This June, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are set to unleash a third entry in the 28 Days Later series titled 28 Years Later , with this film’s summertime release capping off a set of zombie-influenced stories that began over 20 years ago. Changing the undead landscape in a fresh way that bucked the norms of the genre while simultaneously helping to revive it, 28 Days Later’s harrowing story continued in its film sequel, 28 Weeks Later, as well as a pair of comic tales that fans may not know existed.

Technically not a zombie movie in the traditional sense, the 28 Days Later franchise doesn’t see the dead come back to life thanks to some obscure supernatural or demonic means, but instead opts to build its lore around something called the Rage virus — a contagious pathogen that infects people and turns them into crazed fast-moving “zombies.”

Inspired by George A. Romero’s iconic Night of the Living Dead film series, 28 Days Later borrowed from the best in the genre while carving out a spot out all to itself, with 2007’s 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel and 2009’s 28 Days Later comic series bridging the gap between film sequels in a way fans need to know about.

28 Days Later Had Two Separate Comic Book Sequels Set in Between Films

28 Days Later: The Aftermath - 2007 (Steve Niles, Dennis Calero, Nat Jones, and Tim Bradstreet)

Taking place in the days surrounding the initial outbreak until 42 days after, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, written by 30 Days of Night’s Steve Niles, told four interconnected tales that each featured a different set of characters — like a pair of scientists and an innocent family — with the final story bringing the survivors together for a brutal finale that mimicked the bleakness inherent to the 28 Days Later franchise. Continuing the bloody zombie violence from the original film, The Aftermath expanded 28 Days Later lore considerably while showing what the outbreak was like at multiple stages of its development.

Launching two years later, the 24-issue 28 Days Later comic took a more singular approach to its story compared to The Aftermath, and followed 28 Days Later film survivor Selena as she continues to contend with the post-apocalyptic consequences of the Rage virus as well as an enemy who holds ties to one of the first film’s antagonists, Major Henry West. Spinning a tale that saw Selena befriend an American reporter named Clint Harris, the comic ended around the same time as 28 Weeks Later, with Selena and Clint escaping to the United States as the Rage virus overtakes Europe.

The Comic Sequels to 28 Days Later Further Explored a World Ravaged by the Rage Virus

28 Days Later - 2009 (Michael Alan Nelson, Declan Shalvey, and Alejandro Aragon)

What’s cool about these comic-exclusive stories is that not only do they give 28 Days Later fans even more zombie-tinged content to devour, but all are comics of surprisingly good quality as they successfully continued to explore 28 Days Later lore in meaningful ways through the eyes of brand new and returning characters alike, giving unprecedented insight into the Rage virus and how it affected its victims and survivors. Unfortunately for fans, there’s been no new 28 Days Later content since Selena’s comic book story ended, making these tales integral reads in the lead-up to 28 Years Later’s theatrical release.

Though 28 Years Later can be viewed as the culmination of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s groundbreaking 28 Days Later film two decades on, 28 Years Later is only the first entry in a planned 28 Years Later trilogy, with the Nia DaCosta-directed sequel, 28 Days Later: The Bone Temple, already filmed and the third and final movie currently in active development. It’s a great time to be a 28 Days Later fan, and as audiences wait for the much-anticipated release of 28 Years Later, it’s worth checking out what the world of comics has to offer in the meantime!

28 Days Later: The Aftermath and 28 Days Later are available from Fox Atomic Comics and Boom! Studios.