The Guardians of the Galaxy face an army of undead Avengers in Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay

Cover art from Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #1
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

A simple sneeze could start the next zombie apocalypse if our preview of next week's Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #1 is anything to go by... In the new issue Groot has got the sniffles. But when he sneezes in Captain America's face, Steve Rogers starts to transform into a flesh-hungry zombie – and that's just the start...

Marvel's synopsis for the new issue, which is from the creative team of writer Thomas Krajewski, artist Jason Muhr, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, with lettering from VC’s Travis Lanham, teases both a team up between Groot and the Hulk and a battle between the Guardians of the Galaxy and a horde of zombie Avengers. It sounds like a lot of good, gory fun and we've got an exclusive preview of the issue right here.

The Marvel Zombies brand launched in 2005 with a limited series written, appropriately enough, by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, with art from Sean Phillips. Since then it's been an irregular part of Marvel Comics, with the most recent series being last year's Marvel Zombies: Black, White, & Blood limited series, which featured an impressive roster of creators including Garth Ennis, Gail Simone, Peach Momoko, Rachael Stott, and more. 

The issue's main cover is by series artist Jason Muhr, with variants by Ron Lim, Annie Wu, Sean Galloway, and Nick Bradshaw. You can check out all of those below.

Here's Marvel's official synopsis for the new issue:

"A NEW ZOMBIE VIRUS IS UNLEASHED... AND GROOT IS PATIENT ZERO! Groot feels bad – not only because Rocket's latest scheme put them firmly in the crosshairs of the Avengers, but also he's just plain sick! Sap-dripping nose and all. Things go from bad to apocalyptic, however, after an ill-timed sneeze in Captain America's face has unforeseeable consequences! Suddenly, Groot is being attacked by a horde of zombified Avengers, and only he and Hulk, with his impenetrable green skin, remain impervious. Now it's up to these two heroes to team up and fight their way through a blighted New York City to Banner's lab in Avengers Tower to find a cure before it's too late. But can Groot keep the hero in check and on track, or will Hulk unleash his deadly might on the zombies they once called friends?"

Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #1 is published by Marvel Comics on September 4.


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Will Salmon
Comics Editor

Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.