) - Danny Fingeroth (writer),
Alan Kupperberg (pencils), Joe Albelo (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Marvel Tales II#233/2 (January, 1990) - Danny Fingeroth (writer), Alan
Kupperberg (pencils), Joe Albelo (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor).
First Posted: 09/19/2025
Last updated: 09/19/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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