The first half The Walking Dead’s second season introduced us to some pretty epic zombies. I know none of us in Command will ever forget the Well Walker that burst in half before being dispatched by T-dog. Nor will we forget the final zombie of the mid-season finale. Truly heartbreaking, that one.
On the show, each of the featured zombies has their own story to tell. Right before the second season kicked off, the show’s creators produced a web-only series documenting the life, death, and reanimation of the walker we all came to know as Bicycle Girl. That got us thinking—which we do a lot right now while impatiently waiting for the second half of TWD season 2 to kick off. What better way to “know your enemy” than to create your own zombie? To take it a step further, how would you then put that zombie out of its misery?
So here’s the deal: We want you to create your very own zombie using any medium you are comfortable with. You can write a description, draw a picture, paint it, heck if you’re up to it turn one of your friends into your ideal zombie with makeup. The sky is the limit (please don’t really kill your friend…).
After you’ve created your zombie, then we want you to write out where the zombie would be found. Is she a soccer mom prowling the suburbs? Did a trucker pick up the wrong passenger on the freeway? You get the gist. Put them in a realistic location and then… kill them. You may use your weapon of choice to do the deed, or utilize the environment the zombie hunts in to find a suitable weapon. The more detail you use, the better.
The entries will be judged by a panel of ZSC commanders. We will pick the top two zombies. The first-prize winner will receive a t-shirt signed by 11 cast and crewmembers of The Walking Dead. The runner-up will receive a ZSC logo t-shirt (up to size XL). You have from January 10, 2012 until January 30, 2012 to create your zombies.
Rules and Regulations:
One entry per person
Entries must be send to command [at] zombiesurvivalcrew [dot] com with the subject line “Zombie Creation Contest”. Any entries received via Twitter, Facebook, or website comments will be disqualified.
Written entries must be pasted into the body of the email. Please no document files, text files, PDFs, or website links. Only attach photo files.
Contest entries must be received by January 30, 2012 (1-30-2012) by 11:59 PM PST.
Profanity, vulgarity and nudity are prohibited. Use of such will result in disqualification.
Entrants must be members of zombiesurvivalcrew.com. (If you are not, registering is FREE and EASY. Sign up HERE.)
When submitting entries, you give Zombie Survival Crew permission to post your entry and name on zombiesurvivalcrew.com and its associated social media outlets.
Winners will be contacted via the email address given with their contest entry.
Crafting preparation plans for the onset of the zombiepocalypse or global cataclysmic event requires the assembly of a top notch team of capable minds and bodies. So when Light Blue Brigade Commander Anthony Guajardo approached your Commander-in-chief with the possibility of a keen investigator and strategic thinker famous for taking on thing that go bump in the night, I jumped at the chance.
As a paranormal investigator for Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International, Britt Griffith is a perfect addition to our Zombie Survival Crew Special Forces team. His years of investigative endeavors give Britt a unique skill set that is integral to facing a cataclysmic event with the tools needed to survive!
Zombie Survival Crew please raise your weapons and welcome our newest commander BRITT GRIFFITH!!!!!
As you know, the Zombie Survival Crew command is always alert and on the look out for zombie related activity. During one of my forays into the twitterverse, I noted a higher than average zombie reading coming from the literary sector. Proceeding with caution, I investigated and found an amazing occurrence… none other than Jonathan Maberry tweeting about Dead of Night, Rot & Ruin, and Dust & Decay. Clearly this was someone who has knowledge we need on the crew. So, I took a chance and retweeted to see how he would respond. He followed me. Normally, as you know, I consider following a suspect activity, but in this case, I considered it a compliment. Still holding observation, I watched his tweet patterns and the more I watched, the more impressed I became with his professionalism. I plotted my approach. And Jonathan responded eagerly.
When it comes to an individual who knows the enemy, Jonathan has done more than his share of the research. And he shares his knowledge with us all to help us prepare. Not only that, he has major street-cred as a kenjutsu instructor and has been a martial arts instructor for almost 50 years. Who better to lead the Special Forces in hand-to-rotting limb combat? Zombie Survival Crew please raise your weapons and welcome our newest commander in the Special Forces NY Times Bestseller and Multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, Jonathan Maberry!!!!
And as a treat, below is the trailer for his latest novel, Dead of Night!
Possibly the most fun we’ve had here in the Command Center this month—aside from playing with the new machetes we got in our stockings—came from reading what you all thought our movie reviewer A. Zombie would want from Santa Claus. And while there were a lot of answers that made us laugh so hard our sides hurt, only one person managed to guess more than one item on his wish list.
Without further ado, the winner of our December contest, who’s getting something nifty from our prize closet, is Brim89. Congratulations!
Just for fun, here is A. Zombie’s unedited letter to Santa Claus:
Dear Man in the Red Suit, I’ve been told you are the one to talk to about this present thing. This Christmas I would like the following items delivered to the fake, plastic tree-like monstrosity beside the furnace:
Bone Saw
Suture kit
Lock pick kit
The Walking Dead season 1 Bluray (what? A guy needs good entertainment between bad B movies.)
Gift card to local butcher
A severed arm in a pear tree
GOOD MOVIES
Sincerely, A. Zombie
Remain vigilant, crewmembers. Another opportunity to win something from the ZSC prize closet will be coming up sooner than you think.
On a recent foray into the Atlanta area, Commander Todd took time out from battle to deliver a PSA chock full of zombie killing tips. Pay close attention troops, Tony has come face-to-face with the shambling hordes and he knows exactly what it takes to survive.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an uncontrollable craving for candy I need to address….
Temperamental and rash, Andrea is determined to prove herself. But she remains prone to emotional outbursts that cloud better judgment, and result in foolish half-thought actions. That Andrea does have natural strength and the gumption to use it make her missteps all the more painful to watch. And often in the case of her fellow survivors, that pain is literal.
Who is Andrea? She is a character from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. They have created cast of characters I have a great deal of love for:
If you aren’t watching the show you should be. From the moment the show begins viewers are taken on the undead ride of a lifetime, watching a cast of beleaguered humans fight not only to survive, but to retain that which makes us most human.
And it is Andrea—more than any other character on the show—that has left me screaming at my television set in equal parts empathy, rage and frustration.
Andrea is The Walking Dead’s most deadly female. Unlike the other women in the main survivor group she is very able to pull the trigger—and this ability is a vital component to both individual, and group, survival. But she is struggling to develop the mental maturity to deal with the new realities of a zombie-infested world. She has the guts. Her physical reactions to danger are never brought into question. Once the proverbial mess hits the fan, she is transformed into a tough-as-nails woman who does whatever is needed of her to draw her next breath. It remains to be seen whether she will survive long enough to become the face of “female power” on the show.
[***WARNING: Spoilers ahead***]
Andrea is a survivor. Anyone who has been through a war zone, natural disaster or other catastrophic event can tell you, no individual really knows how they’ll react in a life-threatening situation until they’re staring down the barrel of an AK-47. Some people freeze, some panic. Some go into survival mode to just get through it, while others become something akin to a battled-hardened army officer—alert, organized, able to take command of the situation. Andrea is able—no doubt thanks in no small part to massive adrenaline rushes—to batten down the emotional hatches and get through jut about anything.
But Andrea’s survival methods are also somewhat dangerous.
She is willing to push herself, but may take on more than she can handle. When walkers bit, infected and killed her last surviving family member, Andrea showed the depth of her constitution. She stayed by her sister Amy’s side—wracked with fear, guilt, sorrow and rage—until the zombification process took hold. It was Andrea who pulled the trigger to end Amy’s zombie existence. It was a moment of great strength, one that most of us would hope our loved ones would have were we to fall to a zombie horde. But it cost Andrea dearly, left her flailing and lashing out….and, yes, potentially dangerous to the other survivors.
She doesn’t listen. In the rush to demonstrate her ability to do more than wash the group’s laundry, Andrea ignored the entreaties of others in the group to take a shot at a possible walker headed towards Herschel’s farm. Now if we ignore the fact that the shot she took was aimed at one of the fan favorites Daryl Dixon and set off a pretty massive outpouring of hate, it remains a stupid move, at best. One walker. A half-dozen able-bodied men with weapons moving to intercept said walker. Why on earth would anyone consider it a good idea to take the shot and risk alerting every zombie for miles? Andrea’s desire to prove herself could cost the group lives.
Andrea is out for revenge. Few of us ever have someone specific to blame when a loved one dies; a mainstay of the human condition that can cause debilitating levels of sorrow. Andrea knows who killed her sister. Walkers. And she will take out every walker she can. In order to avoid the pitfalls usually associated with revenge, Andrea has to find a way to channel her pain strategically and not take ill-advised pot shots at ear-necklace-wearing rednecks.
There is a delicate dance to the life Andrea is molding herself to fit. She must remain level-headed enough to take clean, precise shots at the walkers. However, being able to say, “Now is not the time to fight” and retreat with the people she’s now sworn to protect is a huge skill to utilize. Can Andrea continue to grow into the ultimate zombie slayer? Will she be able to look past her thirst for revenge to do what is needed for the betterment of the group? She is unpredictable at best, downright dangerous to herself at worst. If Andrea falls into the darkness, nothing Dale or the others do will pull her out of a self-destructive tailspin. It is the danger we all face when put into world-altering events.
Everyone, whether fictional or flesh and blood, needs a person they can go to in times of emotional turmoil. That person holds up a mirror to reflect their true self. Without them, we are doomed to keep repeating mistakes, or worse, destroying who we really are by trying to pretend we’re someone different and going against our nature. Dale is that man. He speaks the truth, no matter how hard it is to hear.
If you aren’t watching the show you should be. From the moment the show begins viewers are taken on the undead ride of a lifetime, watching a cast of beleaguered humans fight not only to survive, but to retain that which makes us most human.
Dale is The Walking Dead’s yoda…or Gandalf, if you prefer. Wise and caring, Dale acts as an elder statesman within the group –tending to group members’ emotional wellbeing, settling disputes and providing a sense of stability and direction in a world gone mad. But as we’ve seen in season two Dale, played so beautifully by Jeffrey DeMunn, is only human. His wisdom is of great value, but—truthfully—is sometimes compromised by his own feelings.
[***WARNING: Spoilers ahead***]
He is a dying breed. More so than the others in the main survivors group Dale –an elder well-educated, worldly man who chooses to remain optimistic and forward thinking—may truly be the last of his kind in the post-zombiepocalyptic world. The group needs Dale, desperately, to keep them morally and ethically grounded. He may not be perfect, no one is, but Dale is the personification of those characteristics from the “old way of living” that must.be.protected. to truly maintain the humanity that binds us all.
Dale sees all. The other members of the main survivors group try repeatedly to get one over on him, to fly under the Dale radar so they don’t have to own up to their behavior. It rarely, if ever, works. T-Dog, for instance, tried desperately to hide how severe his injuries were in the first episodes of the season. In his infection-fueled fever T-Dog became uber paranoid about his place in the group. Who would want to rely on a crippled minority and an old fart, right? Dale set him straight, showing him exactly where he was needed, while also trying what he could to tend to the more pressing matter, the fever about to fry his friend’s brain. In that moment, Dale became like a father to T-Dog. Sometimes we need our parents, even when we don’t realize it.
Dale may not be able to pull the trigger…but is still susceptible to the horrors within. In Shane, Dale finally found the one soul he cannot follow down their chosen path. Shane’s methods in ensuring the people he cares for are shocking to some. He is the trigger man Dale could never be. At the same time, during their confrontations in season two, it is apparent Dale wants to reach that level of practicality Shane is at, the one where he could do to Shane what Shane did to Otis and be able to justify it by saying he did it to keep Andrea safe. But would it really be an effort to neutralize the competition? We still don’t know if Dale’s fatherly nature has given away to more when it comes to her…and how far it could take him.
There was a moment in the season one finale where I literally bit a hole in my index finger to keep from screaming. Dale did what I hope all of us would do in a difficult situation to protect our common humanity. He chose to make the ultimate sacrifice. Andrea later accused him of being selfish. I disagree. Dale’s decision to remain behind at the soon-to-explode CDC if Andrea was staying was a moment of true bravery—one we could all aspire to having (though maybe not in such dire circumstances).
As with many of The Walking Dead characters—and most people in the real world—Dale is defined by the choices he makes. That he consistently errs on the side of traditional morality makes him a force to be reckoned with. He is the group’s greatest defender…the protector of their collective soul.
With the holidays upon us, things have been a little hectic around the command center. Not only are processing all the reports coming in of suspected zombie activity, and with the cold temperatures who knows what will happen, the Oracle is dancing around sprinkling tinsel everywhere and has put up so many blinking lights the command center looks like a 70’s discotech. So despite the serious task at hand, command does have the holiday spirit.
And now to bring you a little holiday cheer is the commander of the Orange Brigade, our very own RC Murphy. And if this isn’t proof that she’s been spending too much time with the zombie bunnies, then I don’t know what is.
Walkin’ in a Zombiepocalypse (to the tune of Winter Wonderland)
lyrics by RC Murphy
Zombies groan, can you hear ’em? On the walls, blood is glistenin’ A horrific sight, A world full of fright Walkin’ in a Zombiepocalypse.
Gone away is the old world, Here to stay is a new world Of death everywhere And being so scared, Walkin’ in a Zombiepocalypse.
On the sidewalk lays a rotting body, It begins to twitch and moan and groan. He’ll rise, very hungry We’ll arm up then And blow that sucker’s Brains all over town.
Later on, he’ll expire, As we set him on fire His face full of rage We’re saving the day, Walkin’ in a Zombiepocalypse
Everybody SING! Walkin’ in a Zombiepocalypse… Walkin’ in a Zombiepocalypse… Walkin’ in a Zombiepocalypse…
It has been a wild, crazy, and sometimes downright chaotic twelve months. For those of us who were here when the foundation was laid for the Zombie Survival Crew, those twelve months have flown by. When we sat back recently to look over the progress we’ve made we realized how truly astonishing an accomplishment this empire really is.
And we couldn’t have done it without you, our ever-faithful crew members.
Day by day our numbers grow and we’re introduced to new folks that are eager, ready to take on the shambling horde coming our way with nothing more than a 2×4 and their courage to aid them. The sentiment warms our hearts. It also makes us realize how lucky we are that you all have accepted us so readily. Your support has taken the ZSC from, “I wonder if…” to reality with enough energy left over to drag us into our second year of existence.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know that a) the holidays are sneaking up on our collective tail and b) the Zombie Survival Crew’s resident movie reviewer isn’t actually alive. There’s a long story about how we came in possession of the cantankerous A. Zombie. One day we’ll all gather around a campfire and I’ll share the tale. Rest assured, he has been secured in a safe place within the ZSC compound. No accidental nibbles from our reviewer. Promise.
Traditionally, zombies don’t celebrate the holidays, but A. Zombie has been watching us decorate the Command Center and grew curious about all of the hustle and bustle. The other day he slipped a letter under his cell door.
Dear Man in the Red Suit,
I’ve been told you are the one to talk to about this present thing. This Christmas I would like the following items delivered to the fake, plastic tree-like monstrosity beside the furnace:
[…Content removed…]
Sincerely,
A. Zombie
We had to have a little fun with this. Your job, dear ZSC faithful, is to tell us three items from A. Zombie’s letter to Santa Claus. The crewmember that gets the most items correct will win something from our prize closet. Easy as that.
The contest will be open from December 16, 2011 (12-16-2011) until December 24, 2011 (12-24-2011).
Rules and Regulations:
One entry per person
Entries may be submitted in the comments below or emailed to command [at] zombiesurvivalcrew [dot] com with the subject line “A. Zombie’s Wish List”.
Entries submitted via Twitter or Facebook will be disqualified.
Entries must be received by December 23, 2011 (12-23-2011) at 11:59 PM PST.
Entrants must be registered members of zombiesurvivalcrew.com. (If you are not, registering is FREE and EASY. Sign up HERE.)
When submitting entries, you give Zombie Survival Crew permission to post your name and contest entry on zombiesurvivalcrew.com and its associated social media outlets.
Winners will be notified via email.
So, do you have any idea what a zombie would want as a present? Tell us what you think.
The first half The Walking Dead’s second season introduced us to some pretty epic zombies. I know none of us in Command will ever forget the Well Walker that burst in half before being dispatched by T-dog. Nor will we forget the final zombie of the mid-season finale. Truly heartbreaking, that one.
From the desk of the Commander-in-Chief
From the Oracle’s laboratory
Contest Ninja: RC Murphy
With the holidays upon us, things have been a little hectic around the command center. Not only are processing all the reports coming in of suspected zombie activity, and with the cold temperatures who knows what will happen, the Oracle is dancing around sprinkling tinsel everywhere and has put up so many blinking lights the command center looks like a 70’s discotech. So despite the serious task at hand, command does have the holiday spirit.
And blow that sucker’s
It has been a wild, crazy, and sometimes downright chaotic twelve months. For those of us who were here when the foundation was laid for the Zombie Survival Crew, those twelve months have flown by. When we sat back recently to look over the progress we’ve made we realized how truly astonishing an accomplishment this empire really is.
Contest ninja: RC Murphy