Post by droidofages on Mar 3, 2009 11:53:15 GMT -4
I just mentioned "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" in my last post, so I thought I should mention these two great works as well.
Max Brooks (son of famed Mel Brooks) has given us two brilliant zombie books that every fan of the undead should read at least once:
The first was a great read, even for non-zombie fans titled "the Zombie Survival Guide". Much of the content of this book, is real-world, truly applicable survival information. Throw in the tips on which weapons to favour when dispatching the undead or preferable forms of shelter and defense, and you've got an informative and entertaining read.
Here's an example from the first chapter, of the clinical approach to his writing:
"The timetable below outlines the process of an infected human (give or take several hours, depending on the individual).
Hour 1: Pain and discoloration (brown-purple) of the infected area. Immediate clotting of the wound (provided the infection came from a wound).
Hour 5: Fever (99-103 degrees F), chills, slight dementia, vomiting, acute pain in the joints.
Hour 8: Numbing of extremities and infected area, increased fever (103-106 degrees F), increased dementia, loss of muscular coordination.
Hour 11: Paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness, slowed heart rate.
Hour 16: Coma.
Hour 20: Heart stoppage. Zero brain activity.
Hour 23: Reanimation."
Brooks' other book is titled "World War Z" and approaches the genre from a truly original and intriguing manner: It essentially is a series of interviews with survivors of a world wide zombie epidemic, after the fact. Everyone from military generals to average Joes recollect their experiences, and as a result, we see a bit of a time line and progression of the event taking form.
There's more on this book though! It's currently in development for film, which I think could be incredible! What an original concept for a movie! It would actually be more like a documentary if it's true to the book, since it's a series of interviews and found footage like cell phone recordings and whatnot. As if that's not enough promise, comics genius J. Michael Straczynski (Supreme Power, Thor) is adapting it for the silver screen with Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) directing! Here's the latest news that I know of which is about a year old, but I've seen nothing contradicting this yet:
from FirstShowing:
"Moriarty's enthusiasm for Straczynski's script is through the roof. "I love this script. Love every dark, somber, upsetting page of it. This is a horror epic, a serious, sober-minded adult picture waiting to be made, and it's one of the best pieces of screenwriting craft I've encountered in a while."
"It is in essence just oral recollections from survivors of World War Z. This is not your typical zombie book and this won't be your typical zombie movie. Moriarty goes as far as to call the movie potentially "a genre-defining piece of work" that could even get people "arguing about whether or not a zombie movie qualifies as Best Picture material."
"In the first five pages, we see GERRY LANE collecting stories, and the first two interviews are with a flight attendant and a border guard. Both manage to play as horror shock beats, but the way they're told also sets the tone right away… JMS is after the human truth underneath the horror, and in a way, that makes it much, much harder to take."
"From what I can interpret, the movie follows this particular archiver / journalist, named Gerry Lane (who might be played Brad Pitt), around as he travels the world conducting interviews with survivors. Again, from what I can interpret, it's almost like a documentary, but set in a post-zombie-apocalyptic world with much more to it than just talking heads."
"The world of the film reminds me of CHILDREN OF MEN on the page. Realistic but set in the near-future, in the aftermath of the zombie wars."
Max Brooks (son of famed Mel Brooks) has given us two brilliant zombie books that every fan of the undead should read at least once:
The first was a great read, even for non-zombie fans titled "the Zombie Survival Guide". Much of the content of this book, is real-world, truly applicable survival information. Throw in the tips on which weapons to favour when dispatching the undead or preferable forms of shelter and defense, and you've got an informative and entertaining read.
Here's an example from the first chapter, of the clinical approach to his writing:
"The timetable below outlines the process of an infected human (give or take several hours, depending on the individual).
Hour 1: Pain and discoloration (brown-purple) of the infected area. Immediate clotting of the wound (provided the infection came from a wound).
Hour 5: Fever (99-103 degrees F), chills, slight dementia, vomiting, acute pain in the joints.
Hour 8: Numbing of extremities and infected area, increased fever (103-106 degrees F), increased dementia, loss of muscular coordination.
Hour 11: Paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness, slowed heart rate.
Hour 16: Coma.
Hour 20: Heart stoppage. Zero brain activity.
Hour 23: Reanimation."
Brooks' other book is titled "World War Z" and approaches the genre from a truly original and intriguing manner: It essentially is a series of interviews with survivors of a world wide zombie epidemic, after the fact. Everyone from military generals to average Joes recollect their experiences, and as a result, we see a bit of a time line and progression of the event taking form.
There's more on this book though! It's currently in development for film, which I think could be incredible! What an original concept for a movie! It would actually be more like a documentary if it's true to the book, since it's a series of interviews and found footage like cell phone recordings and whatnot. As if that's not enough promise, comics genius J. Michael Straczynski (Supreme Power, Thor) is adapting it for the silver screen with Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) directing! Here's the latest news that I know of which is about a year old, but I've seen nothing contradicting this yet:
from FirstShowing:
"Moriarty's enthusiasm for Straczynski's script is through the roof. "I love this script. Love every dark, somber, upsetting page of it. This is a horror epic, a serious, sober-minded adult picture waiting to be made, and it's one of the best pieces of screenwriting craft I've encountered in a while."
"It is in essence just oral recollections from survivors of World War Z. This is not your typical zombie book and this won't be your typical zombie movie. Moriarty goes as far as to call the movie potentially "a genre-defining piece of work" that could even get people "arguing about whether or not a zombie movie qualifies as Best Picture material."
"In the first five pages, we see GERRY LANE collecting stories, and the first two interviews are with a flight attendant and a border guard. Both manage to play as horror shock beats, but the way they're told also sets the tone right away… JMS is after the human truth underneath the horror, and in a way, that makes it much, much harder to take."
"From what I can interpret, the movie follows this particular archiver / journalist, named Gerry Lane (who might be played Brad Pitt), around as he travels the world conducting interviews with survivors. Again, from what I can interpret, it's almost like a documentary, but set in a post-zombie-apocalyptic world with much more to it than just talking heads."
"The world of the film reminds me of CHILDREN OF MEN on the page. Realistic but set in the near-future, in the aftermath of the zombie wars."
Sacrilege!!! 
Because you write such a great horror comic though, and because there IS a LOT of crappy zombie stuff out there, I'm willing to forgive dee. ;D