Imagine living in the 1920s—and yet Prohibition, class struggles and equality issues are the least of your worries. That’s the world Alaya Johnson (pictured) brings to life in her debut novel, MOONSHINE, coming May 11 from St. Martin’s Griffin.

The concept of combining superheroes and zombies is not a new one, although it’s usually presented in a “what if…” scenario, painting an alternate world in which the heroes themselves wander the streets in search of the mother lode of brain buffets. Author Peter Clines’ EX-HEROES (Permuted Press) turns the hero/undead mashup on its ear, with mixed results.

Getting into the worlds of M. Amanuensis Sharkchild’s THE DARK VERSE VOLUME 1: FROM THE PASSAGES OF REVENANTS is difficult. The language is ornate, antiquated and can occasionally leave the reader scratching a head in wonder. His word choices tend toward the obscure, and the book is best read with a dictionary within easy reach.

When watching films such as BLADE RUNNER or DARK CITY, it becomes quite clear that, while there are some great suspense-noir flicks out there, and there are some great science-fiction features, a hybrid of the two genres (be it tech-noir, future noir or cyberpunk) is nigh unbeatable. HEAVY METAL, “the world’s foremost adult illustrated fantasy magazine” has always been well aware of this.

“The first time I ever held a pancreas in my hands, I got an erection.” That’s the darkly humorous and attention-grabbing first line of Eric Garcia’s REPO MEN, which first saw publication as THE REPOSSESSION MAMBO last March and has now been rereleased by Harper as the retitled REPO MEN, to coincide with the film adaptation hitting theaters March 19 from Universal Pictures.

For all those who think zombie literature began with the great Max (WORLD WAR Z) Brooks, think again.