Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Zombies!!!!!!

Would just like to direct anyone who hasn't yet been to take a look-see towards Nik Holmes' rather groovy "Zombiedollar$" website. If you're a love of all things zombtastic like myself (and I know you are) then have a ganders at said site. Nik is a great illustrator/graphic artist and the site is simply a showcase for likeminded zombologists artwork. Hope it grows. Or is that decays?

Pictured here is one of the black and white pages from my "BOOGIEMAN - Dawn of the Disco Dead" Biteneck Beatniks comic I was working on, before other work committments scuppered my schedule. Still want to try and get this comic done, but with possibly Ian Culbard on board with the inkpen duties. Or Wacom as the case is for him nowadays.

This is one of the early pieces of artwork from the comic, when our benign gravedigger is caught unawares by one of his ghoulish old buddies......

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

NNnnnnngg...... grrrrgghh...... mmmnnnhh...... brrrraaaains.......

I. N. J. Culbard said...

A Zombie?!?!?! Make your way to the exits please in a calm and orderly fashion.

Nothing quite scares me more than the thought of a zombie that can movie like the clappers.

Jo Bling said...

Sheesh, you and me both buddy. Having grown up on the shuffly slipper-wearing zombie movies of the 80's, I recall the feeling of giddy nausea upon seeing both 28 Days Later and the remake of Dawn Of The Dead, with hot-footing zombies that run like nutters!

It just aint right, I tells ya....

Anonymous said...

Hah, good man Mr. Jobling, thanks so much for that! And thanks also for making me want to put more of your work in the Zombiedollar$ gallery. That pic is so slick and fluid its amazing!
Count me in on the high speed zombies!
28 Days Later, in the block of flats, Zombies hurtling up the stairs and Jim is too tired, collapses and shouts not to be left behind!

All I wanted to do was cry. Kept thinking, well that'd be me, only not even on stairs, probably just collapse after 20 yards of flat terrain.

Awful, awful dead people, hurtling at you! Eeeeeh...

Jo Bling said...

Good to see you Nik, do stay and chew the fat with felow like-minded zombologists, you're always welcome. In fact, I might direct you to INJun's work too as he recently wrote and illustrated a short zombie story for Dark Horse Comics Presents hardback New Recruits book.

Go ahead and stick that one on Zombiedollar$ if you like, Nik, you're more than welcome.

Andrew Glazebrook said...

Send more paramedics !!!!!

'28 Days Later' didn't feature Zombies,they were infected people,with Rage,that's why at the end they end up starving because they haven't got the intelligence to eat !!!

Anyway that out of the way, Zombies are cool. Don't mention the Dawn of the Dead remake,it wasn't a patch on the original. Return of the Living Dead is still a fave of mine !!

sheriffmitchell said...

Return of the Living Dead is great but it's no 1978 Dawn of the Dead. Mindless zombies rampaging in a shopping mall - it's like Saturday afternoon in the Metro Centre, except it's not brains they are after it's Berghaus.

Anonymous said...

Hee, hee...the sneaky zombie baiting begins. Love stirring up the whole '28 days later not a zombie flick debate!'
True they aren't zombies in the back from the dead sense, but the film is as important to, and more importantly endebted to, the Zombie genre as Dawn, Shaun and Return of the various deads. To remove it from the Zombie genre is doing a great injustice to Garland who obviously set out to create a zombie movie that work a little further outside the realms of suspended disbelief than was the norm, as well as show us he knows his John Wyndham like a good 'un.
So yes, they weren't what we consider Zombies, but then again in 1968 Romero's creatures were probably considered more ghoul than zombie themselves.

By the way, I recently discovered they have remade Night of the Living Dead yet again, this time in 3D! Now that's entertainment!

Return is definitely my fave too, and running zombies in that!

Jo Bling said...

I think it's safe to mention the DOTD remake, it's a fine film. Very different to the original but then again "of" a different era.

Land of the Dead got mixed reviews but I absolutely loved it. Then again I saw the 18 cert version and not the cinema edit. A 15 cert zombie flick? Crazy talk!

Give over with the 28 Days Later monsters not being zombies. It's the same bloomin' ball park in my eyes. Next you'll be saying that The Omega Man isn't a zombie flick......

;-)

Howdy Sheriff, long time no chinwag mucker! Off to London next week, not to see the Queen but Cartoon Network. Shall let you know how I get on :-)

paulhd said...

28 Day Later - they're zombies. Sort of, I mean, they aren't the reanimated corpses of the recent dead or nothing, but they are zombies, they just are!!
Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue is a favourite of mine, it's ecological, it's gory, it's strange, and it's got a sexy couple called George and Edna. Brilliant!
I liked the DOTD remake too, pretty respectful update I thought even if it wasn't as good as the original.
That's a nice zombie Mr Bling, hope you get to finish the comic sometime soon. Real soon:)
And talking of Omega Man, can't believe the new version's goning to have Will Smith in it, it's just not right.

Andrew Glazebrook said...

If you want to see some real Zombies just check out the acting in the Star Wars prequels ! :)

I'd say '28 Days Later' is more like George Romero's 'The Crazies' as a movie than a Zombie flick.
I didn't mind 'Land of the Dead' though I'm not sure why he didn't go with his 'Twilight of the Dead' title like he always planned to ?!

Anonymous said...

Yes! Twilight would have just made it so much more a part of the whole, even if it is just a name. It just sits with the rest of the series better than Land. I enjoyed Land, in fact for some reason I watched it twice on the trot so I obviously got a kick out of it, but I actually preferred the Dawn remake. I know they aren't in competition, but I felt Land moved the series too far into the realms of Sci Fi and was nowhere near as nihilistic as a zombie movie should be, especially a Romero one. Everyone you thought would survive did, there were actual 'baddies' to be hissed at who get their comeuppance, and when that matador turned up I felt like I was watching a Sci-Fi channel pilot.
Like I said though I watched it twice in one sitting so I obviously enjoyed it, just felt it was a little to 'popcorn', and after Romero had called the Dawn remake a nice little action film I expected more from Land.

Dennis Hopper picking his nose was legend however.

Agree with you on the Crazies comment, infection films often run close to Zombie films I guess, and George obviously felt that with the Crazies people might see the message a bit clearer. Mutant 2 is a guilty pleasure of mine from the 'infected' genre, that creepy ass kids doll with the chicken legs! Hnnnghhh!

Jo Bling said...

If we're talking "infected" and zombies then look no further than BRAINDEAD. Remember laughing my bottom off at that while others in the room blanched. I think it was the lawnmower scene, going on for as long as it did and then him turning around to wade back through. That's Jackson doing comedy especially well.

Trust zombies to get us all chomping at the bit, so to speak :-)

Schwarzenegger wanted to do The Omega Man, or I Am Legend, to give it it's proper title, for what seemed like forever. Thanks goodness that never happened but have to say I'm disappointed to hear that Mr Smith is on board for a remake.

Land Of The Dead felt like a new beginning to me. What are the odds on "Road Of The Dead" being the next movie???

I. N. J. Culbard said...

They're not zombies in 28 days later in the same way they're not vampires in "I Am Legend". But their point of reference is pretty much the same.

"Argh!!! RUN!!! ZOMBIES!!!"

"They're not zombies, they're rage infected-arghh!!! It was on me so fast and now it's eating my leg, I barely had time to argue my point!"

Jo Bling said...

Exactly. No room for pedants here, there are other forums for that kinda nonsense. We all KNOW they aint zombie. But they are.

Hey if you wear a hoodie, act like a hoodie and look like a hoodie, in my eyes you deserve an asbo and the same goes for those bloomin' infected nutters...

Jo Bling said...

Re: comic, hinges on INJun's availability, although if I had the time (and ability) I'd take a run at it myself!

Anonymous said...

I Am Legend analogy perfectly sums it up for me! Like
werewolves and Vampires, Zombies are a genre more than a definitive beast.
And really Zombies are just white trash vampires anyway. They wear check shirts, live in fields and eat off the bone, at least in Dawn anyhow.

As for Will Smith in I Am Legend, I was speaking to one of the concept artists and he told me the things been going on for that long it looks like its never really gonna happen, and if it dead they've moved it away from the source so much you might as well just see itas a will smither with a nice title.

Anonymous said...

"if it dead"

Actually meant 'if it DID'.
Obviously this thread is too much for me.

I. N. J. Culbard said...

Comic hinges on development (not just my hairy shoulders), since the comic and the show will look so akin to one another you'd feel like you were reading an animated series or watching a comic book whilst sitting in a bathtub of cool.

But, that said, count me in for six pages (may take as much as a full first issue) and a write up and we'll see if we can't get that sucker on the shelves.

Natch.

Unknown said...

FUN FUN AWESOME character!

Jo Bling said...

For those who don't know, INJun's work is, in my opinion, heavily grounded in comics. When we first met years ago I'd never met such a natural draughtsman, nor someone with such an impressive collection of groovy comics. As time went by he moved into animation, but his knowledge of comics comes into this too.

With the BITENECK BEATNIKS I'm the first to admit that I've never done a comic before, and am aware that I'd like the first one to really rock. Can't think of better hands for the first issue to be in than INJun's.

As it's developing as an animation project as well, we have to be consicous of the fact that this might dictate what the comic is going to look like.

All that said, as the comic rolls into being we'll put bits up on here.

Back to the zombies!

"And really Zombies are just white trash vampires anyway. They wear check shirts, live in fields and eat off the bone"

Class!

Hey Brain and Alina, good to see you guys :-)

Jo Bling said...

"Brain"

Doh. This is a thread for zombo-Freudian slips if ever there was one!!!

paulhd said...

It goes without say we're all reading 'Walking Dead' right?

I. N. J. Culbard said...

Goes without saying. Bling's favourite comic besides Bunty.

Jo Bling said...

Yep, what Ian said. But not the Bunty part. Naturally...

*shy blushes*

I actually have a drawing of "Zombie Rick" as done by Charlie Adlard at a recent Comic-con for me. If I get around to digging it out I'll post it!

I. N. J. Culbard said...

Probably tucked away under all those copies of Bunty you leave lying around.

paulhd said...

Postitpostitpostit!
Scarily I think I did used to read Bunty :o it was a comic, I read it.

Jo Bling said...

I may (he said with trepidation) have packed the Rick Zombie picture away ahead of (hopeful) house move. When I get back into my boxes I'll be sure to put it up on here.

Interestingly, it was my mate Andy Smith, a writer from Newcastle, who got it for me. He met Mr Adlard and knew I was a fan so I got a text message out of the blue asking for what i wanted. I felt a "zombie version of Rick" was a pretty inspired request. Indeed, Charlie admitted that one hadn't been asked of him before. So he got stuck in.

The finished picture actually looks like the regular Rick to be fair, who's a pretty raggedy scruffy shambling looking fella at the best of times! :-D

Still, many thanks Charlie! And Andy too for that matter!

Andrew Glazebrook said...

They're doing a remake of 'Day of the Dead' now,so we've had remakes of Night and Dawn,Day's next,I wonder if in a year or so they'll remake Land of the Dead again !? :)

paulhd said...

Pfft, they'll be remaking The Hitcher Next :)

I. N. J. Culbard said...

I want to see a remake of Hawk the Slayer.

paulhd said...

Well, if at first you don't succeed.....

Jo Bling said...

They did remake Hawk The Slayer already, didn't they? Scorpion something or other they re-named it.......

Hadn't heard about the Day of the Dead remake, but I'd look forward to that. Just how FAST would the zombies be going in THAT one if exponentially they were speeding up with each remake?!?!?!?! :-D

Andrew Glazebrook said...

Hawk the Slayer,now there's agood movie for ya !! And Krull !!!!

Jo Bling said...

Ahhh, Krull. Bernard Bresslaw getting stuck in the crushing rockface, his solitary Carry-On cyclops eye weeping as he cried out: "Awwwww Sid!"