The year is 2005. At this time, The Walking Dead has not yet been adapted into a television series, but Rick Grimes and his group are in the early stages of surviving the Zombie Apocalypse in Image Comics. Undead beings were ready to infect the Marvel Universe, or at least one of its Earths. When Ultimate Reed Richards travels to another universe, he discovers a world in ruins, devastated by zombies—the Zombieverse!
Created by Mark Millar, Greg Land, and Robert Kirkman, the Zombieverse quickly expanded with a limited series, followed by a prequel and additional sequels. Since then, zombies have continued to ravage different worlds within the Marvel Universe, making regular appearances. They are set to invade Disney+ with the upcoming Marvel Zombies animated television miniseries, created by Zeb Wells and scheduled for release in October 2025.
Discover now the zombified versions of your favorite Marvel heroes and villains with our Marvel Zombie Reading Order, from the first appearance of the Zombieverse to various limited series and more recent Marvel zombie comics!
Other Part of the Marvel Multiverse…
Marvel Zomnibus
Collect Marvel Zombies in Omnibus! The first Zomnibus reprints all the stories set in the original Zombieverse, while the second collects stories published under the Marvel Zombies banner but mostly set in different Earths.
- The Marvel Zomnibus
Collects Marvel Zombies: Dead Days #1; Ultimate Fantastic Four #21-23 & 30-32; Black Panther #28-30; Marvel Zombies #1-5; Marvel Apes: Prime Eight #1; Marvel Zombies 2 #1-5; Marvel Zombies 3 #1-4; Marvel Zombies 4 #1-4; Marvel Zombies Return #1-5; Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution #1; Marvel Zombies 5 #1-5; & Marvel Zombies Supreme #1–5. - Marvel Zomnibus Returns
Collects Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #1-13, Zombies Christmas Carol #1-5, Marvel Zombies Destroy! #1-5, Marvel Zombies Halloween #1, Marvel Zombies (2015) #1-4, Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies #1-4, Marvel Zombie #1, Marvel Zombies: Resurrection (2019) #1 And Marvel Zombies: Resurrection (2020) #1-4.
Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection
Rediscover the Marvel Zombies universe in the Complete Collection line, large, full-color trade paperback collections typically containing 300–500 pages of stories.
- Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection Volume 1
Collects Ultimate Fantastic Four #21–23, 30–32; Marvel Zombies #1–5; Marvel Zombies: Dead Days; Black Panther (vol. 4) #28–30 - Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection Volume 2
Collects Marvel Zombies 2 #1-5; Marvel Zombies 3 #1–4; Marvel Zombies 4 #1–4; Marvel Zombies Return #1–5 - Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection Volume 3
Collects Marvel Apes: Prime Eight #1; Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution; Marvel Zombies 5 #1–5; Marvel Zombies Supreme #1–5; Marvel Zombies Destroy #1–5; Marvel Zombies Halloween #1
Marvel Zombies Comics: The Complete Reading Order
The Original Zombiverse
- Marvel Zombies: Dead Days #1
Collected in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days. - Marvel Zombies Vs. The Army of Darkness (Optional)
Collects Marvel Zombies/Army of Darkness #1-5.- The story The Death of Ash (Army of Darkness #12-13) can serve as a prequel/introduction to the crossover.
- This is an intercompany crossover with Evil Dead set in the early days of the outbreak. Technically non-canonical and never referenced.
Optional. Marvel Zombies meets Marvel Apes! Published in 2009, this crossover between Marvel Zombies and the Monkeyverse is set during the early days of the Outbreak.
- Marvel Apes: The Evolution Starts Here
Collects Marvel Apes Specials: Speedball, Amazing Spider-Monkey, Grunt Line and Prime Eight #1-3 - Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution
- Reprinted in Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection Vol. 3 and Marvel Zomnibus.
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #21-23
Collected in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days. Reprinted in Marvel Tales: The Original Marvel Zombies #1- Part of the Ultimate Universe. This is where the Zombieverse first appeared.
- Marvel Zombies
Collects Marvel Zombies (2005 series) #1-5.- The First Marvel Zombies miniseries from Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips.
- Ultimate Fantastic 4 #30-32
Collected in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days - Black Panther (2005) #27-30
Collected in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days.- This is the first crossover between Marvel Zombies and Marvel’s main universe.
Writer Fred Van Lente, with artist Kev Walker and Jose Angel Cano Lopez, expands the Marvel Zombies Universe with stories set on Earth-616 and other realities. While those are mostly taking place between Marvel Zombies 1 and 2, you can read them later if you want.
- Marvel Zombies 3
Collects Marvel Zombies 3 #1-4- From Fred Van Lente and Kev Walker, the Zombies invade Earth-616
- Marvel Zombies 4
Collects Marvel Zombies 4 #1-4- The Zombies Saga continues here, set after the events of Marvel Zombies 3 from the same creative team.
- Marvel Zombies 5
Collects Marvel Zombies 5 #1-5- The It is the Life” story from Amazing Spider-Man #622 can serve as a prequel to Marvel Zombies #5.
Optional. Follow the adventures of Zombie Deadpool’s head! Discover what happens to the devious-but-lovable Headpool (a.k.a. the Zombie Deadpool Head) after the events of Marvel Zombies 4.
- Deadpool Classic Volume 11: Merc With A Mouth
Includes Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #1-13 in which Zombie Deadpool’s head firs resurfaced. - Prelude to Deadpool Corps (direct follow-up to Merc With A Mouth)
Collects Prelude to Deadpool Corps #1-5 - Deadpool Corps, vol.1: Pool-Pocalypse Now
Collects Deadpool Corps #1-6 - Deadpool Corps, vol.2: You Say You Want a Revolution
Collects Deadpool Corps #7-12 - Deadpool Kills Deadpool #1
Collected in Deadpool Kills Deadpool
- Marvel Zombies 2
Collects Marvel Zombies 2 #1-5- Follow-up to the original Marvel Zombie by the same creative team, set 40 years later.
- Marvel Zombies Return
Collects Marvel Zombies Return #1-5.- Set directly after Marvel Zombies 2 from several writers that also serve as a conclusion for the original Zombieverse (and storyline).
More Marvel Zombies Comics!
After the events of Marvel Zombies Returns, most titles under the Marvel Zombies banner generally tell a new Zombie plague set in a new universe.
- Marvel Zombies Supreme
Collects Zombies Supreme #1-5. From Frank Marrafino and Fernando Blanco - Marvel Zombies Destroy
Collects Marvel Zombies Destroy #1-5
During the Secret Wars multiverse crossover from 2015 (see Reading Order), Marvel delivered some Zombie stories. The first one follows Elsa Bloodstone, who must keep the zombie hordes from rampaging through Battleworld. The second one is a confrontation between zombies and Ultron’s robots.
- Marvel Zombies (2015 series) (Battleworld)
Collects Marvel Zombies (2015 series) #1-4 - Age of Ultron vs Marvel Zombies
Collects Age of Ultron vs Marvel Zombies #1-4
We enter a new phase of Marvel Zombies, as the universe is rebooted! The first one happened in 2018, but the series gets another reboot soon after that, in October 2019.
- Marvel Zombie (2018 one-shot)
Collected in Marvel Zomnibus Returns - Marvel Zombies: Resurrection
Collects Marvel Zombies: Resurrection one-shot and Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1-4. It concludes with a cliffhanger and has no resolution at this date.
- Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood
Collects Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #1-4. An Anthology of 12 short stories with no explicit links to the previous timelines. - Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay
Collects Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #1-4. This is an all-age stand-alone book with a new Zombie Apocalypse with Groot as patient zero.
Coming soon… Marvel Zombies: Red Band.
More Zombies in the Marvel Universe!
Zombies have popped up on other occasions within the Marvel Universe, including a zombie retelling of A Christmas Carol, an Exiles story, Marvel manga, and more!
- Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham #1
Collected in Spider-Man: Animal Magnetism. A parody of Civil War and the Ultimate Universe with Spider-Ham becoming a Zombie. - Exiles #85-86
Collected in Exiles Ultimate Collection – Book 5. A two-issue story arc filled with many Wolvies, including a zombie one, but not one from Earth-2149. It’s actually a Wolvie from an alternate version of the Zombieverse. - Zombies Christmas Carol
Collects Zombies Christmas Carol #1-5. Marvel revisits this Charles Dickens classic with zombies. - Marvel Zombies Halloween
A One-shot Halloween taking place in a zombie-devastated world. It is not really specified on which zombie Earth the events take place, so I put it here even if Marvel puts it in the Zombieverse! - Night of the Living Deadpool and Return of the Living Deadpool
Deadpool meets other Zombies in those alternate tales written by Cullen Bunn, collected in Deadpool Classic Vol. 17: Headcanon. - Zombie Assemble Vol.1 and Vol. 2 — a Zombie manga by Yusaku Komiyama.
If you want to read more superhero stories with zombies, go check out the DC version of the Zombie Apocalypse, DCeased!
Note: An earlier version of this guide appeared on our site in 2021. It has been updated with the latest releases and new pictures.