Posted By John Sears on March 28, 2012

Our exploits over the weekend at Horrorhound Columbus were noticed by the local tentacle of the Mainstream Media, in the form of a reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. We got a pretty nice mention in their Horrorhound article, actually:

At a vendor booth that bore the sign “The Zombie Rights Campaign,” Jenny Rowland of Madison, Wis., said that she and her husband began the “campaign” in 2009 because, “We were very troubled by the depiction of the undead in popular culture — and we like going to conventions.”

It’s true – we are troubled by that depiction. And we do like going to conventions.

Kudos to the Dispatch for reporting on our outreach, and for not putting in something about Zombies eating brains and being ‘monsters’. I think we’re finally making some headway with the press.

Category: ZRC News | No Comments »
Tags: Mainstream Media, Public Appearance

Posted By John Sears on March 28, 2012

Going to a convention for the ZRC isn’t just about outreach, of course – we also use these opportunities to gather vital intelligence on the Anti-Zombie movement, its propaganda and popularity, as well as search for other Zombie Friendly products and potential allies.

We really had a great haul in this regard from Horrorhound Columbus:

Highlights include:

A selection of Zombie Movies to review, including the sure cinematic gem ‘Hillbilly Bob Zombie’.

A signed photograph of Kitty Zombie totally not devouring a little girl, contrary to stereotyping.

Books! The written word! Copies of ‘Z Magazine’, which claims to be the first magazine by Zombies, FOR Zombies (we previously discussed it here) and ‘Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide’, which I’ve heard is a tremendous reference work that shall be very useful in our blogging work here.

Promotional materials from the Save the Evans City Chapel people, Atomic Age Cinema monsters and The Dark Carnival Film Festival, which we have always attended and which always provides a more original, and less stereotyped, Zombie cinematic lineup.

Oh yes, and a Bub beer opener, reminding us of the best character by far in ‘Day of the Dead’

A rather Anti-Zombie miniposter from Essential Graffix, which I’ll formally dissect later.

A piece of original and far Zombie Friendlier art from Essential Graffix and finally, last but not least, our own copy of ‘Brains for the Zombie Soul’ from ZRC Pal Michelle Hartz. The art director is reading it right now, and I’ll soon complete my own formal review.

And I still have more stuff around here somewhere! Conventions really are great for ZRC work, and help keep us busy.

Busy working for Zombie Rights.

Category: Zombie Media, ZRC News | No Comments »
Tags: Academia, Books, Movies, Zombie Products

Posted By John Sears on March 27, 2012

The Zombie Rights Campaign has officially returned from our hugely successful trip to Columbus, Ohio, agitating for Zombie Rights, and we have quite the story to tell you, Zombie Allies of the Internet:

We arrived at the convention center for Horrorhound and found that we had been given a premium spot for outreach, right beside an entrance so that I could waylay passers-by with pamphlets before they even knew what hit them!

It’s ok if you do it for justice and love of Zombies.

(Kitty Zombie and his adoring public in front of the ZRC booth)

We set up our booth and almost immediately ran into Kitty Zombie, who was making the rounds also doing great outreach improving Zombie public image with his friendly antics and banter. We get to spend the weekend with him at Chicago Fear Fest in a few weeks!

And as always, the ZRC booth is a welcoming place and a happening one, as all sorts of colorful characters came by our area of the vending room.

(She was probably looking for her Daddy. Her, you know, Big Daddy.)

(This Horror Host could easily feature in my nightmares. The ones not about Zombie Suffering, I mean.)

Horrorhound had a large number of important guests involved with various Anti-Zombie projects, including Norman Reedus from ‘The Walking Dead’, so the ZRC had produced a pamphlet in advance to educate the con-going public about the negative consequences of these works and provide useful talking points in conversing with celebrities. (Click here to see our ‘Zombie Rights at Horrorhound’ pamphlet)

(Sadly, America is still in love with Anti-Zombie oppression on TV)

Mr. Reedus’ immense popularity at the convention, however, demanded an immediate response, and so the ZRC made a special picket sign and bided its time, waiting until his signature line was at a low ebb to spring both the pamphlet and the sign on the actor now infamous for Anti-Zombie violence across America.

(For shame!)

Overall I think it went pretty well.

(S.T.A.R.S. are really a bunch of bullies.)

Another highlight throughout the convention was our three-day feud with members of a local S.T.A.R.S. outfit, who were baffled and confused by a Zombie Rights group interfering with their Anti-Zombie campaign of terror. We have sworn eternal enmity, or at least rivalry, with these heavily armed miscreants, and may see them at a future convention where they hope to bring reinforcements.

We of course will be armed only with literature and the truth.

It wasn’t all confronting nefarious forces of Anti-Zombie prejudice, of course. As I often said, the ZRC was there for the Zombies, and we were able to offer support to a number of Undead individuals who had come out to the show in force.

(No one was eaten in the taking of this photo)

We were also able to take some time off from the social justice work on Friday evening to catch a special screening of the newest film from ZRC Pal Marv Blauvelt, ‘Antibodies’, which doesn’t involve Anti-Zombie violence of any sort. It was a highly anticipated event:

(RIGHT: ZRC Zombie of the Year 2010 Baron Mardi turns out for ‘Antibodies’)

What can I say about Antibodies? Surprisingly little, since this is a family friendly blog! No Zombies were harmed and it’s chock-full of hilariously egregious, gross, splattery horror. I highly recommend not eating immediately before viewing, like I did. Or planning on dining immediately after.

In fact, just avoid food entirely around ‘Antibodies’. Well done, Mr. Blauvelt.

(Marv after the show doing a Q&A)

Overall it was a very Zombie Friendly convention, and there was even a Zombie Masseuse on hand to work out the kinks if you were tired after a long day of protesting/shopping/film viewing.

The ZRC had our newest shirt on hand, and also sold a variety of merch to benefit The Lurch for the Cure. Columbus con-goers were quite generous in contributing to the Lurch as well, and our donation jar filled up nicely and repeatedly.

The Necronomicon shirt came in especially handy when talking to this individual:

By the end of the convention we had accomplished a great deal, sold a lot of Zombie Friendly merchandise, raised a nice chunk of change for the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation and had a very good time while doing it. We even got to go on the offensive against ‘The Walking Dead’ for a change!

The ZRC thanks you, Columbus, for being a wonderful host city for this latest outreach effort, and we hope to see you again one day.

(You can see more pictures from our trip at the ZRC’s Flickr set for Horrorhound, located here)

Category: ZRC News | No Comments »
Tags: Public Appearance, Social Justice, Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on March 27, 2012

And boy are my arms tired!

Well, no, it’s more my back after another 9 hours of driving, but hey.

Got lots of photos to look through and upload tomorrow, emails to catch up on, Twittering and Facebooking (is that a verb?) as well.

But for tonight? Sleep. Blessed sleep and dreams of a Zombie Friendlier tomorrow.

Category: ZRC News | No Comments »
Tags: Public Appearance, Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on March 21, 2012

Posts and Tweets will be light Wednesday and Thursday as we’re off to Horrorhound for a weekend agitating for Undead Rights!

Once there we will have lots of Twittering and pictures and outreach for you, and a full wrap-up on the blog after the convention as usual.

We’re taking this Zombie Rights thing on the road once more!

Also a reminder: The ZRC will be at Chicago Fear Fest in April checking out the impressive slate of unfortunate Anti-Zombie films from around the world. If you’re in the area we encourage you to come and show solidarity.

Category: ZRC News | No Comments »
Tags: Public Appearance, Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on March 19, 2012

At The Zombie Rights Campaign we believe in creating as broad a coalition, and being as inclusive as possible in our quest for Zombie Rights and, even more expansively, toward Undead Equality.

One of the questions we get asked most at conventions, on Twitter, via website comments or anywhere else is whether we stand for Group X, and whether Group X are, in fact, Zombies.

Some groups, like our eternal nemeses at The Zombie Research Society, attempt to create a narrow, limited categorization of ‘Zombie’, declaring that everyone who happens to fall outside the lines is something else. A demon, perhaps, but not a Zombie.

We here at the ZRC believe differently. Society isn’t nearly so choosy in how it applies unfortunate stereotypes and persecution, and thus, whether or not you fall into one strict set of Zombie guidelines, gun-toting survivalist nerds will call for, and in many tragic cases implement, your oppression regardless.

It’s that kind of world we’re seeking to change.

The ZRC believes that you are, in fact, a Zombie if you 1) have died, or been subjected to a substantially similar experience to death, and been subsequently reanimated in a profoundly transformed manner, be it by biological, chemical, or metaphysical means or 2) You would be feared, hated and/or oppressed by the likes of George Romero, Max Brooks or Bruce Campbell as a Zombie

A few hypothetical examples:

- You die but your body is then reanimated by radiation from a space probe. You are a Zombie, and we’re here to help.
- You die but are then reanimated by a chemical spill from an Army storage facility. You are a Zombie, and we’re here to help.
- You die, and/or your body is put into a death-like state by demonic possession, possibly emanating from an evil book. You are a Zombie (or Zombie-adjacent if you prefer) and we’re here to help.
- You die after hanging around with a pale, well-dressed gentleman and discover yourself reanimated with a thirst for human blood. You are *not* a Zombie, but as a Vampire, we still sympathize with your plight.

See? It’s not so complicated to be tolerant.

In that spirit of greater Zombie solidarity the ZRC has prepared our next t-shirt, emphasizing that, unlike the narrow-minded Living Supremacists at the ZRS, The Zombie Rights Campaign will fight for your rights even if your particular Undeath state was induced by evil forces beyond your control from an ancient book of black magic.

We’re just caring that way. And we *do* care about the many crimes and iniquities of one Necronomicon, the so-called ‘Book of the Dead’, which has been abusing and exploiting the Undead labor supply for centuries now.

Take the (very unpleasant) ‘Evil Dead’ movies, with the aforementioned Bruce Campbell. Sure, his character ‘Ash’ hates the book too, but whom does he take out their disagreements on? The Deadites, that’s who.

Meanwhile the Deadites get summoned into an extremely hostile work environment with no safety considerations to fight a chainsaw-wielding, shotgun-toting lunatic, and even though it’s both nighttime *and* a weekend do you hear word one about overtime pay?

Because we sure didn’t. Other questions abound: is there a travel allowance, either terrestrial (that cabin is pretty remote) or metaphysical (crossing the planes of life and death has got to be costly)? Do the deadites have workplace representation? Can they form a union? Do they get a say in haunting practices? Is there profit-sharing of any sort? Bonuses? Paid vacation?

The ZRC suspects not, and that gets to our fundamental point, and the subject of our new shirt. Don’t blame the Deadites, or any other type of necromantically/metaphysically/demonically animated Undead. Blame the necromancer, black sorcerer or Evil Book of the Dead that creates the hostile work environment in the first place!

To get that point across, we made a shirt:

So the ZRC asks you to keep all that in mind, and please consider the plight of the overworked, underpaid and underappreciated (especially by jerks like the ZRS) Demonic Zombies. They have a hard enough Unlife without the abuses of their predatory, compulsory employer/taskmaster, who I think we can all agree is the real villain here.

And now you can own a shirt to share that message with the world! Printed as usual by Kurt Brunetto on a high-quality, comfortable American Apparel t-shirt, available in sizes from XS all the way to XXXL and on sale first *exclusively* at our Horrorhound booth starting this Friday.

Don’t buy it for me. Buy it for the Demonic Zombies.

Category: Zombie Media, ZRC News | 2 Comments »
Tags: Clothing, Movies, Public Appearance, Zombie Products, Zombie Public Event

Posted By John Sears on March 18, 2012

ZRC pal Michelle Hartz, author of ‘Brains for the Zombie Soul’ (which you’ll be able to buy at Horrorhound in ONE WEEK), sent us a link to this webseries featuring a mortician answering questions about death, and, here, about Zombies:

I have to say, this is a truly unfortunate mishmash of fact and prejudice. Zombies are not *propaganda*, they are *people*. Sure, the alleged threat of Zombies is clearly used to advance certain goals and promote certain fears, everything from selling cars to promoting certain kinds of architecture to the more obvious putting butts in seats for advertisers on ‘The Walking Dead’.

But that does not change the fact that the real victims here are the Zombies! Attacking them for the negative stereotypes the media peddles about them because those stereotypes inflict collateral damage is tragically unfair.

For shame.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: The Internet, Youtube Mischief

Posted By John Sears on March 16, 2012

The Zombie Rights Campaign is particularly proud of the solid working relationships that we have fostered over the years with artists, filmmakers, bloggers, journalists and authors, all in an attempt to promote a more Zombie Friendly and enlightened view of the Undead Community, both here and abroad.

One of the most fruitful of these relationships has been with author and graphic designer Michelle Hartz, who responded to our constructive criticism of the plight of the Undead in her first book, ‘Helpless’, that she offered to consult with us on her next project to ensure that it respected the Zombified Human Condition and helped further the cause of peaceful dialogue and understanding.

We of course were more than pleased to work with her on this, and the resulting work will shortly debut for sale at Horrorhound mere inches from the ZRC’s own booth in the Vendor Hall!

So what is ‘Brains for the Zombie Soul’?

No matter how many brains you consume, it will never satisfy the soul.

The stories in Brains for the Zombie Soul are intended to stir passion into the reader. Here are stories of love, of anger, and of perseverance. Hopefully, they will inspire you to overcome the difficulties you face in everyday life, and
warm your heart, whether or not it still beats.

How could we possibly argue with that? Answer: we didn’t. Astute observers will note in fact that the cover of the book carries a ZRC Seal of Approval, something we have never issued before to a work awaiting publication.

It’s that Unlife-Affirming.

We suggest that you pick up a copy at Horrorhound, or, for those not making the trek, it will be available for sale on Ms. Hartz’ website after the convention (and is available for preorder there now).

Because Zombies need inspirational literature too.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Books, Social Justice, Zombie Fiction, Zombie Products

Posted By John Sears on March 15, 2012

We got passed the trailer for ‘The Dead Mile’ a while ago on Twitter and I’ve been remiss in not mentioning it before now, so here, take a look and be suitably outraged:

What’s going on here? Well, the film’s About page has some clues. Essentially we’re talking about a Zombie Apocalypse movie whose ‘outbreak’, ironically enough*, takes place at a Zombie Walk.

Points for originality, anyway. I’ve heard of Zombie movies SHOOTING at Zombie Walks (for free extras and background video), but actually being set at one is fairly novel. It’s also fairly ‘meta’, as the kids say. We’ve seen Zombie movies set during the filming of a horror movie already (George Romero helped get the ball rolling there with ‘Diary of the Dead’) so I guess the final stage is for a Zombie movie to be set during the filming of a Zombie movie which itself takes place on the set of a Zombie movie.

That should be properly confusing.

Back to the topic, ‘The Dead Mile’ looks to be both very Canadian (just listen to that trailer) and very hard on the Zombie population. And we here at the ZRC are ashamed. Where’s that famed Canadian tolerance and open-mindedness we hear so much about?

It’s a pity that this is the image Canada is now presenting to the Zombies of the world. A real pity.

*Dramatic irony, for you purists out there. The audience will be aware that this time THE ZOMBIES ARE REAL, hijinks ensue I’d wager.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Movies, Youtube Mischief

Posted By John Sears on March 15, 2012

We at The Zombie Rights Campaign have long believed that Zombies should have, and must demand (peacefully of course) a place at the table when it comes to politics. Showing solidarity with their fellow Undead, Zombie Walks for particular causes, meetings with public officials and vote-seekers, all are appropriate methods for the Differently Animated to assert their personhood in a public forum.

Unfortunately, that phenomenon combined with the election year here in the US is leading to some mockery of Zombies and their place in politics:

This year though a new political party is entering the mix. One that has been shuffling along for years and now wants to use bbrraaiinnss to get ahead.

Yes, it’s another shirt demeaning the Differently Animated on sale from a wacky t-shirt website. I know, I know; fighting these creations is like trying to bail out the ocean with a spoon, but the ZRC continues the struggle regardless.

We here at the ZRC have a different image of Zombies interacting with politics, one that involves a meeting, not an eating, of the minds*:

Yes, that’s current Madison Mayor Paul Soglin meeting with the Differently Animated at a political rally last spring here in Madison.

He didn’t get his brains eaten either, Threadless. So think about that when you peddle your Anti-Zombie-Politics shirt. Remember: our clients are Undead, but they turn out and vote.

And that’s what should count, in a democracy.

*I couldn’t resist, plus sometimes you have to beat them at their own game. Even if it involves puns.

Thanks to BuyZombie for this one.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Anti-Zombie Products, Clothing, Madison Protests, Social Justice