Episode 305: Phones Down

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Dave

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Zombie Cliche Lookout: Communication Breakdown

We depend a lot on instantaneous communication these days, and that seems to get more true every day. People are attached at the hip to their phones and tablets, and it seems like older people are just as bad as the younger ones, at least from what I can see. So it stands to reason that a sudden outage of the phone network would be quite stressful to them, and that just what would happen if something nasty – like a zombie outbreak – started up.

I remember the cell networks being completely overloaded on September 11th, 2001. This was years before everyone had a smart phone and depended on them for everything, but I still know a lot of people freaking out that they couldn’t call someone.

About this Episode:

I have quite a bit crammed into Sam’s little office, but one thing I completely neglected is a phone (even though I had planned to include one when I started the build; I even pulled one out of the drawer so I wouldn’t forget). This occurred to me as I was shooting this episode. So what did I do about it? Well, nothing. I’m just going to go with the idea that his phone is just out of view, perhaps on the opposite side of the office, which we won’t see. Or maybe it’s a cordless, and he left it somewhere.

Other News:

Don’t forget, we have a forum now. Go, register, post, and have fun. It’s looking pretty lonely in there right now.

Discussion Question: Least Favorite Moment

Today’s question is the inverse of Mondays. What your least favorite moment from Bricks of the Dead‘s first three years?

I have to say, I went through some older episodes lately to respond to comments, and I was just embarrassed by some of the photography. I guess it’s nice to look back and see how you’ve improved, but still.

15 thoughts on “Episode 305: Phones Down”

  1. We had a recent internet outage here because down south the cables get flooded out and it took over 24 hours for repair crews to fix the internet. It’s probably because the way our ISP operates, they have all of the computers connected to a central location down south, and if the flooding takes out lines or computer datacenters down there, it takes the whole internet connection with it. I do hope that someday they’ll decentralize their network and make it a bit less prone to being flooded out! 😀

    • Oh man, that would drive me up a wall. I recently lost internet for a couple hours (makes working from home tough) and that made me crazy.

  2. THE WHOLE DAMN COMIC..

    Is amazing.. I didn’t get to comment on the last question, and this was just a perfect set up. I enjoy the build up of the character and story, even though it’s a bit slow I feel like there is a more character/reader understanding.

    • Thank you sir!

      Regarding the slowness: that is definitely intentional. I actually regret how quickly I moved at the beginning of the story. I wish I had lingered a bit more then. Ah well.

  3. When Jeff gets bitten by the zombified maintenance man in the studio and the baloon actually reads “Munch” I mean come on, “Munch?” Whats next, “Zap! Pow! Blammo!?” Holy T-virus Batman! Sorry Dave, you asked. Seriously, love the comic. All the thought and work you put into it really shines though and I look forward to reading it for a long time to come. Stay healthy!

    • Hah, you’re right, I absolutely did ask.

      I remember doing that. Thinking it was a little hockey, and doing it anyway because it made me smile.

  4. Poor phone. You’ve kicked out of the spotlight Dave!! How could you? 🙁

    • I’m a mean old man.

  5. :'(

  6. Some of the exposition has been slow. You hung on to some story lines for so long that I forgot about others. Sincerely. Like this guy, above. I vaguely remember that he’s the tubby fellow that was kidnapped by survivalists. That’s about all I remember, without going back to read from the beginning.

    I hope that wasn’t insulting. I guess I just get too distra-

    SQUIRREL!

    • I should really stop bringing my pet squirrel around these parts.

    • I asked; I can’t complain about the answers I get, right?

      This sort of feedback is valuable. It’s showing me that I need to do more intercutting with the various storylines, because people are getting forgotten, and/or the audience is getting bored.

  7. Hmm, only one comic post? Where is everybody? 😀
    I’ll have to look into the forums later, if the registration process isn’t too weird I might make it in! 😀

    • Skip that, looks like my browser needs an update or something because it didn’t get all these posts above me! My apologies for any confusion! 😀

      • It’s a caching thing. Sometimes you’ll see an older version.

        You should, however, sign up for the forum. Registration is quick and relatively painless.