— Danny Allain doesn’t know what he would do if he couldn’t draw for a living. But he does not necessarily want to draw the living.

In his first published comic book, “Dead Reckoning,” Allain shows how he can draw the living and the dead and create a story out of it.

Allain and Paul Soileau, publisher and friend, sat inside All Star Comics in Nederland Saturday afternoon to sign copies of the comic book as the rain pelted the ground outside. Allain garnered the interest of several patrons at the mere mention of the word “zombie.”

“Dead Reckoning” follows the tale of two brothers on a quest for a cure for their sick sister’s disease. The young men cross paths with a tribe of zombies during their journey to the fictional town of Splitwater and must figure out how to fight their not-quite-alive nemeses or simply outrun them.

The twist? These zombies are fast, and the comic book is set in the Old West.

“I want to appeal to people who watch ‘The Walking Dead,’” Soileau said, referencing the AMC television show about a group of survivors who struggle to find their place in a world infested with the blood-hungry undead.

Bosh Davis, 20, was one of those people who picked up a copy of “Dead Reckoning” Saturday afternoon. He said he was always interested in anything “really out there and strange, something that could never happen.”

Allain, 30, derives inspiration from the people he meets, drawing the faces of people he knows rather than conjuring up images of strangers. Fans who like the “Dead Reckoning” Facebook page have the chance to be featured in Allain’s upcoming editions, but the plot is pure imagination, he said.

“If I looked in the book and saw myself as a zombie, that would be awesome,” Davis said. He had never imagined himself as a zombie before.

Scott Bohler, owner of All Star Comics, said Allain interacted really well with everyone who came into the store Saturday, joking around and talking about his new comic book with them.

It’s important to be personable when introducing a new book to the comic book community, he said, because a lot of beginners go to conventions and just sit there.

“He seems like he has a lot of inspiration,” Davis said. “I couldn’t sit down and draw an entire comic book.”

For Allain, his inspiration comes from his imagination. He has always drawn in his spare time, he said, and has at least eight different stories he could churn out into a book right now. He has done other comic books, too, but they are just sitting somewhere in his closet, gathering dust.

“Dead Reckoning” was the first book he published because he had the financial support from Soileau to do it. It took about a month to compile the comic book since Allain already had the story board together, and there would be four total issues with one debuting every two months.

Allain combined the Western theme with zombies in “Dead Reckoning” because he enjoys the character-driven plots of Western movies, he said.

“It’s character-driven. It’s not really horror. It’s more action than horror,” Allain said. “I can’t stand horror movies or anything like that. It just freaks me out, except for zombies. Because I watch zombie movies and I think not ‘Oh, this is scary.’ I’m thinking “Oh OK, this is like a PSA.’ You can learn tips and what not to do.”

The two friends came to an agreement to publish the comic book while camping and having a few beers with some friends in the backwoods of Louisiana, where they both hail from, Soileau said.

“I always liked comic books as a kid, and I always wanted to be a part of one,” he said. “But I’m not an artist. This is my chance to be involved.”

He told Allain he didn’t have the money to publish a comic book but could scrounge some together if they wanted to try it, Soileau said. He was an accountant for five years before he grew weary of working behind a desk.

This was Allain and Soileau’s second appearance at a comic book store. The first signing was at a store in Lake Charles, La., but they also attended BayouCon this past month. They have three more events planned next month, Allain said.

“We’re going full steam with this until we’re out of steam,” he said.

Allain teaches art at an elementary school in Louisiana, filling up his free time by filling blank pages with sketches.

“After eight hours of drawing circles and squares and teaching them their shapes and colors, I get to go home and do something that actually challenges me,” he said.

Both Allain and Soileau graduated from McNeese State University. Allain has a drawing and art education degree while Soileau majored in accounting. Soileau works for the American Press in Lake Charles in print shop sales.

“I just love drawing,” Allain said.

bcrum@panews.com