Zombie Studies Offered At University of Baltimore

I guess it was only a matter of time. Zombies 101 aka Zombie Studies aka English 333 is the latest course being offered at the University of Baltimore. The course will be taught by Arnold Blumberg, co-author of "Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For".

"Right now we're in a massive surge of zombie entertainment," said Blumberg. "On the most basic level, zombies are probably one of the most potent horror icons, one of the closest to us in terms of identification factor, in terms of reflecting ourselves," he said. "The zombie is, simply, us."

Jonathan Shorr, chairman of the University's School of communications design, told the Sun that, "It's a back door into a lot of subjects.They think they're taking this wacko zombie course, and they are. But on the way, they learn how literature and mass media work, and how they come to reflect our times."

Students will watch 16 classic zombie films and read several issues of "The Walking Dead" comic book series from Dark Horse Comics. They are also required to submit research papers, write zombie movie scripts and make drawing boards of zombie films of their own making.

Man, this fires me up! I'm in debt up to my eyeballs paying for a degree I don't even use and had to take classes like Physics and Business Finance! Baltimore isn't the first, though. Columbia College in Chicago has apparently been offering a zombie course for awhile. So why is the course called "English 333"? Because that number is half of 666. I'm not making that up.

Zombieland 2 Has A Script

ShockTillYouDrop scored an interview with Reuben Fleisher and they get him to spill the beans on the sequal of Zombieland!  "Yeah, I read it," Fleisher told a group of journalists. "I mean, it's an early draft and we have plenty more to do to work on it, but I think it's going to be amazing, I'm really excited about it."

While nobody is officially signed... yet... Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin all admit to being interested in returning in a sequal.

Zombies vs Unicorns... seriously

It is a question that has long been debated (well, since 2007): Which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? Finally, this argument will be decided.

Zombies are lovers and fierce warriors, hunters of the living and just plain cool.  Unicorns are sparkly, pastel, and fart rainbows. But they're also arbiters of justice, healers and vicious man-killers.

Ultimately, the decision rests with you—which side are you on?

So reads the description of an upcoming book, Zombies vs Unicorns, a new book by Holly Black.  Headsu up, the book will hit shelves September 21st.

Zombie Roadkill

It looks like The Walking Dead won't be the only new zombie series to premier in October.  Zombie Roadkill is being brought to us by FEARnet and stars Thomas Haden Church.  The series has Church playing a park ranger who must escape a cursed highway that turns roadkill into zombie animals.  Huh?

I like Thomas Haden Church.  I like animals.  I like zombies.  So this may just work.  There will be six episodes airing on Video On Demand beginning October 4th.

Synopsis:
Academy-Award nominated actor Thomas Haden Church co-stars as a tough as nails Park Ranger who teams with an unsuspecting teenager, played by David Dorfman, to escape a cursed stretch of highway that resurrects roadkill in the form flesh-eating zombie animals. This new breed of terror is not just playing dead.

Zombie Roadkill also stars Toni Wynne, Jeff D’Agostino, Cherilyn Wilson, and Michael Blaiklock and centers around a group of college kids as they are driving on an unfamiliar road. Everything seems fit for a road trip to the lake, but when the group accidentally runs over an unsuspecting squirrel, they quickly realize there will be a price to pay. The cursed road brings the zombie squirrel back to life to haunt the kids. After the kids crash and everyone is injured except the younger brother, he is forced to set out on a journey to defeat the ancient curse and save his brother and friends before it is too late.

Three New Trialers For The Walking Dead

Less than 2 months!  As if Halloween couldn't be a better holiday for zombie fans, we have The Walking Dead series to look forward to!  There's still time to read the books and I suggest to everyone to do just that!  To hold us over until the next batch of news, here are three new trailers:

Dead Rising 2 Weapons Previewed

IGN recently posted article featuring their favorite weapons in the upcoming Dead Rising 2.  Each new piece of news about this game seems funner than the last.  I mean, a bucket with drills in it that you put on the zombie's head?  I'm not saying the gloves with knives attached or the spiked bat won't be fun.  This one's going to be a blast!

Horror Signs Is Back!

Horror Signs continues to reward ZT readers by sponsoring another contest!  This month, we are giving away a zombie license plate frame.  We all love zombies, now you can let everyone else know!  To enter, email your name and address to horrorsigns@zombiesandtoys.com.

Attack of the Vegan Zombies Personalized DVD Offer

Attack of the Vegan Zombies is a zombie film I have yet to watch.  BUT, to anyone who has thought about picking it up Woot has an unbeatable deal.  How about a copy personalized and autographed by the producer/director/actor, Jim Townsend, for $9.99?  AND he'll  send you back a one dollar bill!

"Anyone who goes to www.attackoftheveganzombies.com , buys a copy ($9.99 on that site) & mentions "woot" in the order notes, will receive an autographed copy (please specify how you want me to sign it in the order notes) AND a crumpled, wrinkly, old, one-dollar bill inside the DVD box. How does that sound?"

I have no clue how long this deal is good for so don't wait too long.

Sourpuss Clothing's September Contest

The great folks at Sourpuss Clothing are back again with more zombie goodness to give away this month! 

There's a huge selection of various items available.  Dresses, shirts, socks, accessories, hoodies, etc.  All with a tattoo-culture-meets-rockabilly vibe.  Again, this stuff is just my personal preference.  Now is also the perfect time to head over as they have a ton of new zombie-ish items now available for the fall.

Anyhoo... this month we're following up with the zombie onsie contest by presenting one lucky reader a zombie bib!  And for the parents we will also send you some Sourpuss swag including a great bottle opener.  To enter, email your name and address to sourpuss@zombiesandtoys.com.  If you didn't win last month's contest, check out the Zombie Rocker onsie for sale in the Zombie Toy Store. 

Another Night of the Living Trekkies Contest

So, you may recall that Zombies & Toys is giving away a copy of the latest zombie novel from Quirk Books, Night of the Living Trekkies.  Our contest ends this Friday and the winner must send me a review of the book to feature for everyone to enjoy.  Why?  Because it's my copy of the book and I don't have time to read it!  But, for those who like to read and not write, we will have a second contest for another copy when we post the guest review.

In the meantime, our friends at Buy Zombie are giving away are having their own contest that ends this Sunday.  It's possible to earn 50 entries per person!  Make sure to tell them ZT send you as I'd like to win a copy myself.  After all, I'm giving away my copy!

The Walking Dead Already Shambling Into Second Season

AMC has already picked up a 13 episode second season of it's comic book adaptation, The Walking Dead!  This is before a single frame has even been shown on television!  Empire was able to bring us other great news about the upcoming second season.  For starters, it will begin filming in February.  Director, Frank Darabont, had much to say about bringing us the second season:

“It would be great not just to get out of the heat, but to present a different idea to the audience visually and tonally by having it be winter. There’s some really cool stuff that Kirkman did, where they find the one zombie that’s frozen to the ground. I’d never seen that before and that’s really cool.”

And who can forget Michonne?

“When she shows up – and boy, is she a character I can’t wait to get to – when she comes striding out of the wasteland like a Clint Eastwood f***ing spaghetti Western character cross-melded with some samurai movie, like the Baby Cart character with the f***ing sword, and there’s just a little drift of snow in the air. I would love to put that on film.”

I can honestly say that I have not been this excited for something zombie related.  It's going to take some serious effort to mess this one up.  And if we get stuck with an actor who stinks?  They get killed.  Because the comic has already proven that nobody is sacred.

Breathers: A Zombie's Lament to Star Scarlett Johansson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt?

Breathers: A Zombie's Lament is a zombie love story written by S.G. Browne.  It tells the story of Andy, who tragically dies and is reanimated as a living corpse.  In a world where who will be a zombie and who will not cannot be predicted, zombies have no rights, still have feelings and memories, and must attend Undead Anonymous meetings.  Before the book was even published, Diablo Cody jumped on board to produce the film adaptation.  And this was after the book was turned down by dozens of publishers!

Well, the rumour-mill is buzzing with the latest news that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star as Andy.  After seeing him in Inception, I must admit that I'm excited at this news.  What about Andy's love interest, Rita?  Can anyone other than Scarlett Johansson make a zombie look hot?

Nothing is official and several sources of Hollywood news are simply saying that the two are "loosely" attached to the film.

For anyone not familiar with Breathers or S.G. Browne, check out Zombies & Toys' interview with Browne.  Also, revisit our guest review of the book.  Breathers is unique zombie novel that I originally had no intention of reading.  But am I happy to admit that it was one of the best books I read last year.  It was funny, warm, entertaining, and thought-provoking.  I encourage everyone to pick it up and give it a read.

Night of the Living Trekkies

Night of the Living Trekkies is a tale of heroism, sci-fi fandom, and flesh-eating Vulcans by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall.  The official release date is Sept 1st and the same publisher who brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Quirk Books, is going to give Zombies & Toys readers an opportunity to win a free copy of their book! 

Jim Pike was the world’s biggest Star Trek fan—until two tours of duty in Afghanistan destroyed his faith in the human race. Now he sleepwalks through life as the assistant manager of a small hotel in downtown Houston. But when hundreds of Trekkies arrive in his lobby for a science fiction convention, Jim finds himself surrounded by costumed Klingons, Vulcans, and Ferengi—plus a strange virus that transforms its carriers into savage, flesh-eating zombies!

I've decided to do this contest a bit differently than previous ones.  I have committed myself to reading and reviewing two other books and have realistically come to the conclusion that I will not have the time to read and review Night of the Living Trekkies in a timely fashion.  I am doing the publisher a disservice by not reviewing the book they have generously decided to send me.  I am doing the author a disservice by not reviewing a novel that undoubtedly took much time and effort.  Most importantly, I am doing Zombies & Toys readers a disservice by not providing you some additional information about some zombie goodness.

As a result, I would like to give my copy away to a reader who would like to submit and have featured their review.  If you are interested in contributing to the ZT community while snagging a free copy of a zombie-filled book, email your name and address to trekkies@zombiesandtoys.com.  One winner will be selected next Friday, Sept 3rd.  I will have the book in the mail the next day on Saturday and would like your review on or by October 15th.  Along with the featured review, we will also be giving away a second copy of Night of the Living Trekkies as part of our normal contest feature.

Also worth mentioning is the Night of the Living Trekkies Facebook page is giving away some nice prizes as well.  Grand prize will be some Troublesome Tribbles (they move and everything!), an unofficial Trekkies T-Shirt, and a signed copy of the book.  Two runners-up will receive an Unofficial Trekkies T-Shirt and a copy of the book.  All you have to do to be eligible is join the Facebook page!

I will be testing some new ideas over the coming months.  Based on YOUR feedback, we will be replicating and/or moving forward with the new ideas or learning from my mistake and ditching them.

Pre-Christmas Contest at the Zombie Toy Store

Christmas is a mere four months away!  Four months may seem like a long time, but who wants to shop after Thanksgiving?  So that gives you three months.  But it starts getting cold in November.  Maybe some snow.  Wet shoes.  Bad driving conditions.  So now we're down to two months.  Because I am sure many of you will wait until the last minute, I've decided to reward those of you who want to relieve some shopping stress early.

From now until the end of Sept, every order made at the Zombie Toy Store will receive free zombie swag!  Stickers, buttons, magnets, keychains, toys, books, and more will be given away!  In addition, for every $10 you spend, you gain one entry towards a Zombie Toy Store goodie bag!  And with each item sold, we'll add more items to the bag!  Followers on Twitter can watch for announcements telling what has been added.

The Tarman - Toy Update

Arguably one of the most recognizable zombies outside of the Romero clan, Tarman is finally making his way to your toy shelf.  Unfortunately, he's been delayed until February of next year.  While this is sad news to many of us, it isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I'll take a delay over a shoddy finished product any day.

Tarman is being brought to us by Amok Time toys who are also responsible for the Bub action figure as well as a 12" Cemetery Zombie.  Amok Time is unique as they seem to create some of the more obscure movie characters from out past such as Blacula and Elvira. 

I had the pleasure of meeting the President of Amok Time, Paul Lazo, at Steel City Con a few months back.  Paul is a great guy and because he's a collector too, I trust that we will have a great figure in the near future.

For the record... YES, we will have Tarman available in the Zombie Toy Store!