Once upon a time, before vampires were sparkly, they ruled the night. Twilight may get all the PR, but there are still plenty of real vampires out there. Lately, zombies have been moving into the mainstream, encroaching on the vamps’ territory. Who’s the coolest?

Who owns the night now? Are vampires still the blood-sucking kings of the undead? Or have zombies replaced them?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies launch screen

Activision is bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies to iPhone, iPod, and iPad tomorrow. And by all indications, it’s going to be a blast.

Kotaku brings the full intel, but here’s an abbreviated version. Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies is a brand new, highly polished app based on the Zombies mode from Call of Duty: Black Ops. It was adapted by Ideaworks Game Studio, who built it specifically for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. There are three difficulty settings, a slider for graphics performance (newer devices will support the full effect), and what sounds like a very slick presentation that uses comic book style menus. You can play solo or multiplayer with up to four players, and in an especially cool touch, it even supports voice chat. There’s also a full port of the popular Dead Ops Arcade top-down shooter from the console version of Black Ops, while the primary game utilizes the original game’s “Kino der Toten” map.

The game is expected to retail for $6.99 in the iTunes App Store, and Activision is promising to update it in the future with DLC and additional gaming maps — all for free.

In the end who will save mankind from the Zombie Apocalypse? It is our belief that artists, designers, and architects will need to weigh in heavily to provide Safe Houses that can stand an assault on civilization. Don’t be caught unprepared, sign up today and register for the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition, you may be our last hope.

Sure, I have no hopes of joining the contest, but the results are amazing. The first prize of the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition (as deemed worthy by the jurors) went to what is known as the Vagabond Mobile Safe House Device.

Vagabond Mobile Safe House Device

The cool thing about the winner of the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition is that it is portable. You can carry it with you in a small bag wherever you go. After all, we do not know how and when the zombiecalypse will happen. With this safe house device, you can equip yourself and be ready whenever it occurs! And if the portability weren’t impressive enough, this safe house also is quick to set up. Within 3 minutes, you can seek safety in the device, which also has cloaking properties that will get the undead off your scent.

The second prize winner, which was decided by the general public, is the Oil Silo Home. It is an independent ecosystem, which provides three necessities: energy, defense, and food/water.

Oil Silo Home

If you are not so mobile, and you like sticking to your comfort zone, the Oil Silo Home is the perfect zombie safe house for you. Obviously, it is disaster-proof and self-sufficient. What else do you need to survive in the event of a zombiecalypse? This structure is awesomely designed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the producers/writers of zombie shows will pick it up in one form or another.

If you think these two designs from the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition are cool, wait till you see the rest.

Zombies from The Walking Dead

Do you know what would you do if a zombie apocalypse happened for real? ForeverGeek is here to help. Because becoming a meal for a ravaging flesh-eater isn’t fun for anybody.

Zombies are the new vampires. Hollywood just loves showing us what our lives will be like if and when a zombie outbreak occurs. We’ve got The Walking Dead — one of the biggest cable TV successes ever. Video game after video game keeps appearing on store shelves that charge you with staying alive while dispatching the undead. Even theaters are being overrun, the most prominent example coming late next year with the movie version of Max Brooks’ revered novel World War Z, directed by Marc Forster and starring Brad Pitt.

If a real zombie apocalypse should ever occur, society as we know it will no doubt break down overnight, leading to a state of pure, anarchic survivalism. Since preparing is always better than reacting, here are some crucial tips for making it through the end of the world.

1) Food

Still image from The Walking Dead

Foods high in protein will be the most useful since you’ll have to do lots of moving around, running from place to place, trying to find a safe place to hide. Don’t harp about those out-of-fashion carbs; running for your life is not the time to be worried about your waistline (regardless of all those beautiful, buff, tan survivors you see on TV). You’re going to need to always stay a step ahead if you plan on staying alive, so your body is going to need calories and lots of them.

2) Drink

Still image from The Walking Dead

Water is always essential to life, but a sports drink like Gatorade can put electrolytes back in your body after you’ve gone into shock from a long, bloody fight for your life. Sports drinks will be particularly helpful if you suffer any blood loss during the battle. Energy drinks like Red Bull may come in handy at times, but beware the crash that comes when they wear off — you can’t afford to be run down and off your game if an undead horde should attack without warning. Also, avoid alcohol whenever possible. Sure, you’re going to need to de-stress and have a little fun now and then in order to keep your sanity, but you simply can’t afford the mental and physical impairment that alcohol causes. You can be alert, or you can be dead. Your choice.

3) Weapons

Still image from The Walking Dead

If you want to kill a zombie and look cool doing it, you’re going to need something showy like a revolver, a shotgun, or best of all, a bow-and-arrow. (Nothing looks better than shooting a bow-and-arrow, because it requires action from both your hands and your entire upper body.) Blades are also very effective, and offer the added benefit of not requiring ammunition. Samurai swords will win you geek points (and potential love interests), particularly if you can wield them with precision. But you can’t get any more iconic than the classic chopping axe; neat freaks will love axes because nothing else removes a head from a body as cleanly. On the flip side, if you want the blood to splatter and gush, you won’t get better results than with a chainsaw.

4) First Aid

Still image from The Walking Dead

No matter how careful you are, you’re going to run into trouble. Accidents happen, but then so do zombies. So be sure to stock up on essential first aid supplies whenever you can. Bandages, stitches, and rubbing alcohol will be your chief concerns, but painkillers should be considered a priority as well. Expect plenty of injuries, possibly even lost appendages, anytime there’s a fight against a pack of zombies. (If someone in your party is bitten in the arm, for example, you can stop the spread of the zombie infection if you lop off the entire arm before it spreads to the body.) If a member of your family is diabetic or asthmatic or some other condition that requires ongoing medication, it goes without saying that running out of their needed meds is not an option. Those weapons mentioned above will come in handy in these situations, as you’ll likely have to steal what you need — possibly from other groups of survivors.

5) Tools & Supplies

Still image from The Walking Dead

We tend to think of “food and shelter” as our most basic human necessities, but if you really want to survive, you’re going to need more than Spam and a lean-to. Scavenging will become a way of life. Aside from the stuff listed above, some key items to look for include: extra clothes, blankets, towels, soap, batteries, knives, and any communication equipment you can find, such as walkie-talkies or a radio. (Don’t bother with phones. It’s a safe bet that cellular service will be down almost immediately after the apocalypse begins, since most carriers have a hard time keeping their networks running without monsters eating all the technicians.) Basically, if there’s something you use as part of your everyday life right now — but probably are so accustomed to it that you take it for granted — you’re going to want it when you’re roaming the earth, trying to stay hidden and alive.

All photos courtesy of AMC.

Hannah (Lilli Birdsell) and director Greg Nicotero - The Walking Dead Webisodes

Man, it seems like we’ve been waiting forever for the second season of The Walking Dead. The series finally returns on Sunday, October 16th, but in the meantime, AMC has cooked up a little morsel to ease the pain of waiting.

AMC is launching a series of The Walking Dead webisodes that fill in the backstory of one memorable character from the pilot. Over the course of six episodes, fans will learn about the “Bicycle Girl,” the fan-favorite zombie missing its legs and lower body that Rick Grimes (actor Andrew Lincoln) stumbled across on his front lawn.

Bicycle Girl’s name, before she became a “walker,” was Hannah, and the webisodes will show us her life pre-apocalypse, her struggle to survive after the world falls apart, and her finally being bitten and becoming a zombie. The series is written by John Esposito and produced by series co-executive producer Greg Nicotero.

The Walking Dead webisodes will all be posted online together, on October 3rd at 2:pm EST, at amctv.com.

Photo courtesy of “Generate” and AMC.

Zombie Iceland

Till I actually heard the audiobook version of World War Z, I never thought anything about the book. If I had an irrelevant bucket, it would have been placed there. A few minutes into the audiobook, though, I was hooked. Big time.

Today, I was reminded of the story when I heard about this book called Zombie Iceland. If my memory serves me well, Iceland was not a location covered in World War Z. However, if and when the zombiecalypse does happen, I am pretty sure the country will not be spared. They may not bear the brunt of the problem with their climate and all, but they will surely have their share of undead experiences.

So what makes Zombie Iceland interesting? (Aside from the fact that it is about zombies, that is.)

The book is actually a story of how zombies come to be – in Iceland. Here’s a short preview into what you can expect.

Following an accident at the construction of a new Icelandic power plant, there is a short but intense burst of sulfur gone sour. Reports of a mysterious illness amongst the plant workers begin to spread as they infect friends and family through cannibalism. Even worse, the sick rise from the dead and can only be killed once their brains have been damaged. Now the gritty undead wander the streets of Reykjavík and a group of misfits struggle to survive in “Zombie Iceland”.

So if the source of zombies were to be Iceland, we can all blame “sulfur gone sour” for this. Of course, there has to be a hero – or a group of them – and the story has to showcase their spirit, grit, and courage. While we don’t know just how the story will end (presumably with at least one hero surviving), the interesting thing is that Zombie Iceland is more than about zombies. It also has the goal of showcasing what Iceland has to offer the traveler. People who may want to visit Iceland in the future – zombiecalypse or not – will find a lot of tips and advice in the book. Footnotes are included that shed light on cultural practices in Iceland, food, history, as well as places of interest. If you are the market for a travel guide to Iceland, I think that Zombie Iceland is a better choice than your average travel book!

Zombies, Run!

No one can deny that Kickstarter is a great place to discover all sorts of cool stuff, and what I came across today is simply more proof. Zombies, Run! is a video game project being developed in the UK by Six to Start and Naomi Alderman. It is an iOS and Android app that is all about, well, zombies!

With all the hype about zombies, I have heard of some people who simply have had enough of the undead. However, I do believe that there are still more who just can’t get enough of anything zombie-related. From movies to books to art to games – zombies have this special attraction that gets people of all ages hooked.

Now more about Zombies, Run! What makes it different from all the other zombie games out there? Well you know how the running fever is spreading all over the world? Zombies, Run! is the perfect mix for runners and zombie lovers. Even if you’re not a runner, you just might get converted to this fitness activity if you love zombies.

The point of the game is to get players to put on their fitness clothing – no special gear required – and hit the road, all the while playing a game where zombies are out to get you. It’s not all about running flat out, but it is also about avoiding zombies in the area, picking up medical kits and other supplies necessary for survival.

More than the fun, you also get to monitor vital details about your real-life run such as speed, distance, and calories burned. As the creators of the game say, Zombies, Run! is a story, game, and fitness app all in one nifty package.

Here’s where you come in. The app has not yet been fully developed. That’s why it is on Kickstarter – to get support from the community. As with all other Kickstarter projects, there are different levels of support that one can give, each with a corresponding perk. You can always go for the $1 level, but all that will get you in this case is being named a survivor in the game credits. Go higher and you’ll get more. Check out Zombies, Run! on Kickstarter and see if you like it.

That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore is not your usual children’s book, but it is perfect for parents (or aunts, uncles, whatever) who just can’t get enough of zombies. While I do have a very low threshold for anything zombie-related, I appreciate a good zombie story. And from what I have seen of the preview, this zombie book for children hits the spot. The front cover alone is enough reason to consider getting the book!

That's Not Your Mommy Anymore Cover

That's Not Your Mommy Anymore - Normal Mommy

That's Not Your Mommy Anymore - Zombie Mommy

Get the paperback or Kindle copy at Amazon for less than $10.

An abrasive survivalist, and brother of the outspoken racist Merle, Daryl Dixon is an all-new character created specifically for the hit AMC television show. Our figure of Daryl features the exact likeness of the actor, taken from a 3D scan of Norman Reedus himself. Figure comes with crossbow, hunting knife, fire axe, pick axe, and even a string of squirrels. Daryl goes perfectly with the Zombie Biter figure, also in The Walking Dead Television Series 1.

The other action figure is of a Zombie Walker, which looks a tad bit “better” than the Lurker announced earlier.

Official description of the figure:

This memorable Zombie Walker, clad in a dirty business suit, was encountered by Rick during his first excursion into Atlanta. Upon Rick’s arrival, the walker rose from the wreckage of a city bus and followed Rick to an abandoned tank. This figure features all the attention to detail that McFarlane Toys is known for. Plus, like all of our The Walking Dead zombie figures, the Zombie Walker features unique playaction for even more fun. This one includes a special wind-up feature, so your Zombie Walker will actually walk!

Pretty cool that the Walker walks, but I wouldn’t want to wake up in the middle of night and see it in action…

We all know it’s coming. It is not a question of if, but when. The other question is how prepared you are for when the zombie apocalypse does happen.

Admittedly, there are some people who are not taking this seriously, and if you are one of them, you might want to stop and listen. Heck, even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are taking it seriously! This government agency is the best when it comes to emergencies and public health matters, so why shouldn’t we pay attention to what they say?

Recently, the CDC released a primer on preparedness, for when the zombie apocalypse occurs. In true CDC style, the post gives all pertinent information and practical tips that might very well save your life in case of a zombie emergency. You even get a brief history of zombies. After all, the best way to prepare for emergencies is to understand the cause!

If you already have an earthquake kit, you will find the zombie apocalypse kit a breeze to put together. Here are the essential things you need, according to the CDC:

• Water (1 gallon per person per day)
• Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly)
• Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
• Tools and Supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.)
• Sanitation and Hygiene (household bleach, soap, towels, etc.)
• Clothing and Bedding (a change of clothes for each family member and blankets)
• Important documents (copies of your driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate to name a few)
• First Aid supplies (although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane)

More than having a kit, though, you need to have a plan.  You know, preparedness is all about rehearsing possible scenarios in your head so that when faced with these scenarios, you know exactly what to do.  Salient points (italics mine):

1. Identify the types of emergencies that are possible in your area.
2. Pick a meeting place for your family to regroup in case zombies invade your home… - call it a rally point or whatever you want.  The important thing is that this meeting place will help you find each other more easily and lessen the stress on you.  Not that the stress will ever go away when the zombies attack.
3. Identify your emergency contacts.Police, firemen, etc.  Of course, they might all be zombies at some point, but it is still helpful to have their contact numbers.  You also need to include the list of relatives or friends to get in touch with, especially those out of state.
4. Plan your evacuation route.Knowing which routes to take will make your escape easier.  You might have to evaluate these routes once the zombies actually attack as original routes may be impassable.

Oh, and the CDC reassures everyone that they are always ready.  So when the zombies come in hordes, we can rely on them.  Unless they all become zombies themselves.

Angry Birds

There are plenty of Angry Birds eggs being made this year; this one gets my vote for the best due to its perfect detailing. [Source]

Auto (WALL-E)

Very well-made version of the villain Auto (aka Auto-Pilot) from WALL-E. [Source]

Bender (Futurama)

The egg-maker really nailed Bender’s look, but I can’t help wondering why Futurama‘s robot is so angry. [Source]

Binary Code

Binary code is always big among geeks, but you’ll have to decide for yourself if it’s clever or just plain nerdy. [Source]

Bumblebee (Transformers)

It can’t be easy translating the proportions of a Transformer like Bumblebee into an egg, but this one manages to pull it off. [Source]

Chewbacca (Star Wars)

As you’d imagine, there are a ton of homemade Star Wars eggs, but this one grabbed my attention with that realistic fur. Wow. [Source]

Dalek (Doctor Who)

No matter how you slice it, that is just darn impressive. How in the world did they get the eye stalk and arm things to stay on? [Source]

Death Star (Star Wars)

Never have I seen an Easter Egg perfectly convey so much with so little. [Source]

EVE (WALL-E)

Turning an egg into EVE is a total no-brainer; the character is shaped like an egg, after all. This one perfectly captures the lighter side of her personality. [Source]

The Federation (Star Trek)

The United Federation of Planets design is raised and even has a metallic sheen to it. I have no idea how they did it, but it’s awesome. [Source]

iPhone

The Apple “iEgg” is shown here front and back. And yes, if it were real I’d totally use it. [Source]

Iron Man

Absolutely perfect lighting shows off the steel/glowy goodness of this impressive Iron Man mask. [Source]

Joker

Awful photo. (So blurry!) But staggeringly good work on the egg. It captures Joker’s unpredictable malice so well, it scares the crap out of me. [Source]

Naruto

Another one that manages to translate the proportions of a human figure into an egg remarkably well. [Source]

The One Ring

If Easter was celebrated in Middle Earth… well, they wouldn’t use the inscription from Sauron’s evil ring, would they. But I still love the idea. [Source]

Pac-Man

So many Pac-Man eggs, so little time. I picked this one for its instantly-recognizable depiction of Pac-Man. The ghost doesn’t come across quite as well. [Source]

Rorschach

Watchmen‘s signature crime-fighter. [Source]

Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

The anti-hero from Tim Burton’s stop-motion classic is depicted in one of his most memorable moments. [Source]

Spider-Man

Great version of Marvel’s wall-crawler. [Source]

Superman

Looks like clay was added to give this one a raised “S” emblem. Very cool. [Source]

Terminator

It’ll be back. Next Easter. [Source]

Xbox 360

Another one that left me wondering how they pulled it off. I’m sure the silver is some kind of enamel paint, but the green part all but glows. Very impressive. [Source]

Zombie

The visible brains part is brilliantly executed. Love the creativity! [Source]

Oh, and it’s an allegory for the recession apparently. How’s that work then?

I am hoping for great things from Infestation#2. I enjoyed the first issue immensely, feeling it opened a lot of potential to get diverse characters together. I mean, come on, who hasn’t wanted to hear Spock’s reaction as he looked over Optimus Prime’s form? Each of the crossover minis were rather self contained, much to my disappointment. I enjoyed the Transformers chapter immensely, although the I found the Star Trek series rather standard fare, and as for G.I. Joe and the Ghostbusters series, I lost interest. Then again, neither of the latter two are titles I regular read, and my investment in these characters is minimal. Transformers (and to a point Star Trek) were my gateway to these other titles; and on that level, the crossover failed.

It did give me the Covert Vampire Operations however, which has sent me digging through the back-issue bins; and reawakened my love for Zombies vs. Robots, a radically different zombie to the rest of them out there.

Maybe I am suffering zombie-fatigue. This is certain true looking at Marvel Zombies Supreme, which has really missed the spot for me, even though it reintroduced Battlestar, a character who should get a lot more exposure if you ask me. Marvel Zombies series are supposed to be special events, yet if you excuse the pun, the concept had a limited lifespan, and it has long since expired. Thankfully The Walking Dead continues to deliver a quality read, but then again, that’s a title about people, not zombies. The zombies are merely a backdrop.

According to Wikipedia, Fear Itself is “the first company-wide crossover event since 2008′s Secret Invasion”. Really? So Dark Reign, Siege and the Chaos War were just minor events? I agree Chaos War was as self-contained as a maxi-series, seven spin-offs and a Hulk crossover can possibly be, but my wallet didn’t recognise that.

Having said that, now I have learnt what Fear Itself is actually about, I’m actually quite pumped for this. When I first heard about it, my eyes rose heavenward, but then Marvel would be stupid not to capitalise on the Captain America and Thor movies released this year. I doubt I am revealing a secret when I say it centres around the revelation that Odin is not the All-Father after all, that was revealed at C2E2 by Matt Fraction, but I really had to dig for that snippet. Some amorphous God of Fear? Yawn. The predicament is cool, the set up sound not so much. But a secret All-Father and an Asgardian conspiracy? Yeah. I’m sold.

The game is held in college campuses – over 200 of them in the US. There are also some universities in Brazil, Denmark, Australia, England, and Canada which hosts the game. It has become so popular that the game is also now being played in high schools, military bases, and even libraries! The idea was born in 2005 at Groucher College. The (human) brains behind the game are Brad Sappington and Chris Weed.

The premise of the game is this:

Humans vs. Zombies is a game of tag. All players begin as humans, and one is randomly chosen to be the “Original Zombie.” The Original Zombie tags human players and turns them into zombies. The zombies must tag and “feed” on a human every 48 hours or he starves to death and is out of the game.

So yes, basically, HvZ is a game of tag with a twist. For zombie enthusiasts, tag just got so much better!

The game ends when either of these two conditions are met:

1. All humans have been turned into zombies
2. The zombies starve (no humans are tagged within 48 hours) and the humans survive

Of course, people need some gear in order to play. The requisites are:

1. A bandana
2. A foam dart blaster and/or socks
3. A 3×5 index card

There are detailed rules and regulations governing the game, and they ensure the safety of the players – as well as people who don’t care to participate. Anyone can play the game – as long as it is organized well. If you are interested in hosting your own Humans vs. Zombies, you can get the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

I don’t know about you, but discovering the game kind of makes me want to go back to college. NOT!

Photo via Curtis Cronn

Artist Jason Freeny has created a Rubik’s Cube that may very well save your life in case a zombie goes after you. This cube functions just like any Rubik’s Cube – it was made from one – but it looks just as if it were made from brain matter. Never mind that the color of the brain is a little too pink – I think zombies will still go for it. If you ever find yourself being chased by zombies, try chucking this cube at them and buy yourself some time!

The Rubik’s Brain Cube was created from your regular Rubik’s Cube, which the artist first deconstructed. Under the masterful touch of the artist, the cube went from the first image in the gallery to the last image in the gallery. An absolutely delightful transformation!

For more action, here is a video that Jason posted on his Facebook page.

For the detailed step by step creation of the cube, you can check out the gallery at kidrobot.

If zombies and brains are not your thing, and you’re still trying to figure out how to solve the regular Rubik’s Cube, check out my post on Rubik’s Cube for Dummies. If that doesn’t help you, then I don’t know what will.

Didn’t you know? Zombies are the new vampires.

Gamers have fought zombies ad nauseum for the last few years in games like Left 4 Dead and its sequel, and zombie-themed expansion packs for games like Call of Duty: World at War and Red Dead Redemption. Even the hero in the Dead Space games battles a futuristic version of the reanimated dead. And let’s not forget the casual title mega-hit Plants vs. Zombies.

So why is Microsoft Game Studios publishing yet another zombie-themed game, exclusively for Xbox 360? Because this one is unlike anything you’ve played before.

Developer Undead Labs was formed with the intention of creating the world’s first zombie apocalypse MMO. While the MMO part has been put on the back burner (I’ll get back to that), the zombie apocalypse part remains a major part of the studio’s debut title, currently code-named Class3. Unlike other zombie-themed games that find you fending off hordes of the undead, Class3 takes a radically different approach. In a scenario that sounds a lot like The Walking Dead, it’s not about destroying the zombies, it’s merely about surviving the apocalypse.

Class3 is described as an “open world zombie-survival game,” and it’s being planned for release via Xbox Live Arcade sometime in 2012 at the earliest. Still in the earliest stages of production, Undead Labs isn’t even showing off any preliminary screenshots at this point, instead opting to reveal a truckload of conceptual art (a full gallery is at the bottom of this article).

In Class3, the end of the world has come. Humanity is all but wiped out, zombies dominate the land, and what few survivors there are must band together to attempt to rebuild some semblance of civilization in the fictional town of Dunniway, a completely open sandbox for you to explore. Played from a third-person perspective, the game features no shortage of guns, cars, hand-to-hand combat, and zombie gore. But don’t let all that violence fool you: the core focus of the game is survival. You’re not trying to take out the zombies, you’re trying to stay as far away from them as possible. You’ll spend most of your time designing and fortifying settlements at locations of your own choosing, undertaking pulse-pounding raids to gather food and ammo, and rescuing other survivors. Undead Labs says that the game’s open world unfolds in real time, being shaped entirely by player actions, with content largely determined by player choices, though there will be some directed objectives, including determining the cause of the zombie outbreak.

The game is expected to offer drop-in/drop-out co-op play, allowing a friend to easily pick up a controller and jump into the fray in the midst of your current game. But what about that MMO aspect?

According to Joystiq, Class3 is just the first part of this zombie-survival franchise that Undead Labs is producing. There are already plans in place for Class4, a sequel that will improve on the original by using the same gameplay (which will be fine-tuned during Class3‘s public release) and add the massively-multiplayer online world aspect to the game.

Today I came across Feed by Mira Grant, it sells itself as a book about zombies in a world where people know about zombies as something natural and non-fictional, like in the TV show True Blood with vampires. Feed was released in May 2010 and is the first in a yet to be published trilogy. The main characters are a brother and sister who grew up in a world after the zombies had risen. A world in which the best and most trusted news source are weblogs.

Cover blurb:

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we had created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

Now, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives — the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

I was never into zombies like I am into vampires (Buffy the Vampire Slayer FTW!), but after reading The Passage, which is a genre I never read, I’m going to read Feed. On the official website you can read the first chapter. I’m never sold just by reading the first chapter, reviews by bloggers are a much better way to find out if I will like a book. So far what I read about Feed makes me want to read it. Heck, the fact that the main characters are bloggers already sealed the deal for me.

Just today I wrote on my personal weblog about imposing a reading break when a few hours later I learn about Feed. Good luck to me with that reading break.

If you like reading and are a zombie fan, you shouldn’t miss out on this book. The only problem will be liking it a lot and having to wait for book 2.

Now, comic veterans like us are quite used to the Transformers mingling with the G.I. Joes. Yet in a stroke of genius (and marketing of course, but I’ll ignore that for now), Dan Abnett and the folks at IDW have thrown in the original Star Trek crew, and the Ghostbusters!

Bizarre crossovers are the pinnacle of the art of crossovers. If you have never read the Superman and Bugs Bunny mini-series from 2000, then I highly recommend it. The beauty of this is that the whole story actually makes sense, in the context of both sets of characters.

And thus it appears to be the same in Infestation. The story begins in the world of the Covert Vampiric Operations, dealing with an experimental portal to the world of Zombies Vs Robots. I haven’t read C.V.O. before, but I will be sure to dig out the back issues. (So that marketing I wasn’t talking about sure worked!) In an excellent set-up that demonstrates just why and how a multitude of zombies can be acting on an agenda, the end of the issue sends the hungry mob out into the four other universes.

So, it appears we are not going to see Spock baffled by the antics of Slimer, or Optimus Prime dealing with Venkman, Stantz or Spengler, but this makes for a coherent tale. Of course, we have yet to see what the final bookend issue will offer, but I wait with baited breath.

In order not to turn this column into the Dan Abnett fan club, I will state that this motivating force that makes sense is very reminescent of the Hunger Plague of the Marvel Zombies, Then again, hey! If it works…..

So I ran across this blog called Do It Myself, and saw a really old post featuring a Melting Head Cake. Old it may be, but I am sufficiently disturbed to share this with you. Also, Halloween may be almost a year away, but why not start the year with a little stomach-turning dessert?

The cake is the brainchild of Barbara Jo, who has a passion for making “ridiculous edible art” and trust me, this piece of work is just that – ridiculous and edible! Her concept? Make a severed head cake (not that novel, actually) that melts as the clock ticks away (now that is interesting). The disgustingly awesome thing about the cake is that the melting flesh looks so life-like – down to the skull that becomes exposed in the end! I swear, I do not have the stomach to even try a piece of this cake, no matter how good it may taste.

Enough yakking – I need to finish this post and forget about the images so that I can get my appetite back for dinner. Take a look at the photos below and tell me that they aren’t brilliant! They may not be cute as the cupcakes we normally write about, but they do catch one’s eyes, don’t they?

Maybe that’s why I liked the crossover events so much, as hopefully never a week would go by without a new instalment to what story I was following. Assuming everything ships on time that is.

So, with the success so far of the televised version of the Walking Dead, it only makes sense that Image intend to release The Walking Dead weekly, capitalising on the widespread appeal of the series.

Now this is how a reprint title should be done, weekly, engaging new readers with any series that could be bogged down with history. I used to love the old Marvel Tales reprints, I learnt most of my Spider-history from them. Another title that springs to mind would be the Classic X-Men, a reprint with a back-up strip of eight extra pages of new material, set in or around the period of the feature tale. Now there was added value for the existing collector, yet also an inexpensive fashion for newer readers to catch up on what they had missed.

As attractive as the Showcase or Essential compilations or trade paperbacks are to the older reader, it is easy to forget that the whole point of Sequential Art is exactly that, its episodic nature. That call to rush to the news-stand or comic shop on delivery day to collect the latest episode.

If more titles were to take the Classic X-Men route, and offer just a little something extra, maybe the weekly comic could make a comeback. After all, with reprints, it’s not as if there would be any scheduling difficulties, and maybe those extra tales would not always have to feature the lead characters, but could test the waters for new creations.

Despite sticking with the major characters of the X-Men, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man etc, how about the Legion Of Super-Heroes? How about the Avengers? They seem pretty en vogue currently? Or Spawn?

Huge issues numbers are a double edged sword. Issue number four hundred and something, or five, or eight, can speak of a fantastically rich legacy.  It can also imply that a lot of history has passed already and thus be a deterrent. Although I love the fact that both the Big Two are returning to original numbering, there was a solid reason for new first issues, over and above the dreaded speculator markets.

Despite various criticisms, neither 52 nor the Countdown were failures. Reduce the need for producing new material to a deadline, and surely this is both a money spinner for the companies and a comfort to new fans? One proviso however, these must not be just direct sales only, but must go to the news-stands, else it would be preaching to choir and pointless.

WIN: Zombies
Again. After the bazillionth week trending on Surchur and Google Trends, zombies are still going strong. Of course, this is largely due to the overwhelming success of The Walking Dead, which premiered on Halloween night. The comic-to-TV adaptation drew in the most viewers ever for a premier on its channel, AMC, with over a cool 5 million tuning in on the night and more than 3 million following up the day it was rerun.

WIN: Sobriety
Or more specifically, social media sobriety. And just what is that? It’s a plug-in for Firefox that forces users to pass a field test of questions when posting after 1 am, to weed out drunken tweets and other social networking faux pas. No longer do you have to worry about embarrassing yourself in front of your friends, followers, and fans after a night on the town. The rest of the time? You’re on your own.

FAIL: Parakeets (And, by extension, Google)
Really, it’s the Google search query suggestions that are failing in this one, and the popularity of one of the most bizarre searches in the history of the Internet is actually giving parakeets their best week ever. Trending lately has been the query “Why Wont My Parakeet Eat My Diarrhea?”, which was suggested automatically by Google as a query following the phrase “why will not”. Thanks, Google, for giving us one of the most amusing fails in search engine tech so far.

WIN: Hackers
Ever wanted to get paid for breaking things? Google’s shelled out $7500 to industrious hackers who are causing errors in their browser Chrome, as part of new version development. The list of recipients so far reveals a spate of $1,000 payments per high-risk vulnerability bug. Whether you’re digging your hands into the guts of the browser or banging your head on the keyboard until something interesting happens, the pay-to-break initiative is a dream come true.

WIN: Zombie fans
Last week I featured digital zombies, but this week I have to give a shout out to fellow zombie fans as we quiver and light up cigarettes in the afterglow of Resident Evil 3D – but more to the point, The Walking Dead panel at the New York Comic Con. The panel was so jam packed it took a good 45+ minutes to seat the attendees, and the reception everyone involved with the television show received proved just how much people adore a good zombie yarn.

WIN: UFOs
A massive UFO sighting (explained by the government as…all together now…weather balloons) over Manhattan sparked both buzz and terror midweek. What makes it a win is the fact that it was purportedly predicted by a former NORAD officer that fleets of UFOs would hover over major cities on October 13th. So it’s got that insanity factor that we all love. Cue the hideous music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

FAIL: MySpace
Specifically, the new MySpace logo. What was undoubtedly intended to be a clever, if not borderline geeky visual just looks like someone forgot to finish the editing process. The end result is something completely unintuitive and nowhere near enough to pull MySpace out of its tailspin.

FAIL: The Social Network
Those in the know are tearing apart this movie for its reportedly immature and incomplete portrayal of the crew behind social networking giant Facebook. Despite the fact that it’s been hyped to death and has spent a significant amount of time trending hither and yon, it fails at the task of interesting me even in the smallest measure, no matter how long it stays in the box office.

WIN: Twins
Or to be exact, astronaut twins. Scott Kelly, currently commanding the International Space Station, will soon be joined by his twin brother Mark Kelly, who’s set to command the final space shuttle mission, in the ISS. Bonus geek points for the precious cargo Mark will be delivering: an instrument called the “Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer”. Not even Reed Richards could invent something that sounds so cool.

WIN: Digital zombies
The Walking Dead is going digital, and I am a-twitter with anticipation of whether or not this will mean new content that’s exclusively digital, in addition to the print comic. While after viewing the rather disappointing AMC motion comic version of the title’s first issue I’m not exactly anxious to see the comic go the motion route (the live action TV show will suffice), a simple digital comic will be convenient and exciting.

FAIL: Verti-go-bye-bye
DC’s massive restructuring has seen three of Vertigo’s editors, Joan Hilty, Pornsak Pichetshote and Jonathan Vankin, suddenly jobless. What’s more is in the shuffle, as many as 80 of DC’s 250 employees could find themselves without a job. We call this move a fail for the staggering proportion…80 out of 250 could be gone…how well does that bode for DC? It certainly bodes poorly for Wildstorm, another DC imprint, which will put out its final title in December.

WIN: Extraterrestrial Life
Scientists from UC Santa Cruz have discovered a planet three times the size of Earth and likely to be as hospitable to life. Planet Gliese 581g was found while they were keeping track of the neighboring red dwarf star Gliese 581. Since it’s neither too hot nor too cold they’ve dubbed it the “Goldilocks” planet. My question is, when we send voyagers the 20 years it takes to reach Gliese 581g, will aliens be the three bears?

WIN: No Ordinary Family
Despite fully expecting the new TV show No Ordinary Family to be nothing but a giant Fantastic Four flashback with Michael Chiklis in the starring role, I was pleasantly surprised. The family-cum-supergroup pilot episode aired on the 28th and while there’s still much to be uncovered and much to be explained, the superpowered family storyline is shaping up well. It was an enjoyable watch, and that’s not something I can say about most fall premiers.

FAIL: Temporal Inconsistency
The world has now been subjected to 2 episodes and some major Jason Ritter boystache, so we can fairly well reveal that what The Event boils down to, aside from odd facial hair, is an inability to stick to one time line. The creators just can’t stop themselves from jumping 23 minutes, 8 days, 13 months, or any other nonsensical quantity of time away from the actual plot and action. The end result is a show that’s virtually unwatchable. What a pity.

WIN: The Walking Dead
Freshly edged out of its long-occupied #1 spot of most watched trailers on IMDB, The Walking Dead‘s TV adaptation (from a zombie comic penned by Robert Kirkman – for the uninitiated) is still buzzing hardcore. It won’t actually air until Halloween, but it’s been on fire since ComicCon. It’s already been granted a second season. What else can this fledgling program accomplish before we actually see it?

FAIL: Brand Secrets
Microsoft’s latest mouse has been leaked on a Russian web site, and it looks more like something Posh Spice would wear on her head than something you’d find on a desk. Called “Metro Mouse” (which is in fact a mini-win, since it brings to mind Mighty Mouse), it uses BlueTrack blue laser technology to allow it to cope with less-than-optimal surfaces. Biggest selling point, perhaps literally: it’s the cheapest mouse in the range at a mere $20.

WIN: Resident Evil 5
Milla Jovovich spilled the beans that Resident Evil 5 is already in the works, and that, most importantly, the plot will depend on input from fans of the series as collected via social media. Zombies and the Internet, double geek win. And speaking of zombies…

WIN: Zombies
Zombies are proving their cultural staying power is still in full force, as they’ve been trending on Surchur for several weeks straight. No doubt this is because of things like the most recent Resident Evil film, a blockbuster hit, and the aforementioned Walking Dead show. Or perhaps it’s the first sign of the zombie apocalypse?

FAIL: Spam Control
Specifically, Apple’s spam control. While this isn’t so much this week’s news – because it began early this month when Apple debuted its iTunes-based social media service Ping – the fact that Apple put in safeguards against inappropriate profile pictures (manual approval) but failed to anticipate the spam that plagues other social networks is a total fail. What elevates it to an epic fail is that the spam is primarily malware and phishing scams offering iPods, iPhones, and iPads – Apple’s very own products. Let’s just call it a timeless fail.

WIN: Catfish
This week saw a meteoric rise in interest in the upcoming social network movie Catfish, which will release nationally against rival The Social Network. From the relative obscurity of film festivals to the major social media radar, the word on the ‘net is it does for online dating what Jaws did for swimming. Now, I’ve absolutely nothing against online dating, but I’m positively all for movies that give social networking an intriguing spin. That Catfish is a documentary only heightens its appeal, whereas The Social Network, at least to me, has fallen flat as so much Hollywood flotsam – rooted in truth or not.

I am of course speaking of the much-anticipated The Walking Dead, which will air on AMC at 10pm ET on Halloween night. If you’ve been following my writing here you’ll notice a trend, as I’ve lauded The Walking Dead in virtually every comic and television-related post I’ve done. So right off the bat you’re aware I’m terribly biased, but I’m biased for good reason. The Walking Dead absolutely rocks, and I’m far from alone in that sentiment.

The Walking Dead is one of the most popular comic books on the market today. Produced by Image Comics, and written by Robert Kirkman (who to geeks is famous for plenty of other things, including Marvel team-ups), the harrowing tale of zombie apocalyptic horror debuted in 2003 and has had a firm grip on its audience ever since. With occasional bouts of violence so graphic they cost the series some readers, it packs the kind of punch you’d expect from a zombie thriller. But the true beauty of The Walking Dead lies in the interpersonal stuff – the drama, the hopes, the fears, the love, the hate, and the just plain dysfunctional behavior of the few who manage to survive.

At heart, it’s the tale of a police officer named Rick Grimes who witnesses more than his fair share of horrors in a quest to reunite with his family. Without giving too much away, let’s just say he gets his wish…but loses more than he could ever imagine. No one and nothing is safe or sacred in The Walking Dead. Every character is subject to gruesome death or drastic personality changes, and that’s a fact of life for those of us who read it religiously. We adopt the attitude of “when” someone will disappear from the comic’s hallowed pages or become virtually unrecognizable, not “if”.

While the biggest question surrounding The Walking Dead‘s TV adaptation is whether or not it can survive the translation to the small screen, AMC’s recently-released trailer gives us a great deal of hope. It looks positively amazing. It’s not entirely like the comic, but it’s not entirely different; it appears to be, from the trailer, the perfect marriage of original tale and innovative additions. Robert Kirkman is on board to help steer the story in the right direction, and that’s a major shot of confidence for fans.

Don’t believe me? Check out the trailer goodness for yourself at AMC’s web site.

What you have to look forward to with The Walking Dead is a story that’s extremely strong from the get-go. It’s well-established in a successful comic, and while franchises like the X-Men movies teach us it’s easy to veer from a good comic story and make an awful adaptation, everything we’re seeing suggests this is a pretty faithful retelling. Of course, trailers and leaks are little more than propaganda, so their looks can be deceiving. But interviews with Kirkman and the other creative staff, as well as the man behind it all, Frank Darabont, support the theory that they’re really looking to bring the story to life with loyalty while still peppering in enough new aspects to keep those of us who’ve read the comic glued to our seats.

Brilliant casting and very impressive zombie special effects – something sorely missing from many zombie films – lend weight to the series, too.

For diehard fans of the comic, don’t expect complete canon. A quick glance at the IMDB page for the series reveals they’ve added in several new characters. With new characters comes new plot, and this is something Kirkman’s been honest about through the process. But this can bode well for us, since it means there’s fresh material to keep us entertained, and we don’t have to obsess over an exact detail-for-detail adaptation that will drive us nuts if it dares to deviate ever-so-slightly from the source material. Now we’ll expect changes, and cross our fingers that they integrate seamlessly.

For existing zombie lovers who’ve never read the comic – quick – pick up book or two now! But even if you never experience the story as it’s written, you should tune in to The Walking Dead for two reasons.
1) A truly good zombie television series has been sorely missing from our TV screens for entirely too long. If this show’s the real deal, it’ll be a revolution.
2) It’s your duty as a zombie fan to encourage this kind of creative exploration in the genre by tuning in. After all, if The Walking Dead‘s a hit, what wonders could come next?

If you’re one of the unwashed masses who’ve never read a zombie comic or watched a zombie film, I have bad news for you: you’re likely to be the first to have your brains eaten during the apocalypse. So spare yourself. Tune in to The Walking Dead and give a good zombie story a fair go. At worst, you’ll learn a few survival tips. At best, you’ll fall in love with a truly gripping tale that’ll have you mourning the fact that AMC’s only making 6 episodes to start. And you too will become a zombie convert – nay, dare I say, a zombie lover.

Check out more upcoming geek TV goodness here.

It was nice to see that this wasn’t actually one of the zombieverse spin-off worlds, even if all of mankind and the heroes were being transmutated into cannibalistic savages.  The set-up was convincing, no alien Sentry raining down from the skies for a bite but a slow, scary process.  Yet this was not even the draw of the title for me, all this 28 Days Later genre (as opposed to the Zombieverse or Living Dead genres, which are so very, very different, honest they are), was mere backdrop.  The issue actually contained a mystery, presented in such a fashion that I actually cared, and I will be picking up the second issue.

Marvel is being very adventurous with Frank Castle currently. If you want your traditional Punisher, then Punisher MAX is there for you. Yet Frank is now FrankenCastle, patched together with drugs and a Bloodstone (and half a lawnmower it appears), medically dead yet still functioning, without a desire for brains in sight.

When the Punisher first got mixed up in the war between heaven and hell a few years ago, with demons and angels as supporting characters, I first glimpsed the true potential of this character. Of course, the original Frank, shooter of mobsters still has his place, and so very soon needs a replacement. Because honestly? Spidey and Daredevil need him as an antagonist, but this is one character do-over I do not want to see ret-conned in a few years. Long live Frankencastle (and the Bloodstone rather ensures that) but long live the Punisher as well.

It just can’t be Frank anymore, he has grown beyond that. I wonder what one of the many Foolkillers are up to nowadays? One of them may be interested in the vacancy.