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
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