Posted By John Sears on December 26, 2009

The ZRC, barring unforseen events, will have a booth at the upcoming B-Movie Madness film festival, January 16th in chilly Chicago.

We’re really excited to take our message to The People in an official way.

We’re also definitely going to get a booth and make a big official appearance at Horrorhound in Indianapolis in March, but the details on that are still sketchy as their vendor information page isn’t up yet.

I think that may just be a lifeist conspiracy.

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Tags: Public Appearance

Posted By John Sears on December 21, 2009

Just a quick announcement that The Zombie Rights Campaign will be attending the Horror Society’s B-Movie Madness 2 film festival on January 16th in blustery Chicago, Illinois. The festival is prominently showing a ‘zombie’ movie called “Brain Dead”, whose title alone gives a fair indication of the treatment the Undead are likely to receive in said film. The ZRC will be on hand to counter any hateful misinformation with our trademark pro-Zombie, uplifting, inclusive message.

Plus they’re showing ‘Thirsty’, which is a truly hilarious short movie that everyone can enjoy, Zombie and Non-Zombie alike.

Hopefully we’ll see you there!

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Tags: Movies, Public Appearance

Posted By John Sears on December 19, 2009

The Zombie Rights Campaign would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers, living and unliving alike, a happy and festive holiday season. It’s the perfect time of year to warm your room temperature flesh by a roaring fire (not too close now or you’ll combust), sip a hot mug of mulled cider and enjoy some hearty good cheer with friends, family, graveyard-mates, what have you.

If you have the time, perhaps this holiday season you can extend some of your good will and cheer to a Zombie. Zombies are always in need of good friends, in this intolerant time and age of ours, and I’m sure the gesture would be appreciated.

–John J Sears

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Posted By John Sears on December 18, 2009

I thought that went well. We got a lot of new readers and even some feedback on the prospects of the Zombie Rights Movement. As usual, there are some differing approaches to the idea of Zombies in entertainment. I believe that in this regard Zombies are no different than any other oppressed minority in mainstream culture. At first, they will be portrayed negatively in most forms of expression, reflecting popular prejudices, and one has to ponder whether participating in, and interacting with, such forms of expression undermines Zombie rights, or whether in doing so one can increase awareness of Zombie plight even while dealing with these stereotypes.

It’s something to think about. Do you work to improve the system from within, or from outside?

As for the ZRC, we are a rights and advocacy organization, so by definition we work independently, and tend to turn a critical eye toward these older and often stereotypical products. That’s our role. But we will still continue in the future to reach out to those within the system, to see if perhaps we can get a better and more socially just form of entertainment for both the Living and the Differently Animated to enjoy.

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Posted By John Sears on December 9, 2009

The Zombie Rights Campaign has decided to embark upon an ambitious effort to bring knowledge of a more enlightened and peaceful co-existence with our Differently Animated brethren to sites that are currently, shall we say, less than completely positive in their relationship with the Undead community. We’re hoping to open up a positive dialogue, perhaps change a few minds, have a laugh or two, and foster meaningful change in Living-Zombie relations.

First up, we have placed an ad on popular post-apocalyptic webcomic The Zombie Hunters. This is not a comic for the faint of heart amongst our ZRC readership. To be frank, it is full of images of anti-Zombie violence, mayhem, and a severely anti-Zombie perspective that is antithetical to our purposes here at the ZRC.

Still, in a “Nixon-Goes-to-China” spirit, we have placed an advertisement there, and hope to welcome Zombie Hunters readers to the ZRC with open arms. Pull up a virtual chair, post a comment, air a grievance if you like. As always, the ZRC’s doors are open, and we’re ready to strike up a conversation.

About Zombies.

Category: ZRC News | 2 Comments »
Tags: Comics

Posted By John Sears on December 5, 2009

Hooray, another issue of everyone’s favorite mainstream comics Zombie antihero, Zombie Deadpool!

In this exciting installment, Zombie Deadpool, his living counterpart (and thorough nutjob) Deadpool and the ‘very hot’ Dr. Betty make their way to the AIM space station/mothership to collect Deadpool’s paycheck for a job well done retrieving the disembodied head of his zombie counterpart.

Things aren’t that simple, however, with HYDRA following close behind, now seeking both Z-Pool and petty (but satisfying) personal revenge on Deadpool himself.

So does this comic continue the proud Merc with a Mouth tradition of positive Zombie portrayal? Largely, yes. I’ll admit it had me worried when Z-Pool starts asking, somewhat facetiously, for human flesh for a snack instead of pancakes, but he continues to be the charming traveling companion and loopy compatriot of the previous four issues, despite these carnivorous cravings. The ZRC doesn’t take a hardline ‘No Eating People’ stance, after all; we just seek voluntary donations to feed hungry Zombies.

Which reminds me to get cracking on our ‘Zombie Organ Donor’ program. (Feed a hungry Zombie for just ounces a day!)

At any rate, Merc with a Mouth 5 is still a jam-packed ride of cartoonish violence and insanity featuring a largely positive portrayal of the living dead, within the normally Lifeist Marvel Universe, and for that we continue to salute the Merc with a Mouth team. Good job, fellows. We eagerly await the next issue of this landmark series (with some trepidation, as it looks like a Dramatic Sacrifice might be lurking in the wings).

Until next time!

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Tags: Comics, Review

Posted By John Sears on December 1, 2009

So, Marvel Zombies is the Lifeist menace that simply will not die.

Just when the ZRC thought we would have a brief respite from Fred Van Lente et al’s crusade against the Differently Animated, another, rather thick installment in their Lifeist campaign arrived via Heavy Ink. This particular ‘Evil Evolution‘ MZ product is a one-shot crossover between the Marvel Zombies franchise and the Marvel Apes parody universe.

The horror…. the horror.

Marvel Apes, for those who are unaware, is a running Marvel parody line set in an alternate universe full of intelligent apes and monkeys, including superheroic counterparts to all the Earthly Marvel heroes. I guess someone felt it would be natural to cross over this older Marvel satire line with the hotly selling Zombieverse. (According to Wikipedia, Marvel Apes was inspired by Marvel Zombies, so this is getting a bit recursive)

I can’t believe I’m writing this, as a longtime comics fan, but I actually enjoyed the Marvel Apes portions more, if only because the Zombie parts were so offensive and demeaning to our Undead friends and neighbors. Even superheroes joking about flinging poo is more fun than yet another tired screed about the dire threat of zombiism.

Plus there are some decent characters coming from the MA side, whereas the MZ are more of the same, featuring mostly the same cast of dreadful shambling sociopaths from MZ: Dead Days and the original Marvel Zombies piece that ran in Ultimate Fantastic Four.

Since this is a compilation of writers and properties, you have some repeated material, some overlap, one small area of backstory missing that you’d have to get another issue of Marvel Apes to read, and the art varies from section to section. Ironically this is more noticeable with the apes than the human characters; I guess there’s less standardization on non-human life drawing in comics.

Evil Evolution is about what you’d expect from a parody crossover of Marvel Zombies. Lots of gore, lifeist prejudice, plus some hamfisted political sermonizing that didn’t jibe very well at all. Eww.

The ZRC roundly condemns this as yet another of Marvel’s tired exercises in Zombie-bashing, which I know will come as a shock to no one.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Comics, Review

Posted By John Sears on November 28, 2009

Wow. I just read a comic that came from the ZRC’s Heavy Ink queue and sort of slipped under the radar. It’s a Marvel Apes crossover with Marvel Zombies, and…

It’s going to take a bit to digest.

Also, Pet Sematary finally arrived, delayed by the holiday. Expect lots of reviews over the next couple of days, and perhaps a fierce philosophical debate on Demon Possession vs. Zombification.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Comics

Posted By John Sears on November 23, 2009

Oops, I’d completely forgotten to update the blog lately, though there have been plenty of 140 character or less updates on the Official ZRC Twitter.

Let’s see, news… well, I think that I’ve fully recovered from the nightmare inducing Left 4 Dead demo, and so the ZRC is going to dive back in to consuming, critiquing and fighting the unfair treatment of Zombies by our biased media.

Up first is Pet Sematary, which may, or may not, count as a Zombie movie. The book makes it clear that whatever the reanimated subjects of the Sematary *are*, they can be good as well as evil, and at one time, before somehow becoming tainted, the magical graveyard revived people, and presumably pets, as fully functioning non-sociopathic members of society.

So if these are considered to be zombies, or Hollywood Zombies at least, then there were Good Zombies at some point in the past as well, in the Stephen King-o-Verse at least.

Interesting.

We also have another issue of the delightful Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth heading our way. In fact, the post man just came by the building, so it may be awaiting your faithful ZRC President even now.

Perhaps I’ll go check it out.

Until next time, Zombie Rights Enthusiasts!

–JJS

Category: Zombie Media, ZRC News | No Comments »
Tags: Comics, Movies, Videogames

Posted By John Sears on November 16, 2009

My sleep has been fairly lousy the last few days, and I blame that hotbed of anti-Zombie violence, Left 4 Dead 2.

Even I, the President of the Zombie Rights Campaign, who knows full well the untruths peddled by that game and its depiction of the Differently Animated, has been plagued with dreams of ravenous mobs of Hollywood Zombie cannibals.

The weird thing is, even my other dreams are unsettled. Consuming this game is clearly not good for an enlightened, Pro-Zombie individual.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Videogames