Land of Make Believe
190 N. Main Street
Hudson, OH 44236
330-650-4438
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Monday, April 30, 2012
Zombies & Toys Infection Begins!
Like a zombie virus, our infection of establishments across the country has begun. We are excited to announce that the first of several Zombies & Toys satellite locations is now open! You can find our oasis of zombie goodness within the Land of Make Believe located in Hudson, OH. Watch for the infection to grow and spread!
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Saturday, April 28, 2012
Star Wars Zombie Prints
Matt Boiselle
If you drag your undead bones on over to Jeff's Etsy shop ( www.etsy.com/shop/jhulligan), you can check out these 8.5" x 8.75" prints which sell for $10.00 each, or you can snag all six for $50.00 and make that Star Wars fan in your life either shriek with excitement, or cover their eyes in horror at what has become of their favorite childhood icons.
The dead versions of the classic characters are headlined by Darth Vader & Boba Fett, and include C-3PO & his little undead robotic buddy R2-D2, then are rounded out by an Imperial Stormtrooper and a Rebel Alliance X-Wing Pilot......all freshly dead. But make sure that you act quickly, because each signed print (by the artist himself) are only limited to 50 pieces, so these should be flying out the door very quickly. So in closing, may the force be with you, because you're going to need it if you intend to stare down these zombies !
Rotten - Comic Book Series Review
The Quick & Dirty
Art is good - readability is ok - Storyline is convoluted
....................
Rotten by Moonstone Comics is set during Rutherford B. Hayes presidency, around 1877.
The comic begins in a haphazard way and struggles to introduce you to the characters.
Secondary characters seem to appear & disappear without warning.
In the first issue, an attempt at using time period vernacular happens.
Something that thankfully fades as the series drags on.
The two main characters appear to be some kind of secret agents within Hayes government structure, something that is never really explained.
Overall, each issue felt like it was regurgitated and i kept asking myself where i had seen or heard the writing before.
It is like X-Files meets zombies in the 1800's
I had my 13yo son read the series also & his review is just below:
-- Ima Zombie
.................................................................................
This comic was a bit of a disappointment to me.
While the art was reasonable the writing and plotline were not.
The way things progressed in the story wasn't very original either
The first comic explains the disease and they came up with a reasonably original idea for the disease but they do not exactly explain it
All of these grunts and groans never came from the zombies it was always the living
I thought zombies were supposed to do that!
I thought zombies were supposed to do that!
It seemed like while all the characters were supposedly in the olden days, they didn't speak or act in that fashion.
None of the characters made any sense.
None of the characters made any sense.
They seemed to appear all of the sudden and when they didn't have a purpose they just disappeared or died suddenly with no explanation.
--Hanging Tree
--Hanging Tree
Sunday, April 22, 2012
A Darkness Shattered: Review
Matt Boiselle
What point is there in reading any novel if you aren't able to gain a feel for the surroundings that envelop you ? I have put down many a book because I need to be placed in an environment that is almost tangible, and for that almost too picky sense of being that I possess, I'm sure that I've lost out on many a good read.
I was having feelings of trepidation when " A Darkness Shattered" was thrown into my lap, and after this read, those feelings quickly disappeared further and further within each page turn. Up-and-coming author Bruce Clothier has the ability to paint you, the reader, a scene that is as clear and concise as any you could hope to read. Each terrifying moment in the book is graphically and gore-iffically (just made that one up) detailed in such a fashion that anyone who jumps into this book, will swear that they are watching it play out in front of them via live-action.
The story itself follows main character Michael Nelson, a 16 year old who is faced with the choice of heading out into a world that has fallen to pieces due to the zombie apocalypse to find shelter for himself, or wait out in hopes that his parents, who have been missing for a week will somehow return to safety. After much thought, Michael ventures out on his own to begin a search for a safe haven, and clings to little remaining hope that he can be reunited with his Grandparents. He runs into Abby in his travels, a teenage girl that also has been thrust into the unknown yet obviously fateful future. Together they begin a journey together into the heart of a violent new world, all along the way meeting up with a variety of characters, some that will aid in their survival, while some others are hell-bent on taking away from them all that they hold dear to each other.
I will spare all of the details, mainly due to the fact that no matter what I may type, it simply does not do enough justice in comparison as to what you can read for yourself. Rest assured, the atmosphere is thick in this book, and the amount of detail will leave your mind feeling as if you too are a character tossed into the middle of this violent scarefest.
The book is available on http://www.amazon.com/ for a mere .99 cents (e-reader format), so toss up a dollar and watch the zombie entrails rain down around you - Happy Reading !
What point is there in reading any novel if you aren't able to gain a feel for the surroundings that envelop you ? I have put down many a book because I need to be placed in an environment that is almost tangible, and for that almost too picky sense of being that I possess, I'm sure that I've lost out on many a good read.
I was having feelings of trepidation when " A Darkness Shattered" was thrown into my lap, and after this read, those feelings quickly disappeared further and further within each page turn. Up-and-coming author Bruce Clothier has the ability to paint you, the reader, a scene that is as clear and concise as any you could hope to read. Each terrifying moment in the book is graphically and gore-iffically (just made that one up) detailed in such a fashion that anyone who jumps into this book, will swear that they are watching it play out in front of them via live-action.
The story itself follows main character Michael Nelson, a 16 year old who is faced with the choice of heading out into a world that has fallen to pieces due to the zombie apocalypse to find shelter for himself, or wait out in hopes that his parents, who have been missing for a week will somehow return to safety. After much thought, Michael ventures out on his own to begin a search for a safe haven, and clings to little remaining hope that he can be reunited with his Grandparents. He runs into Abby in his travels, a teenage girl that also has been thrust into the unknown yet obviously fateful future. Together they begin a journey together into the heart of a violent new world, all along the way meeting up with a variety of characters, some that will aid in their survival, while some others are hell-bent on taking away from them all that they hold dear to each other.
I will spare all of the details, mainly due to the fact that no matter what I may type, it simply does not do enough justice in comparison as to what you can read for yourself. Rest assured, the atmosphere is thick in this book, and the amount of detail will leave your mind feeling as if you too are a character tossed into the middle of this violent scarefest.
The book is available on http://www.amazon.com/ for a mere .99 cents (e-reader format), so toss up a dollar and watch the zombie entrails rain down around you - Happy Reading !
Monday, April 9, 2012
The Walking Dead : prize pack giveaway
Matt Boiselle 
Over a month has passed by since the Season 2 finale of The Walking Dead, and there has got to be some fans that are still going through withdrawals, feeling lost on Sunday nights, ready to tackle the mailman and start feasting on his neck, or just getting the urge to shuffle down the street in a nice tattered, blood soaked pair of pants and shirt. Well thanks to the generous group over at www.nerdistnews.com, they have devised a giveaway to keep fans of the show at ease a little while longer until Season 2 drops on DVD.
Over a month has passed by since the Season 2 finale of The Walking Dead, and there has got to be some fans that are still going through withdrawals, feeling lost on Sunday nights, ready to tackle the mailman and start feasting on his neck, or just getting the urge to shuffle down the street in a nice tattered, blood soaked pair of pants and shirt. Well thanks to the generous group over at www.nerdistnews.com, they have devised a giveaway to keep fans of the show at ease a little while longer until Season 2 drops on DVD. Once you head on over to their site, (click the pic for the link) the instructions are fairly simple: just enter your everyday standard info ( name, e-mail address & any friend's e-mail addresses) and click "go", and you are now entered to win a prize bonanza that includes The Walking Dead board game, the Season 1 companion book, a sealed Season 1 compendium of trading cards, an uncut sheet of chromium trading cards, and 3 different t-shirts ! There are also bonus goodies for runners-up, second & third place finishers. If you want to visit their respective Facebook, Twitter, or Google + page, you can put in additional entries as well. That is some heavy prize-age and I would advise you to enter soon because this contest ends on April 16th, and you don't want to be the lone walker on the other side of the fence watching the herd feast without you - Good Luck to all who enter !
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Creepshow figure pre-order
Matt Boiselle
One of the 1980's most popular horror films to ever grace the big screen, Creepshow, is finally getting some long-overdue love from the collectibles industry, and does this look awesome !
One of the 1980's most popular horror films to ever grace the big screen, Creepshow, is finally getting some long-overdue love from the collectibles industry, and does this look awesome !Shrunken Head Studios is now taking pre-orders for the 1:6 scale figure of everyone's favorite grumpy old man, Nathan Grantham, fresh from the grave and holding the "cake" that he so longed for on Father's Day, the head of the ever-joyful Aunt Sylvia. The figure itself comes with 30 points of articulation, so you have the ability to move Mr. Grantham any way you want, even his jaw is poseable. The detail is movie accurate, and as 2 HUGE extra bonuses, you not only get the marble ashtray as an accessory ( YES- the murder weapon is included !), but the icing on the cake (bad pun sincerely intended) is what is stuck in the icing itself, the 7 candles on dearly-decapitated Sylvia are able to light up !! ( geek alarm sounding)
The cost of this sure to sell out hot item comes in at $98.00, but it is best advised to sign up for yours now, as these are limited to 500 pieces. As an extra incentive to grab one, when you decide to throw down for one of these, you're automatically entered to win a Series 2 Creepshow "Fluffy", as well as some cool Shrunken Head Studios gear. Click on the pic to be taken to Shrunken Head's website, and reserve your figure now, but beware....just so we aren't all thought of as "a bunch of greedy vultures", these are limited to 2 per customer.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Seattle Zombie Specialist!!!
Over the past 4 decades, fans of zombie culture have always wondered what they would look like if they were a member of the zombie horde. "Undead-Head Caricatures" by Over The Line Productions, LLC can make that dream (or nightmare) a reality! Over The Line Productions, LLC is a local caricature retail/entertainment business based out of Seattle, WA. The owners, Nolan Harris and Dexter Rothchild have always been fans of the zombie culture and decided to merge their 2 loves of zombies and caricatures into a gruesome match made in undead heaven.
This idea is nothing new. Artists have been rendering people as zombies for decades. What makes Over The Line's interpretation unique, is that they can make the experience fun and interactive in a live environment. Nolan and Dexter started drawing Undead-Heads at the inaugural ZomBcon in 2010. The concept was such a hit, the duo expanded to the world famous Fremont Zombie Walk in July and returned to last year's ZomBcon in 2011.
The concept is very simple--you sit down or send detailed photos of yourself, and the artists exaggerate your features and add whatever gory details you desire! Nolan and Dex DO NOT discriminate. If you have pets, they would be more than happy to zombify them as well.
If you are interested in getting drawn as an Undead-Head, Over The Line will be drawing at this year's Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk on July 7th, in Fremont. Nolan and Dexter also take commissions via their website, otlart.com and their facebook fan page, facebook.com/overthelineproductions. They can also be contacted directly via email at artmarkit@gmail.com or you can call 206.925.DRAW
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
John Ajvide Lindqvist undead prize package
Matt Boiselle
Looking for a good read ? Or a lot of good reads for that matter ? If you are a fan of zombie & vampire novels then there is a contest right up your alley. If you head on over to www.criminalelement.com/johnlindqvistsweepstakes, you can enter to win a prize package from Author John Ajvide Lindqvist, who has penned the classics, Let the Right One In & Let Me In, which were turned into motion pictures. But did you know that he has also written a zombie novel as well ?
In addition to the vampire tales of terror, Lindqvist has written a zombie novel to his credit that will make your skin crawl for sure. "Handling the Undead" - which is a story that unfolds during a massive heat wave that seems to wake the dead, is a nice read in addition to " Harbor"- which involves a man and his wife and the unexpected disappearance of their daughter in a snowy town, and trust me, the creeps in this one are plentiful.
If you are the lucky one that comes off as the winner of this prize package, which not only will include either a copy of Let the Right One In or Let Me In, you will get the DVD that is associated with the book, PLUS a copy of Handling the Undead & Harbor !! This a contest with a real nice payoff, so enter now - the contest runs from April 3rd until April 10th @ 11:59 pm EST so good luck and if you do win, Happy Reading !!
Looking for a good read ? Or a lot of good reads for that matter ? If you are a fan of zombie & vampire novels then there is a contest right up your alley. If you head on over to www.criminalelement.com/johnlindqvistsweepstakes, you can enter to win a prize package from Author John Ajvide Lindqvist, who has penned the classics, Let the Right One In & Let Me In, which were turned into motion pictures. But did you know that he has also written a zombie novel as well ?In addition to the vampire tales of terror, Lindqvist has written a zombie novel to his credit that will make your skin crawl for sure. "Handling the Undead" - which is a story that unfolds during a massive heat wave that seems to wake the dead, is a nice read in addition to " Harbor"- which involves a man and his wife and the unexpected disappearance of their daughter in a snowy town, and trust me, the creeps in this one are plentiful.
If you are the lucky one that comes off as the winner of this prize package, which not only will include either a copy of Let the Right One In or Let Me In, you will get the DVD that is associated with the book, PLUS a copy of Handling the Undead & Harbor !! This a contest with a real nice payoff, so enter now - the contest runs from April 3rd until April 10th @ 11:59 pm EST so good luck and if you do win, Happy Reading !!
Morning Star Strain Series Review
Nicholas Teeters
If you have had the pleasure to sit and read one of the late Z.A. Recht books, then you should know that the third and final installment of the series is upon us (June 19, 2012).
The first two books of the story showed how fast the world can unwind with a virus that has no cure and no way to slow down other than the nice pieces of lead our main characters have a decent supply of.
The Morningstar series chronicles a few months’ time, but it is very well written and you can really get a taste of each character’s strengths and weaknesses early on.
I found myself not being able to put these books down till I was finished with them. They kept my mind running through the lists of things you might really need in order to survive a situation like this.
I give this book a solid two decaying thumbs up. I loved the world the Recht created and showed taught to fear. Right now Amazon has them priced really cheap (Plague of the Dead, Thunder and Ashes, Survivors) so getting them won’t be a problem—at least while the world still spins.
If you have had the pleasure to sit and read one of the late Z.A. Recht books, then you should know that the third and final installment of the series is upon us (June 19, 2012).
The first two books of the story showed how fast the world can unwind with a virus that has no cure and no way to slow down other than the nice pieces of lead our main characters have a decent supply of.
The Morningstar series chronicles a few months’ time, but it is very well written and you can really get a taste of each character’s strengths and weaknesses early on.
I found myself not being able to put these books down till I was finished with them. They kept my mind running through the lists of things you might really need in order to survive a situation like this.
I give this book a solid two decaying thumbs up. I loved the world the Recht created and showed taught to fear. Right now Amazon has them priced really cheap (Plague of the Dead, Thunder and Ashes, Survivors) so getting them won’t be a problem—at least while the world still spins.
Disney Princesses: With an undead twist
Matt Boiselle
There is nothing like your first venture into either Walt Disney World or Disneyland to make you feel a certain sense of magic. Regardless if you have travelled there with your parents, spouse, or escorted your own kids for a vacation that they will remember forever, one of Disney's staples are their gorgeous princesses and the regal way they carry themselves, and convey the royal ways to their loyal fan following.....but....what if there was an accident ??
Many thanks go out to the incredible artwork of Miguel Gutierrez for his portrayal of the Disney princesses as they have crossed over to the other side, and returned again. Click on the pic of Snow White herself to be taken to Miguel's Flickr photo page for some shots of the princesses that will be sure to scare the Mickey ears off of the most hardcore Disney fan !!
There is nothing like your first venture into either Walt Disney World or Disneyland to make you feel a certain sense of magic. Regardless if you have travelled there with your parents, spouse, or escorted your own kids for a vacation that they will remember forever, one of Disney's staples are their gorgeous princesses and the regal way they carry themselves, and convey the royal ways to their loyal fan following.....but....what if there was an accident ??Many thanks go out to the incredible artwork of Miguel Gutierrez for his portrayal of the Disney princesses as they have crossed over to the other side, and returned again. Click on the pic of Snow White herself to be taken to Miguel's Flickr photo page for some shots of the princesses that will be sure to scare the Mickey ears off of the most hardcore Disney fan !!
Zombie Children: True or False ?
Matt Boiselle
A while back we here at Zombies & Toys had a post about the possibilities of zombification, and if it were true, how would the general public react to such a case ? On April 1st, 2012 in the Visayas Islands region of the Philippines, there is a distinct possibility that the dead had indeed come back to life....or had they ?
A government worker from a local health unit had reported that several children had become violently ill, died, and then rose from the dead shortly afterwards to attack certain members of their families. Alleged photos of human bite marks on the victims were reported to have been seen, although none have been made available to the public. Health officials were originally dispatched to the province to check on the children when word had gotten back to them about the mysterious illness, and when workers showed up, the parents' fevers were reported to have been so high, they were not able to even keep awake during the kids' checkups.
Three "human bite marks" were supposedly viewed on all of the children, and with the concern of a rabies outbreak, vaccinations were ordered for all villagers in the area and people were told to look out for a "rabid person" walking around the area. The health official had already planned to return to the area on April 1st when she was informed via text that all 3 children had died, and then mysteriously "awoken" a short time later and had attacked their parents. A local group leader allegedly was bitten when he tried to assist the parents, and the local government has issued a gag order on anyone involved with this incident as to not fuel the fire of any "zombie outbreak" rumors.
Assessing all of the above info regarding the story, whether or not this is a true incident, you can't deny that in this day and age, with all of the rapidly advancing diseases that even we in the United States are unaware of, there certainly could be something out there that is capable of turning someone into a flesh-eating denizen of the dead. Feel free to click the link in the pic for the full story.
A while back we here at Zombies & Toys had a post about the possibilities of zombification, and if it were true, how would the general public react to such a case ? On April 1st, 2012 in the Visayas Islands region of the Philippines, there is a distinct possibility that the dead had indeed come back to life....or had they ?
A government worker from a local health unit had reported that several children had become violently ill, died, and then rose from the dead shortly afterwards to attack certain members of their families. Alleged photos of human bite marks on the victims were reported to have been seen, although none have been made available to the public. Health officials were originally dispatched to the province to check on the children when word had gotten back to them about the mysterious illness, and when workers showed up, the parents' fevers were reported to have been so high, they were not able to even keep awake during the kids' checkups.
Three "human bite marks" were supposedly viewed on all of the children, and with the concern of a rabies outbreak, vaccinations were ordered for all villagers in the area and people were told to look out for a "rabid person" walking around the area. The health official had already planned to return to the area on April 1st when she was informed via text that all 3 children had died, and then mysteriously "awoken" a short time later and had attacked their parents. A local group leader allegedly was bitten when he tried to assist the parents, and the local government has issued a gag order on anyone involved with this incident as to not fuel the fire of any "zombie outbreak" rumors.
Assessing all of the above info regarding the story, whether or not this is a true incident, you can't deny that in this day and age, with all of the rapidly advancing diseases that even we in the United States are unaware of, there certainly could be something out there that is capable of turning someone into a flesh-eating denizen of the dead. Feel free to click the link in the pic for the full story.
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