Join Me At The Zombie Research Society!

Zombie-Thon launched here at WordPress nearly three years ago, and thanks to all of our friends, readers, subscribers and contributors it has been a huge success! In fact, i’d like to personally thank each and every one of you… so please feel free to leave your private email address in the public comments section below.

(Obviously i’m just kidding; please don’t post your personal email addresses!)

Seriously though, i really appreciate all of the support that you’ve given me over the years. And yet, as much as Zombie-Thon means to me personally… i’m incredibly happy to announce that i’ve decided to join the wonderful team at the Zombie Research Society!

Under the leadership of Matt Mogk, the Zombie Research Society has become the world’s premiere zombie organization. From legitimate, scientific research to survival tips and popular culture; there is no better place to find anything and everything zombie!

So please join me as i begin my transition to the official Zombie Research Society website and blog! And feel free to continue sending any comments, tips, articles and suggestions.

Remember that you can always contact me directly at zombiethon@yahoo.com, via Twitter @ZombieThon1 or at my new official email address boyd@zrs.me. There are big things ahead for the Zombie Research Society, and i hope to see all of you there!

Keep You Honest: Lose Control

You guys are awesome… really, you are all amazing! And i’m so happy that you’ve stuck around and read our little zombie blog all these years! We’ve got some really big news coming up soon, so stay tuned. But right now, it’s Zombie Rock Friday!

This week we’ve got a sweet zombie-themed music video from Keep You Honest, whose name is especially relevant considering they’ll let you download their most recent album for whatever price you see fit!

Raw, aggressive, and sweetly melodic – keep you honest’s self-titled debut is about substance. About being new and fresh, but having the soul of a classic record. About being cool, but rejecting trendy. About songs that you’ll wear out before they wear thin. About the spirit of indie and staying unpolluted. About Me. About You. About Us. You’re Invited.

The video for Lose Control is really less of a music video than a short independent zombie film. But that’s what actually makes it interesting! Because God knows it isn’t about “being cool” or the exploring the “cutting-edge” college-rock sound of the nineties.

Anyway, this particular track is from their 2010 self-titled album. And, as we mentioned earlier, you can download the entire album online for whatever you feel like paying! The immediate download also includes hi-res CD Artwork and two hi-res Band Photos. And if you decide to pay anything, 100% of proceeds will be donated to World Vision Canada.

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Keep You Honest
Available at Amazon.com

Children’s Zombie Survival Camp!

I recently received this awesome little bit of zombie news from my home state of Iowa. It appears that the Ushers Ferry Historic Village, in conjunction with the Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department, is currently offering some very lucky children the chance to attend a Spring Break Zombie Camp!

Hone your survival skills and use 19th century know-how to prepare for 21st century disaster in this day camp for adventurous kids! You’ll learn to build a shelter, find your way in the wilderness, live off the land and assemble the necessary tools to survive any situation. On the last day, you will test your zombie survival skills with a water gun war of humans vs. zombies.

Okay, so it’s really just a survival course with a cute zombie-themed water gun fight at the end. But heck, when i lived in Iowa the only entertainment was setting fire to my GI Joe toys in the backyard. So these boys and girls are really going to be some well prepared, kick-ass little kids… who are probably better equipped to handle the inevitable zombie apocalypse than their own parents!

The camp is open to children between the ages of eight and twelve years old, and costs about seventy-five bucks. Unfortunately, it’s probably too late to get your kid into the Spring Break Zombie Camp this year. But you can still visit the official announcement on the Ushers Ferry Historic Village Facebook page for more information. After all, it’s not too early to start planning for next year!

In The Flesh On BBC Three!

In The Flesh is a brand new zombie program that recently premiered on BBC Three, and it’s already receiving some pretty rave reviews. The three part series is set sometime after the zombie apocalypse, and focuses on previously infected individuals who are attempting to rehabilitate themselves back into society. Better prepare yourselves for another heavy-handed lesson in tolerance and bigotry, children… Sigh.

Anyway, there’s no word yet on when, or even if, the series will find its way across the pond. But UK residents can simply stop by the official BBC Three website to watch the program (excuse us, “programme”) whenever they’d like. Of course, for the internet savvy among us… there are always other ways to watch. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink. Say no more!

The final two episodes of In The Flesh are set to air later this month. But since the show itself is apparently off limits to American viewers for awhile, the official website has plenty of cool photos, videos and behind-the-scenes access to help tide you over. Check it out!

Resident Evil 6 And Left 4 Dead 2 PC Mashup!

Believe it or not, i didn’t own a gaming console until recently. I actually grew up playing old school video games on personal computers. But eventually it seemed that every new game required some sort of hardware upgrade; a new video card, sound board, more RAM… or an “always-on” internet connection.

But recently PC gamers have found new ways to extend the life of their favorite games. By creating entirely new levels, maps and characters skins, many fans now simply regard an official release as a starting point! And perhaps no video game developer has embraced this trend more than Valve, makers of the Left 4 Dead series.

In addition to providing official editing tools and sanctioning fan made content, Valve continues to find new ways to please fans of their classic zombie video game franchise!

Capcom and Valve are pleased to announce the Resident Evil® 6 x Left 4 Dead 2 project. This crossover project between two of the interactive entertainment industry’s most respected publishers will see characters from Left 4 Dead™ 2 featured exclusively in the forthcoming PC version of Resident Evil® 6, while enemies from Resident Evil 6 will invade the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2. All content will be made available completely free for fans of either game to access and play.

Unfortunately console gamers like myself are going to miss out on all the fun. But we’ve included the official announcement in its entirety after the jump anyway… just in case you’re interested in learning more about this PC-only crossover event.

You can also read all the little details regarding the upcoming mashup simply by visiting the Left 4 Dead 2 blog. Or check out some amazing new screenshots and exclusive video via Brelston’s official blog post over at Capcom.

Video Chat With A Zombie!

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again; the best way to sell anything these days is by using zombies! And apparently that even applies to brand new technology, which is why Dallas animation studio Motus Digital greeted visitors to South by Southwest this week with a talkative, video-chatting zombie.

The live-action, CG character communicated in real-time with guests via a video screen at the festival by using proprietary software called Persona™ that allows for very detailed movements… right down to blinking eyelids!

Essentially we have turned our regular Motion Capture system into a Live Animated puppet. Everything that the actor does in the performance capture stage is immediately applied to the character. We then can feed this video out through any medium where anyone can have live real interactions with an animated CG Character.

The studio has suggested that the new technology could allow children to interact with some of their favorite animated characters like Mickey Mouse or Elmo. But who needs a trademarked character to sell your product when you have a talking zombie? Plus we think they scored some bonus points for the exposed brains!

Anyway, to read more about this cutting-edge technology just visit the original article at Business Insider, where you can also view a behind-the-scenes video of the software in action. Or feel free to stop by the official website of Motus Digital to learn more about the animation studio itself.

Stephanie Mabey: The Zombie Song

Okay, it’s Zombie Rock Friday which means that we’ve got another sweet zombie-themed music video to help kick off your weekend! Today’s video is The Zombie Song from Colorado singer/songwriter Stephanie Mabey. She’s been uploading her songs to YouTube for years now, but recently funded her first full length album via Kickstarter.

Wake Up Dreaming was finally released last year, and The Zombie Song was one of the first videos from the album. Featuring some lovely lo-fi animation based on the art of Maddy Ashton, it’s a pretty cute little zombie-themed love story that’s worth watching. You can view the video above, check out Stephanie’s YouTube channel for more videos, or visit the official website right now to download the album!

And if you need even more zombie-themed music videos for the weekend, we’ve got you covered! Just stop by our official website and select the Music category. You can also click on the Music Video tag under any of our posts, or do a simple search from the homepage. If our web monkeys have done their job, you can enjoy hours of zombie-themed music videos right here at Zombie-Thon!

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Wake Up Dreaming
Available at Amazon.com

Bloody Disgusting Contest – Make A Nazi Zombie Movie!

Alright all of you talented little zombie filmmakers; listen up! To celebrate the release of Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, the hugely popular horror website Bloody Disgusting is running an awesome online contest looking for the best Nazi zombie-themed short film! And other than requiring some tenuous connection to Nazis and zombies, the contest is pretty much wide-open. Check it out!

Bloody Disgusting in association with Rebellion would like to offer our readers a chance to win some awesome prizes including a gaming PC from AMD. In celebration of the release of the PC game ‘Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army‘, we invite entrants to submit their own home-made Nazi Zombie mini-movies, a short film that runs 2 minutes or less. It can be live action, animated, stop motion, whatever you please! The only stipulations are it must be 2 minutes or less, and it must incorporate zombies and nazis. Your film doesn’t have to physically have nazi zombies in it – it could be a first person survivors tale for example.

Four of the best entries will be featured on Bloody Disgusting with the winning film awarded a sweet grand prize including a copy of the game itself, a t-shirt, signed poster and an epic gaming PC from AMD. Just stop by the official website for the original announcement, rules for submissions and more information.

The Nazi sub-genre has proven popular with zombie-film aficionados for years. Heck, we probably watch an average of two or three ourselves during Zombie-Thon’s annual zombie movie marathon. And with the incredible amount of talent among our fellow zombie fans, we’re really excited to see some of the final entries. Good luck!

Exclusive Walking Dead Covers At Wizard World!

If you plan on attending any of this year’s Wizard World events don’t forget to pick up your exclusive copy of The Walking Dead! Skybound Entertainment has teamed up with the comic book convention to provide all full-price attendees a limited-edition, exclusive cover variant of The Walking Dead #1. Sounds like a pretty good deal to us!

A different superstar artist will create the variant cover art for each of the eight scheduled shows this year. Comic book writer/artist Michael Golden illustrates the first variant cover at Wizard World Portland Comic Con, Feb. 22-24 at the Oregon Convention Center. At each event, the cover artist will be on hand to sign fans’ copies. More cover artists will be announced shortly.

Okay, so you may have missed out on your chance to score Michael Golden’s exclusive cover… but there’s always eBay. And there are still plenty of official Wizard World conventions planned this year, including the St. Louis Comic Con, March 22-24 at America’s Center, where artist Arthur Suydam will create the second exclusive cover in the series.

Each variant edition will be produced in extremely limited quantities and are available to fans only while supplies last at each Wizard World convention. So be sure to stop by the official website for more information including this year’s schedule and ticket sales!