S.G. Browne

Dan Waters is the author of Generation Dead and Generation Dead: Kiss of Life, a Young Adult series about “living impaired” teenagers trying to co-exist among the living. It’s tough enough trying to fit into high school when you’re not popular, but when you’re a zombie, it makes getting a prom date that much more of a challenge.

I met Dan this past October at the World Fantasy Convention in San Jose over Halloween weekend. He was kind enough to take some time out of his busy holiday schedule to sit down and answer some questions about zombies and other non-living impaired subjects.

Tell us about your first zombie experience. How did you lose your undead virginity?
I’m thinking that it was probably viewing some vengeful muck-encrusted shambler from an E.C. comic reprint like Tales From the Crypt. All of the writers whose work I enjoyed at the time would wax rhapsodic about the old E.C. days in interviews, and their kid protagonists would always be reading and hoarding E.C. comics, hiding them from their parents, older brothers, and “the Man”, etc. The legends made me very zombie curious. I had to get some of those brain rotting texts.

I always liked this one, with the girl mourning the death of her poor boyfriend, Ralph, wishing he’d come back to her.

Be careful what you wish for, especially if it is for dead boyfriends or more wishes. Those wishes never turn out well. Play it safe and wish for a decent sandwich.

What’s your favorite zombie film?
Zombie Nightmare, starring my good friend Thor. I’m partial to the MST3K version.

It’s the zombie apocalypse. Do you use a gun, a machete, or a Louisville slugger?
Well, Thor was seen wielding a Louisville Slugger in Zombie Nightmare and Thor is never wrong. He doesn’t use it to crush the skulls of the undead, preferring to employ it in more mundane tasks, such as actually playing baseball. Going 4 for 5 with three runs batted in didn’t help him much when the Voodoo Queen zombified him, though, did it?

If you were a zombie, who would you eat first?
Scarlett Johansson. She seems really brainy.

What’s the first thing you ever had published?
The first thing that I had published for money was a short-lived (har har) music column I called Dead Beats, where I reviewed horror punk music like Dr. Chud’s X Ward and The Rosedales. Getting paid was nice, but the best part was that I conned some music labels to send me free CDs that I otherwise would have wasted my Dead Beats checks on anyway. BTW, horror punk music labels, I’d be glad to flog your tunes on my blog if you want to send more swag my way. I have to like it, though.

Who’s your favorite author?
Webb Glass

What’s your favorite book?
Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

Name your favorite guilty pleasure.
Dinty Moore Beef Stew

Other than your favorite author/book, name something that inspires your writing.
My children, music, puppies, long walks on the beach, horseback riding.

If you had a theme song that played when you walked into a room, what would it be?
“Where Eagles Dare” by Iron Maiden or “Crushing Belial” by Shadow’s Fall.

Shameless self-promotion bonus question: What’s coming up next?
The third volume in the Generation Dead series, entitled Passing Strange, will be out next June.

Dan Waters is the author of the Generation Dead series. He lives with his family in Connecticut.

You can visit him at www.danielwaters.com or www.gendead.com or visit Tommy and the gang at www.mysocalledundeath.com.

People are always asking me about zombies:

Have you always loved zombies?
Do you think you’ll survive the zombie apocalypse?
Is it necrophilia if you’re both dead?

In case you’re curious, the answers are:

Yes.
No.
Probably not.

Truth is, I’m not an authority on zombie sex. However, I do know a lot about sloughage, frothy purge, and cadaver impact testing.

For some reason, this troubles my parents.

But the one question that seems to come up most often is:

Why do you think zombies are so popular right now?

I hear a lot of people saying that the current mainstream popularity of zombies is a direct reflection of global fears regarding the economy and terrorism. Horror as catharsis for the fears and anxiety of a society making commentary on itself. They contend that zombies are the proletarians of the monster hierarchy and in troubled economic times, they become the poster child for the financial ills of a nation.  An allegory for the end of the world as we know it.

Me?  I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid.  I don’t believe the current surge in zombie popularity has anything to do with a reflection of global or economic fears.  And I sure as hell didn’t write Breathers because I was concerned about terrorists or my IRA.

Truth is, I think people have a tendency to apply social context where it doesn’t exist.

After all, where was the zombie mania during other major crises or catastrophes of the 20th century?  Like the Vietnam War? Or Watergate? How about the Iranian Hostage Crisis? The Stock Market crash of 1987? The Persian Gulf War? The election of George W. Bush?

It didn’t exist. Not on this scale.

So what happened to make them so popular today?  I’ll tell you what happened.  Zombies were taken out of their proverbial archetypal box.  No longer are they just the shambling, mindless, flesh-eating ghouls we’ve known and loved for most of the part four decades. They’ve expanded their range, become more versatile. More well-rounded. And who doesn’t enjoy a well-rounded zombie?

28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake made them faster.  Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland made them funnier. Fido made them domesticated.

Meanwhile, zombie fiction developed into a solid sub-genre, getting its start in 1990 with the publication of the John Skipp and Craig Spector anthology Book of the Dead.  Prior to that, zombie literature didn’t really exist and it didn’t really explode until this decade.

The new millennium brought with it a surge of zombie fiction, including, among others, The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z (Max Brooks), The Rising (Brian Keene),  Monster Island (David Wellington), Cell (Stephen King), Patient Zero (Jonathan Maberry), Day By Day Armageddon (J.L. Bourne), Happy Hour of the Damned (Mark Henry), Breathers, and of course, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith).

Not to mention all of the YA titles, like The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Carrie Ryan), Generation Dead (Daniel Waters), Zombie Queen of Newbury High (Amanda Ashby), and You Are So Undead To Me (Stacey Jay).

Young adult readers aren’t eating these up because they’re afraid of what’s happening to their 401k’s or if some terrorist is going to board their plane.  They’re reading about zombies because they’re fun and scary and entertaining.

Truth is, today’s zombies are faster.  Funnier.  Sentient.

In addition to running like Olympic sprinters, being domesticated as pets, and fighting for their civil rights, modern zombies write haiku, perform household chores, and are used as terrorist weapons. They can also be found on the Internet going to marriage counseling, falling in love, and singing to their former co-workers about how they want to eat their brains.

That’s why zombies are so popular today.  To misquote Bill Clinton, it’s not the economy, stupid.  It’s the fact that they’re branching out and discovering that undeath isn’t just about decomposing and eating brains anymore.

Andy Warner here, main protagonist of Breathers, bringing you my updated version of The Wizard of Oz ditty, “If I Only Had a Brain,” originally sung by Ray Bolger and Judy Garland.  In this instance, however, there’s just the one singer who is, obviously, a zombie.

If I Only Had Some Brains
(lyrics by Andy Warner)

I could gnaw away the hours, delightfully devour
Digesting Johns and Janes.
And my mouth I’d be fillin’
While my hands were busy killin’
If I only had some brains.

I’d faddle and I’d fiddle, fat fry you on the griddle,
Sautéing your remains.
On your flesh I’d be snackin’
And your skull I would be crackin’
If I only had some brains.

Oh, ever since I’ve died
I’ve longed for blood and gore
Just to sit and eat the brains that I adore.
And then I’d sit and eat some more.

I would bake you up in muffins, complete you with some stuffin’,
Or maybe some whole grains.
In a shake made with dairy
I would top you with a cherry,
If I only had some brains.

Calling all zombies!  Calling all zombies!

Put on your best funeral clothes, apply that liquid latex, stock up on stage blood, and shuffle, shamble, and stagger your way to the Pacific Northwest for a pre-Independence Day party of the undead.
On Friday, July 3, 2009, Fremont Outdoor Movies in Seattle is hosting the Red, White, & Dead Zombie Party – a zombie bash to end all zombie bashes that includes a screening of Shaun of the Dead, a Zombie Fashion Show where you can strut your decomposing self to the delight of your fellow zombies, a group “Thriller” dance for those zombies stuck in the 80s, and a Zombie Walk to break the Guinness World Record.

And to kick everything off, I’ll be reading from and signing copies of Breathers at 4:00PM at Fremont Place Books and then later at the event.  I’ll even have some free zombie schwag I’ll be giving away, though supplies are limited.

You can find all the details and times and other good zombie info by checking out the official blog for Fremont Outdoor Movies.

Spread the word and the contagion!

And remember, zombies are people, too.

What up?  Jerry here, throwing out a guest blog while Andy’s doing time at the SPCA and the hack writer of Breathers is off drinking a Starbucks latte or beating off or whatever the hell writers do when they’re not sitting home alone making up imaginary stories about imaginary characters. What a freak.

Since the previously mentioned freak writer recently blogged about the film rights for Breathers, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite zombie films of all time.  So without further delay…

Jerry’s Top Five Most Awesome Zombie Flicks

1) Night of the Living Dead – 1968
Dude, it doesn’t get any better than this. Classic zombie munching with a creepy soundtrack. And I totally wanted to eat Cooper. Bald, racist bastard.

2) Dawn of the Dead – 2004
With all respects to Mr. Romero, zombies are fast and furious. Like Vin Diesel. The dude hanging from the pipes in the garage was sweet! Plus I love a happy ending.

3) Zombie – 1979
Fulci throws down enough blood and gore to satisfy even the most jaded zombie. And how can you go wrong with a zombie fighting a shark under water?

4) Planet Terror – 2007
Rose McGowan sporting an assault rifle prosthetic leg is totally hot.  Plus I love Bruce Willis.  Not, like, in a romantic way, just, you know, as an actor.

5) Zombie Strippers – 2008
Dude. Jenna Jamison can eat me any day of the week. Enough said.