The Summer of the Zombies

So if you've glanced at your Google news alerts lately, it looks like there's an upcoming zombie apocalypse this summer (and I assume everyone has "zombie apocalypse" as a saved topic for their Google news alerts).  If you haven't, here's a quick run down: Three separate incidences of people eating people, some creepy rash breaking out in Floridian schools, the bug that killed Charles Darwin is hunting around the Americas, and some dude flipping out and throwing his intestines at police officers.

And this is all happened in about two weeks.  If this isn't the first signs of the cannibalistic undead rising up to eat our flesh, I don't really know what is.  Lucky for you, the internet exists and is ready to prepare your sorry ass (playing Left 4 Dead does not mean you're ready to mow down zombies) in case this does pan out to be the real thing.  Here's my quick list of sites you should read prior to the upcoming apocalypse.  If it does happen, you'll find me barracked in the nearest liquor store with my pug and all the boxes of Girl Scout Samosas I could find.

CDC Official Zombie Guide: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has actually sat down and figured out what you need to do in case of a zombie attack. 

Zurvived: A podcast and website dedicated to teaching you what to do and how to survive a zombie attack. 

The Crovel: A weaponized shovel actually endorsed to kill the undead. 

Instructables: Besides showing you how to put an LED in nearly everything, Instructables also has a handy lesson in how to build a zombie survival kit. 

Zombie Squad: They host Zombie Con.  They also teach you how to kill zombies.

Thanks!

Until this clock hits midnight, it's still Thanksgiving weekend here, so feel free to help yourself to another slice of pie and some mashed potatoes (just use them as whipped cream!). If you're not still gorging yourself, I assume you are one of the unlucky ones, like me, who was not offered to take home any leftovers when visiting relatives (bitches...). So, whether you're making yourself a Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich or sadly ordering from the Chinese joint, I believe we can all enjoy this awesome zombie Normal Rockwell Thanksgiving.

Yum! Eyeball ham and candied liver!

Zombies are people (but mostly just rotten flesh), too.

Since it's Zombie Awareness Month, I thought I'd crack open some zombie reading for a change. First up is Breathers: A Zombie's Lament. As noted by the author, this novel relies on Mary Roach's amazing and hilarious book Stiff. Several passages about human decay feel like they were lifted straight from her book. While in some books the addition of facts aid in the storyline, and become part of the story (See basically any Chuck Palahniuk's books), these grisly facts, while enjoyable for those of us who like to hear what de-gloving is, seem out of place. The main character gives no reasoning behind why he knows them, and the facts themselves contradict the actions in the story (erections cannot happen unless blood is pumping. Without a working heart, there is no blood being pumped). It was a kind of lackluster story, and I feel that without the zombie craze behind it, this wouldn't have gotten the praise it has.

Next up is comics new comer (or old comer turned new comer), Xombi. The comic gives us David Kim, a man infected with a virus that allows him to regenerate using nanites. These nanites aren't above using whatever warm body is next to Kim to aid in that process, so he has to watch out when he's been hurt around friends. He's teamed up with a group of metahuman nuns so they can stop a serial killer. The writer John Rozum is on fire with the puns; always a plus in my book, and the artwork by Fraser Irving is unstoppable. It feels as if he has painted each panel, barely touching pen to page.

What I like about this comic is chock full of action, clever jokes, and creepy stuff (demon-children of Halloween, evil snow angels, etc). It's all science and supernatural without it going into straight schlock. I don't want to give too much away, since the best part of this book turning the page to find out what's the next joke or horror. Just go to your local comic book shop and pick it up now.