Posted By John Sears on July 4, 2012

I really thought we had made some progress with famed comics author Fred Van Lente. I mean, we had a productive dialogue, he gave us some comic books to auction off for charity.

It was all good, right?

Well, sadly, one must stay vigilant for it’s all too easy to fall off the Zombie Friendly wagon, and while we can’t be 100% sure that’s what’s happened here, with a story about a little boy who lives in a ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ universe and wants to go Trick or Treating on Halloween:

“So he asks her, ‘What’s the purpose of us staying alive during the zombie apocalypse if we never get to have any fun? What’s the point of just surviving?’ He then sneaks out on Halloween night and goes Trick or Treating in a Spider-Man costume and events spiral from there. It’s a horrific but sweet little tale.”

Oh, Mr. Van Lente. The term ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ itself is so problematic! Not to mention prejudicial. We advise writers to avoid mention of apocalypses when talking about profound social changes. How about ‘Global Reanimation Block Party’? Or just ‘Mass Reanimation Event’ if you want to be more neutral on the whole thing.

Apocalypse? We beg, as usual, to differ.

I need to review the latest Marvel Zombies titles actually, and shall do so shortly. It’s clear that Marvel remains an enemy to the larger cause of Undead Equality.

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Tags: Comics

Posted By John Sears on July 3, 2012

Naturally, the ‘Zombies’ for these Anti-Zombie events are actors recruited from the Living Community, but there is still valuable behind the scenes detail to be gleaned from this post on The Mary Sue:

It was time to head out onto the course. We had all been assigned Zone 5, which was fortunately outfitted with shade and a little rustic house. We had two stumbling zombies with us. The first wave of runners took us a bit by surprise. We had only grabbed a few flags from them. We quickly got to work on strategy.

Our plan was to have one stumbling zombie by the rustic house, hidden. And the other stumbler to hide behind a big stump. They would jump out to surprise runners and take their flags, and us chasers would do anything we could to get them either near the stumblers or get the flags before they could get out of our area.

This sort of strategizing would seem to work against the ‘Zombies are mindless brain-eaters’ motif of ‘Run for Your Lives’, wouldn’t it? I’m a bit surprised the organizers allowed it, but the ZRC is generally in favor of ‘Zombies’ getting a chance to win.

Then there was this:

We hit the Apocalypse Party following our run. There were a handful of merchant tents, Subaru having the biggest one, and zombie-inspired paraphernalia. There was a band playing on a stage with some of the runners and spectators watching. And a “runners revenge” dunk tank, where you could dunk a zombie. There were campers set up on the far edge of the party. We had problems redeeming our drink tickets, because only one area would allow us to use them. And we had to get them to make an exception because none of us wanted any beer. Overall, the party felt a bit forced, although we were there early and that could be why.

Yes, add Subaru to the list of Anti-Zombie automakers. Sigh. Such a long list lately, too.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Anti-Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on July 2, 2012

The Art Director for the ZRC, loyal readers, is a huge Sims fan. Really huge. Though she’s currently playing Sims 2 as each game lasts her years (and Sims 3 has a really nasty compatibility bug with 64 bit laptops, actually).

The Sims has long had interactions with the Undead, and indeed, the Art Director has Zombie Sims in some of her games. On the whole, Zombies had, up until now, been treated as people, even if some of the implementation seemed a bit less than Equal.

Well, I guess ‘Sims 3′ has gotten on-board with the current Anti-Zombie trend in a big way:

In The Sims 3 Supernatural, players also have the option to learn magical crafts by casting spells and brewing elixirs that will charm or hex their Sims’ lives. These potent concoctions have a wide variety of effects from career-boosting to weight loss and even zombification. The zombification elixir will turn unsuspecting Sims into brain-hungry, shuffling monsters that are driven to wreak havoc on the town. In addition, players have the ability to share their brews with any friends who have The Sims 3.

…

As part of the integration between The Sims and PopCap’s Plants vs. Zombies, those who pre-order The Sims 3 Supernatural will receive a special Limited Edition version**, which features the exclusive Plants vs. Zombies content pack. Players with this limited edition content can ward off attacking zombies in their game with the famous Pea Shooter from Plants vs. Zombies and dress their Sims with classic zombie-themed attire for the ultimate creepy-chic look.

I’ll have to have the Art Director give some input here, maybe provide some screenshots of Zombie Sims she’s created going about their peaceable Unlives, but as you can see, The Sims as a series just took a MAJOR step backward on Undead Equality issues. We’re very disappointed.

Thanks to BuyZombie for the heads up here.

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Tags: Videogames

Posted By John Sears on June 28, 2012

Really I shouldn’t even be responding to this piece, since it’s not about Zombies at all except for a throwaway insult, but darn it, I felt insulted!

While believing in fairy tale stories like mermaids and zombies can be fun, something even more exciting from stories that we love is becoming a reality. Robots.

Really it’s just a short piece on three new robotics technologies and their promising future applications. Harmless. So why toss in a jab at the Undead, as if they were a fad and not a group of people?

To get clicks and links I suppose. Darn, it worked here. I feel used as well now.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Journamalism, Zombie Flavored Creativity Substitute

Posted By John Sears on June 28, 2012

Apparently Capcom is still on the Quest for More Anti-Zombie Money, porting and slightly updating old ‘Resident Evil’ titles for newer consoles:

CAPCOM unveiled “The Chronicle of a Biohazard,” a weekly look back at the history of the Resident Evil (Biohazard) game franchise before the June 28 release of the Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection anthology in Japan.

I’ve actually played one of the games that makes up Chronciles HD on the Wii ages ago, and it has some interesting story content about Wesker, a.. somewhat Differently Animated individual/antihero. Honestly, he comes off, at least in the first Wii game that makes up this new compilation, as more appealing than most of the supposed heroes/gun-toting Zombie haters.

Food for thought. Given that so much of the games are obviously already in English I bet we see this compilation in the West eventually.

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Tags: Videogames

Posted By John Sears on June 26, 2012

We recently reported on a Zombie Rights march at Comic-Con, but sadly, there are some arguably less Zombie Friendly events occurring as well, even tied in with the March:

FEARnet, the leading cable destination for horror, thriller and suspense content, will team with Capcom® and its upcoming Resident Evil® 6 video game and MPI’s Dark Sky Films to celebrate the horror genre at Comic-Con this year, hosting “Con-of-the-Dead,” an evening party saluting both fans and industry insiders, alike. This invitation-only party will fittingly take place Friday, July 13, at San Diego’s gothic-inspired Voyeur nightclub from 6 to 8:30 PM PT.

“Con-of-the-Dead” guests will experience an interactive event complete with playable demo stations featuring Resident Evil 6, a VIP suite decked out by Dark Sky Films, music spun by LA’s DJ Amanda Jones, go-go ghoul dancers, customized refreshments and ‘zombie-fied’ photo booth.

I can’t say we approve of a lot of that. ‘Resident Evil 6′? As if Zombie patrons of the convention won’t see enough Undead bashing.

And I’d wager the ‘zombie-fied’ photo booth is fairly exploitative.

Still, there is some attempt at outreach being made:

FEARnet will team up with the 6th Annual Zombie Walk: San Diego, where 300 participating zombies will win admittance to FEARnet’s “Con-of-the-Dead” party taking place that same evening. The lucky undead winners will be able to enter the event after completing the walk in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp District.

If nothing else, it’s a chance for dialogue.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Advertising, Anti-Zombie Public Event, Social Justice, Videogames, Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on June 26, 2012

We’re delighted to hear about, and promote, a Zombie Rights march at Comic Con, to show the Robert Kirkmans and Max Brookses of the world what the Undead of the world really want: their civil rights.

Are you ready to #ZOMBIFYSDCC?! We are! Zombies have been exploited in entertainment and media for too long! The undead deserve equal rights and should be treated as fairly as the living actors who portray us in pictures, television shows, movies, and sporting events! We want the right to marry the living as well as the dead. We want access to acceptable memorials should we be offed by rogue zombie hunters; cremating our bodies and/or leaving us by the side of the road isn’t going to cut it anymore. Most importantly, we want a respectable supply of food.

Shunned, starving, and unloved zombies are the past. We, the undead, are the future and we MUST march to secure our rights! While the living occupy for their voices to be heard… we must zombify and it begins during Comic-Con 2012 with America’s Finest Undead at the MARCH FOR UNDEAD RIGHTS!

Zombie Rights marches are a great thing, and we’re happy to support them. The recent March in Chicago went off brilliantly, as you might recall:

We hope that this attempt to Zombify Comic-Con works out just as well.

Do it for the Zombies.

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Tags: Comics, Social Justice, Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on June 25, 2012

Really? Really:

Hyundai is looking toward the future.
Unfortunately it’s a bleak future, where humanity is on the verge of extinction brought upon by the Zombie Apocalypse, but, hey, you’ve got to plan for everything, right?
The automaker has teamed up with the creator of the “The Walking Dead” comic book series, Robert Kirkman, to create a Zombie Survival Machine based on its new Elantra Coupe, which will be unveiled at San Diego Comic Con on July 11th.

Basically you’re looking at a low-rent Batmobile targeted to the gun-nut Survivalist market. That’s not what’s so interesting here to the ZRC, but rather, the varying approaches the major automakers are taking toward the Zombie demographic.

Hyundai, obviously, is Anti-Zombie.
Honda, on the other hand, is Zombie Friendly.
And Ford is just plain mean to the Undead.

So we’re 1 for 3, which is obviously a record to be improved upon. Still, Zombie car shoppers and their Living Allies can avoid Hyundai and Ford for the time being. It just seems like the right thing to do.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Advertising, Anti-Zombie Products, Robert Kirkman

Posted By John Sears on June 23, 2012

Truly a bizarre story out of Illinois, especially considering that it’s home to the Zombie Friendly city of Chicago (where we recently marched for Zombie Rights, for instance):

Still they are HILARIOUS that my home state of Illinois put ZOMBIES IN THEIR COMMERCIALS! So much of awesomeness here. The Illinois Department of Transportation really has hit a home run here for creating something so perfect to be entertaining while making sure people remember to buckle up.

I’m just going to assume the all-caps parts indicate sarcasm there, BuyZombie bigwig Stuart Conover. So we can stay friendly.

It’s true though, Illinois appears to be trying to use the Undead as a threat, to get its citizens to.. buckle their seatbelts.

Although from the video, even assuming one was afraid of Zombies (can’t imagine why), better advice might be to *lock the doors of your car*. Good grief! Next time it might be a serial killer with a hook for a hand, like in those scary stories kids tell each other.

There are at least three variations on the commercial, one with a white guy in English, and another with a Hispanicy guy in Spanish. Which makes sense, I guess, language barriers being what they are…

But the third commercial is identical to the English White Guy version, except with a black actor:

So.. does Illinois assume that white and black people will only take the buckle-up message seriously if they see someone of their own skin-tone getting attacked by the Undead? That’s depressing in its own right, separate from the Undead Inequality aspect.

The Zombie Rights Campaign, of course, maintains that public safety and Zombie bashing don’t have to, nor should they, mix.

For shame, Illinois. Think of your Zombie citizens next time! Citizens like these:

They deserve better.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Advertising, Social Justice, Youtube Mischief

Posted By John Sears on June 22, 2012

I’m not exactly big into Tarot, though the art director used to play around with it. As far as card-games go, I always tended less toward quasi-mysticism and more toward Magic the Gathering (at least until it went full Living Supremacist of late).

Still, this Anti-Zombie looking Tarot deck is unfortunate for all lovers of card tricks, fortune-telling or the Undead:

Such is the case with the visually graphic, spiritually stimulating Zombie Tarot deck, meant to provide “insight and ammunition for surviving the uprising of the undead.” And its release is perfect timing, seeing as how some poor shmuck just got his face eaten off.

…

Carl Jung was one of the first heavy thinkers to attach psychoanalytical importance to the symbolism in tarot, and if the first card in Zombie Tarot (The Fool) is any indication, we’re all fucked from birth: As a good-looking man in 1950s attire walks through a graveyard, hands reach out for the goods he’s bringing, presumably for dearly departed loved ones. The Fool represents the beginning of endless possibilities, and mostly dead ones. The instruction handbook warns, “Our hero begins his journey with a spring in his step, unaware of the zombie claws reaching for his feet.”

It goes on like that quite a bit, and the article linked has many large pictures of the gruesome, heavily stereotyped artwork. Zombies gnawing on severed limbs, clambering onto boats from the water, causing mayhem aplenty.

All very sad. Tarot’s value as a predictive aid is certainly dubious, but this card set does tell us one thing: the future for the Zombie Rights Movement has a lot of work in store, and a seemingly endless array of products trying to cash-in on bashing the Undead.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Anti-Zombie Products