My Interview with Stephen Lindsay

While walking around the lower east side of New York City I stepped into one of my favorite Comic book stores on St. Marks street. Needing my next fix of Zombie drama, I was searching for my next blood filled adventure on the pages of a new graphic novel. I stumbled upon a book by the name of “Jesus Hates Zombies”. The bleach blond cashier at the store I frequent probably assumed that I possessed the earlier episodes because she continued to explain that it was an insane take on a zombie outbreak and that her favorite character was a mother Teresa who had the vernacular of a sailor on leave.
Yeah these are not the historical figures who you grew up thinking were complete saints who never did anything wrong or said anything bad. These people are as human as you and me, although they have gifts that set them apart from all the rest. But then again, you have to have something special about you in order to survive the masses of undead that will crave your flesh. I got a chance to sit down with the creator of “Jesus Hates Zombies” and chew the proverbial fat about his newest project as well what has brought him to this point of his creative career.
First off, how long have you been a comic book writer?

I've been involved in creating comics for about 3 years now.

How did you come up with a comic book like this?

-- Well, the first thing I came up with was the title. Being a fan of 50s and 60s style B movies, a title like "Jesus Hates Zombies" was bound to pop into my head at some point! When it did, it made me laugh to myself, but I wasn't sure if it was simply a one-note joke or something I could carry out through an entire story. And I turned that into a bit of a challenge for myself as a writer. Could I take an idea that could easily be used for little more than shock-value and turn it into a full fleshed out story? I'm not sure just how well I've succeeded, but I'm happy with myself for not falling back on the shock-value throughout the run of the books!

What other comics are you working on beside this or is this your main comic at the moment?

I have a ton of comics I'm currently working on. As a small press, indy creator, I feel that I have to regularly produce new material in order to stay fresh in people's minds. There are so many great comics out there that it's easy to get lost in the shuffle! But if you're constantly putting out new material, then people are less likely to forget you. That is why I wrote 3 weekly webcomics. "The Frightful Fetus" comes out every Monday, "Saints & Warlords" comes out every Wednesday, and "Vampire Testament" comes out every Friday! On top of those, I also have several other books in the works. One is due out by publisher 215Ink in early 2010 called "Massive Awesome". Another, which is self-published, can be ordered now and it's called "The Slightly Askew Adventures of Inspector Ham & Eggs". AND I have about 6 other books that are currently being worked on.

You mentioned the need for fresh material, constant content in order to remain fresh and up to date, what are some of your inspirational tools that help you create? What keeps those ideas flowing in order to keep things fresh?

-- I'm a pop culture junkie. So seeing what's going on in the world of entertainment really keeps me fresh. As a writer, you tend to internalize pretty much everything you see and hear and roll it around in your head, mashing it against other thoughts, impressions and ideas. When that happens, you have this constant murky swamp of inspiration just sloshing around your head. And every so often, when several of those things collide, something new and fresh and interesting forms. Add that to the fact that I have 2 incredibly creative children who love nothing more than to pitch me their ideas, and the inspiration is pretty endless!

Are you a big zombie fan or did it just happen this way?
I'm a huge fan of the IDEA of zombie stories and films, but the execution of them usually leaves me disappointed. The original "Night of the Living Dead" is a masterpiece of a film, in my opinion. But few other zombie films have captured my imagination quite as well, with the exception of the brilliant "Shaun of the Dead".
You mentioned the classic Night of the Living Dead and Shaun of the Dead. What is your all time favorite zombie movie if you had to name just one?

-- Night of the Living Dead, hands down. It just transcends the genre (which is amazing considering it gave BIRTH to the genre) by being smart and scary and socially conscious all at the same time. Plus, it really understands what it is that makes truly great zombie movies scary - the fact that no matter how slow they are, the walking dead just keep coming and coming.
I also feel that Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" is absolutely genius. It's storytelling at it's best. The same can be said for Max Brooks' "World War Z". But what makes all of these examples stand out is that they use the backdrop of a zombie outbreak to tell a much more social conscious tale.

I completely agree with you about "The Walking Dead" and "World War Z", the storylines are so deeply thought out and they completely draw you into the characters lives so that when something happens you feel it inside of your soul. That's how I know when I'm reading something good, If it impacts me the way the writer intended it to, bravo. But that's what I liked about “Jesus Hates Zombies”. At first when I picked it up I thought to myself, oh my god (no pun intended) and just laughed at how awesome it would be to see Jesus kicking zombie butt all over the place like a longhaired bad ass. Then I started reading it and it had so many little back stories that made you understand a little of who the character were and why. It also shows the characters flaws instead of just looking at them as the deities that the world knows them as.
Have you caught any flak from the religious community regarding the usage of some saintly popular people from history?

Believe it or not, I haven't caught much flak from the religious community, and I think the reasoning is two-fold. First, the title alone is going to keep anyone with strong, narrow-minded views away from the material. But second, the book isn't done for shock value, or in a mean spirited way. That alone makes it difficult to attack based on anything but surface opinions.

In a world of “nine to five” type of people who drone on in their everyday lives like zombies, these characters stood out amongst everyone and did something to effect their fellow man in such a way that they’re names are associated with greatness. So do you think the zombies could be a metaphor for a boring repetitive life that could devour your inner self and those who survive are the ones who stand out and do something about it? This is why I love zombies by the way.

I feel that one of the reasons the idea of zombies has such staying power in popular culture is because the very idea of being this mindless, unremarkable member of a horde terrifies us all on a very personal level. Human nature is to try to stand apart - to carve out our own unique, special identity in the world. So the thought of loosing that very thing which makes the human race special - our diverse individuality - is horrifying on a subconscious level.

What is your website that people can view your work or possibly get more information about you and your incredible stories?

My official website is: www.captionsandballoons.com
Well thank you for all the work you have done in the world of the undead, I look forward to reading more from you in the future.

So to all who read this, if your online at Amazon.com or out at your local comic book store and you have a deeply seeded love for zombies as I do, pick up a copy of “Jesus Hates Zombies” as well as any of the fine pieces of work mentioned above, they are definitely worth it.
-Anthony Zummo

My Interview with "The Walking Dead" Artist Charlie Adlard.

There is big news in the works for AMC and their deal with The Walking Dead series. I wanted to get to know the people who make the world of zombies so appealing to the eye and I recently got a chance to do just that with my interview the pencil artist for “The Walking Dead”, Charlie Adlard.

First off Mr. Adlard, let me start by saying it is a pleasure to be able to interview such a talented artist especially one who is currently working on one of my personal favorite graphic novels "The Walking Dead".

How did you come to work with Kirkman?

I've known Robert for many years... We first got to know each other when he offered to publish the last few episodes of Codeflesh - a strip that Joe Casey and myself had originally started at Image. He was running his indie publishing company - Funkotron - at the time.
When Tony Moore left TWD, he called me up out of the blue with the offer to "make money"! Little did we know how apt that phrase was going to be... :-)


I understand that you seamlessly replaced Tony Moore as the penciler in the second graphic novel release (episode seven in the comic book), were there any limits that you were given to follow so the look of the comic never changed or did Kirkman basically know you were an amazing artist who had a style that would fit and just trust your judgment in the design?

Well, the latter really.
Robert's been brilliant... He's always let me be my own man and that was certainly true at the beginning as well. Tony and myself have quite different styles, so it was a risk that people might be put off the book when I took over. But Robert put his faith and me and, hopefully, mine is the style that people now associate with TWD.

Do you have much input over the story boarding and the way that the images layout along with what is happening in the story?

Robert does his thing and I do mine. It's very rare that one of us will suggest something to do with each others skill. We've worked together for so long now that we pretty much put 100 per cent trust in what we do individually.
The scripts are fairly open too - not to much detail - so it gives me almost free reign to design pages and characters to how I think will be best. It's the perfect working relationship!

More than a few times of me reading through "The walking Dead", i felt like I was watching a movie on print, my heart raced and i couldn't wait to see what happened on the following page. One question that many of our readers might wonder about is the fact that you have had a past that dealt with more science fiction / military based comics like Savage 2000 A.D.
Were you a big fan of the horror genre before "The Walking Dead"?

I'm a TOTAL fan of the genre. What I do now is exactly where I want to be and what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. This isn't a stepping-stone to a "better" industry... I can't imagine being in a better industry! I don't read as many comics as I used to, but I'm a definite fan of the art-form. I'm a "genre" fan... not rabid... But I certainly lean towards all that stuff, and that includes horror.

Are you getting known for the intense gory undead artwork now that TWD has been building its success?

The funny thing is that I've become a kind of go-to-zombie guy, and I'm not a massive zombie obsessive... I've seen (and like) most of the well-known zombie movies, but that's that. Most of the horror movies I like tend to be the more, for want of a better word, subtle - movies like the original Haunting, Halloween, and the Shining. Movies that have the horror happen off screen where the imagination runs riot far more than what could possibly be shown in front of you.

Do you believe that in a dark setting like a zombie apocalypse, large blocks of black shadows might allow the readers imagination to really think about what could be lurking beyond the limits of their vision?



I think the main reason people can associate me with horror is the style I draw in. I use a LOT of black in my art, which obviously draws the horror crowd... It's a fairly obvious link, but that's how these things work.

For a graphic novel to be based on a zombie outbreak in the south to be done without color you really have captured the gore and the emotional turmoil that comes in a world that isn't so metaphorically black and white.
Your style has clearly evolved or creatively devolved from the fully painted artwork on Armitage, through increasing usage of monochrome art that we see in your current work, which uses large blocks of black ink on the page to create shadow effects much more bold than whats commonly seen in other comics. (It works beautifully by the way.)
Thank you for your time Mr Adlard,
It has been a pleasure getting the chance to pick your brain
(no pun intended).

my experience getting two teeth pulled :(

So yesterday I had to go to the hospital to get two teeth pulled because of horrible pain i was experiencing. I arrived at the hospital at around 11AM and didn't get to see the dental department in the hospital until around 2PM. I know most people would be so pissed off at the wait but the pain was so bad that my attention was diverted from the time passing by the throbbing in my head.
Finally i head up to the dental department and the dental assistant takes me in to get an X-ray done then sits me in one of the many dental chairs separated by curtains hanging by a sliding track on the ceiling. I could hear drills going and people talking and it was another ten minutes of listening to this before the dentist came in and looked at the X-ray and agreed with me that i had some issues with a couple of molars on my right side. There was an infection and not only one tooth had to be removed but two.
He gave me three shots of novocaine and just when i thought he nicked my tongue he asked "Did you feel a jolt run through your tongue?"
When i told him yes, he explained that there is a main nerve that runs along your jaw bone and when people feel that jolt, it means that the novocaine had reached that nerve and I would feel absolutely nothing in five minutes.
They usually only pull one tooth per visit but since i was pretty good at tuning out during surgery, the doctor offered to remove the second one at the same time.
I sat there and tried to think of so many things and other places to keep my mind occupied and distracted from the cracking and vibrating feelings and sounds that were echoing throughout my head. Although you can't feel anything while the novocaine did its job, you can still feel the pressure and vibrations of what is going on.
So after the two teeth were pulled I walked back outside and immediately felt sick. I leaned over and spit out the thickest red blood. Then since my mentality is driven by the undead, i decided to have some fun with my dispersion of blood. I started to moan softly and leaned my head acting as if i was a zombie. I spit some more blood out and saw my ride and said "Braaaaainnnss".
That's when i looked to my left and saw a little kid with his eyes wide open. I think he really thought i was the walking dead. I must have traumatized the little one because he ran so fast away from the window.
Today my face feels like i was in a fight, my cheek is swollen but i still laugh at the fact that i scared the crap out of a little one by being a zombie outside of the hospital. Ah, a childs imagination is a wonderful thing to mess with.
Oh yeah, and
Checkout the Sticker the nurse gave me after having my teeth ... on Twitpic

The Veil

If you are like me and really enjoy the psychological horror genre, you must pick up the newest addition to my personal graphic novel collection, “The Veil”. The story starts off with a private investigator by the name of Christine Luna who has a special gift. She has the ability to see and speak with the dead. Not like anything you might have seen on network television, she actually feels the spirits emotions and physical pains. It tends to weigh down her own personal life but she tries to make the best of it by using her abilities in her work. Helping the dead get revenge on their murderers and then being paid by unclaimed bank accounts or credit cards that have not been cancelled by that same dead person.
Like most people in New York City, she is struggling to keep her head above the financial water line that was set by the horrible economy. One day she receives word that her families home in Maine has recently caught the interest of the local government who wishes to purchase the land. Her money woes seem to have a silver lining until she decides to visit her hometown to handle things in person.
She originally left the little town of Crooksville as a teenager after the luxury tourist train Acadian crashed in Elephant Mountain. The crash claimed the lives of many people on an end-of-the-school-year trip including her father. After the wreck she had a hard time dealing with reality and was placed into a psychiatric facility and being diagnosed with “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”. It was in the psychiatric hospital where she was immediately placed on drugs and classified as scytophrenic. No one would listen to her and after the medicinal drugs were issued to her on a regular basis, she wasn’t able to determine what was real and what was a part of her new abilities.

She spent a long time in the facility before a young doctor named Josh had befriended her and took the initiative to take her off of the medication in order to truly listen to her. Soon after the new doctor was taking care of her, she had fallen in love with him and he apparently fell in love with her, I didn’t understand how a doctor could fall in love with a patient of his who was classified to be scytophrenic, but that’s just my brain rationalizing again. The doctors plan for treating Christine was a little more selfish than she originally thought and he ended up writing and publishing a book based on her story. Once she was off the medication; Christine was started to play along with the hospitals rules in order to be released. But the nightmares and visions never stopped, she just adapted to her curse and used it to her advantage.
But now, back in the small town that she grew up in, Christine realizes that things aren’t always as they appear. The nightmares and warnings given to her by the other side are much stronger and more dangerous than she ever expected. The quiet town that she had ran from as a teenager had been calling her back all this time, but without a voice it could only try to make her see the truth. When spirits are stuck without a voice, they can only rely on showing visuals to people who could see them. Sometimes, the dead don’t even know they’re dead until they are reminded of the fact.
What was hiding behind the veil of light that protected the world was about to be pushed aside and show its true self to everyone. A rebirth of darkness that could not be escaped by simply turning on a light was just around the bend and she could feel it coming. But what could anyone do to stop it? This was much bigger than any individual murder that could be solved with the assistance of one ghost. The whole town was hiding a secret and they had been waiting for Chris to come home to complete the plan.
With a couple of childhood friends trying to get back into her life and local spirits trying to show her the real troubles that hide in the darkness; would Christine be able to uncover the secrets of Crooksville? Will she be able to fight back against the darkness or will it engulf her the way a dinosaur would fall into a tar pit? The more she struggles, the deeper she sinks.
The only way to find out what happens, is to pick up this amazing Graphic Novel and see for your self that it’s not always a pretty face that lies behind the Veil.

The Secret (graphic novel)

Do you like scary movies like “I know what you did last summer?” or “Jeepers Creepers”? Then you will love “The Secret”. Usually I would just watch one of those movies or read a comic styled the same way with some predictable humor. But with this one I found myself wondering what would happen next. Right from the beginning when the lead character is invited to a house party being thrown by the girl of his dreams named Pam you expect there to be some setup for trouble.
Tommy shows up and is welcomed in by a slightly flirtatious mother who guides him downstairs to where the party is taking place. Making his way through the clicks of people talking amongst themselves while stabbing him with their cold stares. But once he found Pam she was sitting with other friends in a small room playing a telephone game. Each person would dial one digit out of seven and once the person on the other line would answer, one of the kids would say:
“I know your secret.”
Once the person on the other end of the line was curious to know who had called them and what secret they knew, the kid would instruct them to meet up in the park near a statue at midnight. After a few more phone calls Pam’s friend makes one last call and then hands Pam the phone telling her to just hit “send”. But when the phone picks up Pam puts it on speakerphone. Everyone sits and waits patiently for someone to say something but instead all they hear is a television on in the background.
Pam then just calls out: “I know your secret”.
Then a voice replies back to her: “How do you know my secret”?
That’s when Pam’s friend nudges her to continue with the prank. So Pam instructs the voice to do the same thing that they instructed the others to do earlier. Meet at the statue in the park at midnight.
Freaked out, Pam decides she has had enough and while taking Tommy’s arm looks for a place a more quiet. Pam decides to show Tommy her bedroom and doesn’t waste any time getting comfortable on her bed. Now even though the book showed Pam and Tommy making out, the very next cell on the next page shows them and the group of Pam’s friends at the park so I can only assume that everyone decided to take the party out to the park.
During another make-out session on a hilltop, Pam and Tommy notice a set of headlights coming down the bike path. Could it be one of the people they had pranked earlier on? Some dark figure walks through the park and then stands by the statue for a while. Pam knows it’s the man who answered her call and all of the kids decide its safer to just leave.
The following day in school Pam gets a phone call while in class and to her surprise the voice asks: “How do you know my secret?”
Stunned, Pam tells Tommy about the call and explains that Kyle used her cell phone to make the call so the man could easily find her. Tommy tries to calm her nerves by being there for her but he is unable to keep Pam from being abducted. Now he needs to figure out how where she is and who has taken her. I already read the book so I know what happens but don’t worry, I can keep a secret. Can you?

Victorian Undead comic

Victorian Undead


Written by 2000AD veteran Ian Edginton with lovely art by Davide Fabbri, the six part series comes from DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, who describe the first issue a little something like this:

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Those are the words of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the world's first consulting detective, yet even he finds his skills tested to their limit as he and his erstwhile comrade Dr. John Watson are confronted with the most extraordinary case of their career – the dead are returning to life! Can a plague of Biblical proportions be far behind for Victorian London? And who – or what – is behind the resurrection of these ravenous revenants?

It’s the spring of 1854, the streets of London are filled with the British commoners all looking toward the sky as a greenish commit tears across the night sky. Everyone talks amongst them-selves; conjuring different possibilities of what it could be. An old gypsy woman rambles on as if it were revelations. Pieces of the meteor break off and fall to earth without causing to much destruction.
There are a couple of little stories that set up the advancement of the oncoming zombie assault that Britain is about to experience. From a Dr. Snow calling the time of death on a patient; only to have that patient sit back up and lunge for him; to a couple of tunnel miners coming across what they think is simply a piece of gold, only to fall victim to the zombie holding on to that same piece of gold. If you really like detective stories such as Sherlock Holmes and you also like horror comics with plenty of gore and blood; I think you should definitely check out “Victorian Undead”.
His old nemesis Moriarty is back at his old tricks, except this time he has something new up his rotten sleeve. Moriarty and Holmes had fought it out near the edge of a cliff back in the day and Moriarty falls to his apparent death. But death is only the beginning. While laying broken and dying at the base of a Cliffside he has one of his underlings bring him a serum that he had been working on, which would continue the brain function after death allowing him to live forever. Just before he fell into the darkness of death, he was injected with the serum and was saved by becoming undead.
With this plan now in action Moriarty has the ability to compile an unbeatable army of the undead that would follow his lead in taking over all of England. Sherlock Holmes has the task of tracking down clues and surviving the post-apocalyptic Victorian London streets. With some help from his partner Watson, Sherlock must fight off the zombie hordes that he comes in contact with during the investigation.
Scotland Yard implements their own version of a swat team in small zombie-hunters style squads, which know exactly how to deal with the infected. Which leads Holmes into believing that this has been going on for much longer than anyone has suspected.
The illustrations are fantastic and the attention to detail with the Victorian styles is amazing. I also liked the dialogue; it really read through in my head with the cockney accent of the time period. Not since “I Sell the Dead” have I seen anyone else attempting an 1800’s take on the zombie phenomenon.
How does one survive an all out zombie attack lead by a competent madman?
Food for thought.

I Love Zombies Day festivities are already being planned!

As you all know I started "I Love Zombies Day" for the online magazine Imaginedaily.com. last Feb 13th. where I offered to send a few winners of our photo contest an autographed comic book along with an original I love zombies t-shirt designed by myself.
I'm no longer writing for the online magazine but I will be still promoting and celebrating the undead holiday through my own site here.
There will be contests and stuff you can win. So be very aware of what your going to be doing next I Love Zombies Day!
P.S.
I recently checked out a search of the term "I love Zombies Day" and found that more than a few websites were celebrating the holiday with amazing results.
No matter what this will forever be an annual holiday that the true lovers of the zombie genre will continue to enjoy and next year the festivities will continue with more contests. So tune in to my blog for constant updates of what is to come!
Til then keep your brains fresh and the blood flowing.
NOMNOMNOMNOM