JOHN BANNING

Real Name: John Banning

Identity/Class: Human (19th century)

Occupation: Plantation owner

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Lucy Banning, Jake

Enemies: Jilimbi

Known Relatives: Lucy Banning (wife)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: An unidentified plantation in the American south

First Appearance: Zombie I#3 (January, 1974)

Powers/Abilities: John Banning was an excellent marksman. He wielded a rifle.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 160 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed

History:
(Zombie I#3/5) - When the voodoo practitioner Jilimbi began raising zombies to assault nearby plantations, kill their slaves then raise them as fellow zombies, John Banning joined a mob of men led by Jake in assaulting Jilimbi's hut, burning it down because their men were afraid to work in the fields. Banning believed Jilimbi had died in the fire and, not believing in voodoo, thought Jilimbi's death would set matters to normal.

    Weeks later, John was relaxing at his mansion with his wife Lucy when a mob of zombies surrounded the mansion and began breaking their way into the house. Taking up his rifle, John began fending off the zombies, firing multiple shots at each one until they fell. Although it took him a long time to finish the zombies with his bullets, their slow speed enabled John to slowly whittle down their numbers. John and Lucy slowly retreated to the upstairs of their home but while John was blasting the zombies on the staircase, he failed to notice one had climbed up a vine outside their window and assaulted Lucy. John blasted the zombie who had menaced Lucy then downed the last of the zombies on the staircase, ending the threat.

    John brought a doctor to Lucy, who declared she was suffering from shock and would likely facing lingering effects. Although Lucy regained consciousness, she was unable to speak and spent the rest of her life simply staring like a dead woman. After ten years, Lucy died. John was certain Jilimbi had survived the fire and sent the zombies to kill him so he decided to seek out Jilimbi and put an end to the matter.

    Returning to Jilimbi's shack, he found it had been rebuilt at some point and Jilimbi was still alive (albeit badly disfigured from the fire) and accompanied by zombies. Jilimbi affirmed that he had sent the zombies who attacked John and Lucy ten years prior. John showed Lucy's dead body to Jilimbi and pleaded with him to raise her from the dead so they could be reunited. Jilimbi informed John that if Lucy became a zombie she would not be much different from how she had been prior to her death. Indicating his zombies, he told John there was no real communion between the living and dead, and that his own zombies felt nothing for him. Jilimbi claimed John could only be reunited with Lucy in death-- then handed him a loaded pistol. John claimed Jilimbi wanted him to die as revenge for being burned in the fire but Jilimbi disputed this, noting he had no mirrors to show him his disfigurement and claimed he was old and too weak for his body to support both age and hate. John used the pistol to kill himself. However, Jilimbi evidently raised Lucy as a zombie anyway as a final cruel act of revenge against John.

Comments: Created by Doug Moench and Enrique Badia. 

    This profile was completed 06/18/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
John Banning should not be confused with:

Lucy Banning

Lucy Banning was John's wife. When Jilimbi's zombies attacked their mansion, Lucy was grabbed by one of the zombies. She went into shock and for the remaining ten years of her life, she was virtually unconscious - unable to speak or otherwise communicate with John. When she died, John sought out Jilimbi to raise her as a zombie but Jilimbi told John that, as a zombie, she wouldn't be much different from the person she'd been for ten years prior to her death. After encouraging John to take his own life to be reunited with her, Jilimbi apparently revived Lucy as a zombie anyway as a final cruel piece of revenge on John.




--Zombie I#3/5

Jake

Jake was the owner of a plantation near John Banning's property. Jake was more familiar with knowledge of voodoo than Banning and shared what he knew about zombies with him. When Jilimbi caused men on his plantation to refuse to harvest sugar cane, Jake led other plantation owners in burning down Jilimbi's hut.





--Zombie I#3/5

Jilimbi

Jilimbi was a Black man who lived in a hut near the plantation owned by John Banning. Using techniques from Haiti, Jilimbi indulged in voodoo, raising dead slaves to serve as zombies. Jilimbi intended for his zombies to slaughter slaves and raise them as more zombies, continuing to increase the ranks of his army. A mob of plantation owners led by John Banning and Jake assaulted Jilimbi's hut and burned it down. Jilimbi survived but was badly burned and disfigured. Weeks later, Jilimbi sent a mob of zombies to attack John Banning in his mansion as revenge. Banning destroyed the zombies but his wife Lucy was placed into a state of shock that left her bedridden and uncommunicative for the next ten years until she died. After Lucy's death, John asked Jilimbi to raise her as a zombie so he could have her back. Jilimbi replied that, as a zombie, Lucy wouldn't be much different from how she'd been in those ten years prior to her death. Jilimbi insisted there was no real communion between the living and the dead - that although he still had a small number of zombies with him in his hut, these zombies were brothers "unto themselves" and felt nothing for him. Jilimbi told Banning reunion with his wife was possible only in death and handed him a pistol. Banning accused Jilimbi of wanting him dead because of how he was disfigured in the fire. Jilimbi disputed that, noting that he had no mirrors to tell him how ugly he was and his old body was too weak to support both age and hate. Banning shot himself but as a cruel piece of revenge, Jilimbi rose Lucy as a zombie.


--Zombie I#3/5

images: (without ads)
Zombie I#3/5, page 6, panel 1 (John Banning, main)
Zombie I#3/5, page 7, panel 3 (John Banning, face)
Zombie I#3/5, page 9, panel 6 (Lucy Banning)
Zombie I#3/5, page 3, panel 1 (Jake)
Zombie I#3/5, page 1, panel 6 (Jilimbi)
Zombie I#3/5, page 8, panel 6 (Jilimbi burned)

Appearances:
Zombie I#3/5 (January, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Enrique Badia (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)

First posted: 09/25/2026
Last updated: 06/18/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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