The latest issue of Rue Morgue, # 108 (JAN/FEB 2011), is chocked full of zombie goodness! Be sure to check out lots of articles and reviews including news about the Melbourne Underground Film Festival  (MUFF) director’s house being raided by the police over a copy of Bruce LaBruce’s latest zombie film, L.A. Zombie and a great comparison of zombies films around the world, including Colin, La Horde and AAAH! Zombies. Plus tons of reviews of new zombie anthologies, the zombie comic Zombies vs. Cheerleaders and game reviews of Dead Space 2 and Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. OUT NOW!

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Pocket Books is trying to repeat the success of the Jane Austen/zombie mashup book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with a new book based on The Beatles entitled Paul is Undead. The book will follow the musical journey of the band and adds a twist where the iconic bandmates turn into zombies. Could dead bodies possibly breathe life into what is already a well-known tale? You’ll have to wait to find out; Paul is Undead is set for publication in June 2010.

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Every month we tell you about the latest zombie offerings from Diamond, which are all available at your local comic book store. So, here are the zombie-related selections from Diamond Previews #244 January 2009, to ship in March 2009:

COMICS
AVATAR
Night of the Living Dead: New York “Desperation” Cover One-Shot -$5.99, pg.232

BLUEWATER
Plan 9 From Outer Space…Strikes Again! One-Shot -$3.99, pg.234

BOOM!
Zombie Tales #12 -$3.99, pg.241

DARK HORSE
The Goon #32 -$3.99, pg.56

DESPERADO
Deadworld Volume 2: Frozen Over TP -$14.99, pg.269

DEVIL’S DUE
The Zombies That Ate The World #2 -$3.50, pg.252

DC
(WILDSTORM)
Resident Evil #1 (0f 6) -$3.99, pg.113

DYNAMIC FORCES
Super Zombies #1 Three Signature Supreme Set -$69.99, pg.279

DYNAMITE
Army of Darkness #20 -$3.50, pg.261
Army of Darkness: Home Sweet Hell TP -$14.99, pg.261
Super Zombies #1 -Regular Cover $3.50/ Foil Cover $PI, pg.255

IMAGE
The Walking Dead #59 -$2.99, pg.167

MARVEL
Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery Volume 2 HC -$59.99, pg.83 Marvel Supplement

RED 5
ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction #5 (of 6) -$3.25, pg.311

BOOKS
Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament SC by S.G. Browne -$14.95, pg.358

TOYS/ COLLECTIBLES
Day of the Dead: Bub Deluxe Action Figure -$PI, pg.389 *OFFERED AGAIN*
Grim Grimly’s Cannibal Flesh Riot Statue -$150.00, pg.416

GAMES
TWILIGHT CREATIONS
Reiner Knizia’s Zombiegeddon Board Game -$24.99, pg.477
Zombies!!! Limited Edition Bag O’ Glowing Dogs -$9.99, pg.477

PI=Price Inquiry, please inquire at your local comic book store for the prices on items marked with this code

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Check out this new(ish) book Zombies: A Field Guide to the Walking Dead, by Dr. Bob Curran. Here’s a description of the book from Amazon:

In the myths, legends, and folklore of many peoples, the returning, physical dead play a significant role, whether they are the zombies of Haiti or the draugr of Scandinavia. But what are the origins of an actual bodily return from the grave? Does it come from something deep within our psyche, or is there some truth to it?

In Zombies, Bob Curran explores how some of these beliefs may have arisen and the truths that lay behind them, examining myths from all around the world and from ancient times including Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Celtic. Curran traces the evolution of belief in the walking cadaver from its early inception in religious ideology to the “Resurrections” and cataleptics of 18th century Europe, from prehistoric tale to Arthurian romance. Zombies even examines the notion of the “living dead” in the world today–entities such as the “living mummies” of Japan.

Zombies is a unique book, the only one to systematically trace the development of a cultural idea of physical resurrection and explore the myths that have grown around it, including the miracles of Old Testament prophets. It will interest those enticed by the return of the corporeal dead and also those curious as to how such an idea sits within the historical context.

You can order a copy of the book here.

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I saw this book, Zombie CSU, advertised in Rue Morgue last month, so I special ordered it at the local book shop. I’m only 30 pages in, but so far it’s a damn good read.

To Jonathan Maberry, two-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, the idea that society would crumble due to the lack of action on the part of our governmental services during a zombie outbreak never quite sat well with him. He has taken it upon himself to investigate the reality of the state of our union in respects to the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. Maberry conducted over 250 interviews with experts in the law, law enforcement, the military, medicine, forensic science and psychology to find out in reality how they would take on the undead rising from their graves.

It also features interviews with Featuring interviews with Max Brooks (World War Z), Brian Keene (The Rising) Tony Todd and Patricia Tallman (NotLD 90), Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), the list goes on.

There’s a ton of zombie art and history in it too. It’s a nice thick 400 page book, but it’s a paperback, so the cost isn’t too outrageous.

The cover price is $16.95 US and it’s published by Citadel Press.

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The Living Dead is a new anthology of zombie fiction covering the last three decades. Featuring authors such as Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Harlan Ellison this could be the greatest collection of zombie stories ever put together! It’s available now over on Amazon.com.

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Permuted Press and author Travis Adkins are celebrating Halloween by giving away the novel Twilight of the Dead for free! The book will be serialized with new chapters released each week on their blog. They even make it easy for you with an mailing list where you can sign up to be reminded when the new chapters are posted. Go check it out – it’s good reading material!

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In the world of underground fiction, few novels can compare to J.L. Bourne’s Day by Day Armageddon. Self-published in 2004, it was a print adaption of the author’s ongoing web blog. I was lucky enough to be a regular reader on the site and bought a copy of the book as soon as it was published. Good thing too – it’s highly sought after now and can easily sell for $50-$100.

Written in a journal style, Day by Day Armageddon follows the life of a Naval pilot as he slowly learns of a growing zombie epidemic. He initially holes himself up, but as things get worse and the living seem fewer and fewer, he finds new ways to survive. It manages to provide a realistic, rather than sensationalized portrayal of survival but still manages to be an exciting page-turner. Bourne makes wonderful use of his own background (a military man himself) and provides an insider’s view on how the military might actually react. The only downside is that it abruptly ends (it was originally supposed to multi-volume series).

The good news is that if you missed out on it’s original print run, Day by Day Armageddon is going to be re-printed soon by Permuted Press! Volume 2 is also on its way. You can find out more information on the author’s website here.  You can also read the first chapter of the book and see how great it is for yourself.

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While looking for some new zombie literature to sink my teeth into, I came across this five-part short story series on Amazon called How to Make Love Like a Zombie. It’s only available through Amazon, so you’ll have to go there to check it out. Here’s a blurb from it’s author Nathan Tyree:

I have always wanted to write a novel in the zombie genre, and when this story occurred to me I could not resist writing it. This is the first part of a serial novel. In it zombies attack a small town. Several survivors of this zombie holocaust come together and begin an attempt to find safety. They soon discover that these zombies are very different from the ones they have seen in movies.

HTMLLAZ is availble for $.49 each, five parts total.

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Who would’ve thought that we could learn so much from zombies? Quite a bit, as it turns out according to Scott Kenemore – author of The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead. His book attempts to condense the innate wisdom of the zombie into practical lessons for living.

At first glance I was skeptical – honestly I thought this book would be another in a long line of books hoping to cash in on the latest fad. But when the review copy arrived in the mail, it was immediately apparent this was something special. The cover, pages, and illustrations are all high quality with many color pages and red accents on each page.

Whatever the quality of the binding, the value in The Zen of Zombie is clearly in the contents of the book itself. The book is divided into two parts: “The 24 Habits of Highly Effective Zombies” and “Your Guide to Complete Zombification in 90 Days”. Interspersed throughout are little blurbs of “Zombie Tips” and boxes that say “Remember” with a severed hand and emphasize important points.

The “24 Habits” listed in the book are each hilarious and some are downright laugh-out-loud funny. Kenemore writes with all the authority of an undead Dr. Phil, blending real life lessons with humor and parody. I could’ve never imagined that zombies could teach us so much.  The “Complete Guide to Zombifcation” is equally hilarious, going through real-life scenarios and thought experiements in an attempt to see life through the slowly decomposing eye of a zombie.

The Zen of Zombie manages to be great at not only parodying those worthless self-help books but also provide some real food for thought.  That is the true genius of this book – it works on several levels.  If you don’t find enlightenment after reading this book, at least you had a good time reading it.

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