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‘Game of Thrones’ as an Epic Zombie Fantasy

sheribomb — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:45:08 +0000

HBO’s Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy based on George R. R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire books. After watching and loving the first few episodes of the TV series, I started reading the books. I only needed to read the prologue of the first book to make an awesome realization: This is a story about zombies.

Now, it’s not just about zombies. It’s also about war and dragons and sorcery and people. But I found the zombie part really compelling. In the prologue of the first book, A Game of Thrones, we are introduced to a creepy race of beings called the Others, which the characters speak of but don’t believe to exist. Then they meet one. It is gaunt and pale, with eyes that are blue and glowing. That is all well and creepy, but then we get to the part that caught my attention: After the Others kill a man, he comes back to life as one of them, also pale, gaunt, and with glowing blue eyes. Could the Others be zombies?

Game of Thrones - The Others

In truth, they’re not the typical zombie. It seems that these ones are capable of sword-fighting and talking, it’s unclear whether they eat brains, and of course there are the demonic blue eyes. But they’re definitely the living dead – and I expect that they’ll be coming in hordes.

The first season of Game of Thrones is a pretty faithful adaptation of the first book, and I’ve only just begun to read the second. So, if you haven’t seen the series, some of what I’m about to say might be spoilers, but not much. I’ll mostly be talking about the world Martin created, not the actual plot. You’ve been warned.

Game of Thrones - The Wall

In this world, there is a wall cutting off the northern part of the continent, which is so ancient that no one knows quite who built it, or how or why. It’s almost 700 feet high and is simply called the Wall. The Others are a legend south of the Wall, spoken of mostly in jokes and children’s stories. But north of the Wall, we’ve seen that they’re real.

So, this situation seems rife for an epic zombie battle: We have an ancient wall that was likely built to keep the Others from infecting those in the south of the continent. We have the unexpected emergence of the Others in the north, though they are generally believed to be creatures of fairy tales. And we have them creating new Others – a swarm that must travel south to feed. I can’t wait to see what happens. I’m expecting some zombie mayhem.

Game of Thrones is a great series, regardless – but I’m happy to find a little living-dead action in there. Because everything is better with zombies, right?

Zombie Protesters Seek Brains in Wisconsin

sheribomb — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:54:56 +0000

Last weekend, Wisconsin protesters organized a zombie walk to bring attention to an important cause: The lack of brains in the Tea Party-led state legislature. Dozens of hungry zombies stumbled around Madison, Wisconsin — no Tea Party brains could be found.

This video of the zombie walk is pretty epic — watch till the end for some killer zombie action.

via Dangerous Minds

Scarlett Johansson: Zombie & Zombie Killer

sheribomb — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:51:37 +0000

The bad news is that Natalie Portman recently backed out of the leading role in the upcoming film based on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The good news is Scarlett Johansson is now rumored to be considering the role. We’re expecting her performace to be some combination between her roles in The Other Boleyn Girl and Iron Man 2 — holy hot zombie-killing action!

In addition to killing zombies in P&P&Z, Johansson might soon be playing a zombie on screen. The actress is also rumored to be attached to the film adaptation of Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament. In the film, Johansson would presumably play Rita, the main character’s zombie love interest and attendee of Undead Anonymous. Killer!

To celebrate these awesome occurrences, we share with you this video of Scarlett being photoshopped into a zombie:

Threadless Takes Zombie Shirts to a New Level

sheribomb — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:41:56 +0000

We’ve told you before about the fantastic zombie shirts at Threadless. We’re thrilled to tell you that they have now reached a new level of awesome.

In the first volume of their new Comics-On Tees line, four shirts tell the story of a dreamy zombie apocalypse. Each shirt is its own “issue” designed by a different artist. Although there are four issues in the volume, only three of them actually depict zombies — the first one is just really cute.

Threadless released these shirts in conjunction with a new design challenge — submit your own comics-themed shirt designs by August 12. More zombies please!

P&P&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls – An Ultimately Ripping Read

sheribomb — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:20:43 +0000

I should have posted a review of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls months ago. It was a wholly enjoyable book and I started reading it when it was released in March. For the delay, I cite personal reasons, although I think most Pride and Prejudice fans would agree. The problem: There is no Mr. Darcy.

Of course there isn’t. This is a prequel set before the characters are introduced to Mr. Favorite Literary Crush. But when I figured out he wasn’t in this book, I put it down and cried for a few months. Then took a deep breath, brought the book to the beach and loved it.

Of course I loved it. It’s funny zombie fiction. And it’s set in Regency England, where zombies aren’t just deadly, they’re an insult to good manners. The tight-lipped repulsion just leaps off the page.

Although it carries the same branding, P&P&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a very different sort of book from P&P&Z. Rather than a literary mash-up of Seth Grahame-Smith‘s zombies and Jane Austen‘s prose, the book is original fiction by Steve Hockensmith. I had never read his other books and, although it appears that he’s a newcomer to zombie-fic, his humorous historical fiction has received much praise. Hockensmith’s writing is accessible and engaging, bringing a lightness to the P&P&Z franchise that should make it attractive to those turned off by Jane Austen’s profuse punctuation and pontification.

Dawn of the Dreadfuls begins at a funeral, when the body rudely awakens and reminds Hertfordshire of the dormant zombie plague it ought not to mention. As the undead continue to stumble from their graves, Mr. Bennet is forced to train his five daughters to be ninja warriors like himself — with the help of the handsome, strapping Master Hawksworth. Despite the dearth of Mr. Darcy, Hockensmith creates plenty of male characters to match up with Austen’s swarm of females, each of them flawed in ways that thankfully allow the ladies to kick lots of zombie butt.

Unlike in P&P&Z, the zombies are not an after-thought — or perhaps a never-thought on the part of co-author Austen (a point that I suppose is debatable). The zombies in Dawn of the Dreadfuls are plentiful and, as in most zombie books, the horde size increases with the page number. The black and white engravings also help to bump up the zombie-quotient, although I would rate the gore in this book as slightly less than in P&P&Z.

Overall, P&P&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fresh, fun zombie book: a historical rom-zom-com with ninjas too. I give it 4.5 brains out of 5.

Killer Undead Pirate Costume

xiann — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:46:47 +0000

BoingBoing posted this photo from the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show yesterday. Prepare to be boarded!

UPDATE: This zombie pirate has been identified as Mic the Scallywag from Northern California. He does all his own makeup, costume design and distressing, prop building, and custom leatherwork.

Zombie Pig Pen Wants Your Brainsss

sheribomb — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:05:01 +0000

Here at Zombie Slash, we have an awesome blogging team. One of our bloggers, xiann, is also the brainsss behind Sticky Comics, a hilarious, often ridiculously so, webcomic. Her most recent comic: Zombie Pig Pen. We are in zombie love.

P&P&Z Peep Diorama

sheribomb — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:04:44 +0000

Every year The Washington Post‘s style section hosts a diorama competition. The primary rule: All characters must be Peeps. Pop culture and puns are strongly encouraged.

One of the semifinalists this year: “Peeps and Prejudice and Zombies” (no. 18) — awesome!

No zombies were found in this year’s winner. However, I might be willing to consider the main character in semifinalist “A Peep into Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab: Master It Lives!” (no. 27) undead.

P&P&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls Book Trailer & Author Interview

sheribomb — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:22:04 +0000

The book trailer for the P&P&Z prequel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls came out recently and it’s all kinds of awesome. I personally hadn’t decided whether or not to check out the book — this just might just have won me over.

EW.com has a great interview with Dawn of the Dreadfuls author Steve Hockensmith, who discusses the mixed critical reaction to the first Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith):

You see the lovahs and you see the hatahs. And yeah, there were definitely some haters out there, and I’m sure they’re still there. It’s something that I can totally understand, it’s not something I look askance at, at all. Somebody having a cynical reaction when they find out that something that really means a lot to them, their beloved ex, is about to be lovingly satirized. I can understand how people can be a little defensive about things that they feel are near and dear to their hearts, but I would say, having thrown all that out there, that I think a lot of those people were actually won over when they read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Not all of them. I would hope, actually, that some of the folks that weren’t won over, would actually respond better to my book, because it isn’t a mash-up. [From EW.com]

Hockensmith makes an excellent point: Most of the hatas were not fans of Jane Austen, and therefore hated the prose. Or, they were huge Austen fans, and hated zombies. If someone isn’t open to both aspects of the mash-up, it’s lost. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a new thing entirely: Historical zombie fiction. Oh yes.

Zombie Head, shot and mounted in 1969

xiann — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:45:15 +0000

It’s time to get that zombie hunting trophy you’ve long deserved. Here’s a one of a kind piece for your own private freak show, shot and mounted in 1969 by Kevin Klemm and for sale at Hyaena Gallery.

(via Kevin Klemm on twitter)