Q. Why zombies?
A. Well, I just happen to love zombies and zombie stories, but that’s because zombies make great bad guys for a number of reasons:
- Unlike other classic monsters, the zombie lacks the faculties to reason, feel guilt, or empathize in any way with its victims; it simply attacks mechanically.
- On its own a zombie isn’t terribly threatening, but in numbers they can overwhelm even the most prepared survivor, and when is the last time you saw just one zombie?
- When a victim is attacked by a zombie, they aren’t just killed; they become the monster. Even if you aren’t turned, there’s a good chance that you’ll be faced with the zombified version of a friend of loved one that you’ll have to dispatch of escape from lest you be turned into its next meal. I can think of few things more terrifying.
- For the social commentary junkies out there, few monsters are better than the zombies. They can represent anything from out of control consumerism to the dangers of mob mentalities.
- Zombies are totally decayed and icky.
Q. Are the zombies in Bricks of the Dead fast or slow?
A. At Bricks of the Dead we’re zombie purists. As such, our zombies are slow and shambling, like in Night of the Living Dead. I don’t really have anything against the fast moving zeds in movies like 28 Days Later (yes, I consider them zombies) or the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead; I’ve always just preferred my zombies to take a more leisurely pace.
I find that slow zombies are scary in a much different way than fast zombies. Zombies who can run are an immediate threat. If you can’t outrun them, you’re a goner. While that is definitely scary, I’ve always found the slow, horrible inevitability of a shambling horde to be far more terrifying. You might be able to get away from or kill a handful of them, but eventually you’ll get overwhelmed. What slow zombies lack in speed and coordination, they make up for in overwhelming numbers.
Q. Is there any significance to the weapons characters carry?
A. Not, really, no. I always get annoyed at movies in which average citizens are armed with, and know how to use fully-automatic assault rifles and other military-grade weaponry. That’s just silly. I tried to keep the weapons in Brick of the Dead reasonable, which is to say things the average person would have access to immediately in the case of a sudden zombie outbreak.
The four primary characters, for example, begin the story with with items you could find in my garage right now (a machete, a crowbar, a hatchet, and a baseball bat). As I add more characters to the story, they will defend themselves with whatever they happen to have handy. For some, like police officers, that will include guns, but the vast majority of people will be using improvised weapons.
Q. Is everything in Bricks of the Dead made out of LEGO® bricks?
A. Whenever possible, I use LEGO® bricks, however I’ve used other elements as well, like accessories from vendors like BrickArms and BrickForge, as well and cloth backgrounds. I also do a number of effects using Photoshop and Illustrator.
Q. Why make a comic out of LEGO® bricks instead of drawing it?
A. The short, but exciting answer is that I cannot draw very well. Also, I think LEGO® bricks are awesome and was looking for a good excuse to buy and play with them well into middle-age anyway.
Q. Is this site sponsored or endorsed by LEGO®?
A. Absolutely not. Bricks of the Dead is simply a site that uses LEGO® bricks as a medium to tell a story. We can do this thanks to the company’s generous “Fair Play” policy. LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorise or endorse this web site.
i love it. carry on. we’re watching, er, reading…
Thanks Johnson; I feel loved.
i love this comic. its also the only zombie comic thats also serious that i could find!
Thanks Lukesta! I appreciate the feedback. We take the zombie apocalypse pretty seriously around here.
Great comic, I agree about the slow zombie thing.
as awsome as peanuts
by the way what is your view on the zombies in the left 4 dead games.
comic is so fucking awesome i love it so much and also why arent there any special infected such as:the hunter who pounces like a cat, lands on survivors pins them stays on them rips their abdoman apart and weres nuthin but a black hoodie black pants and black boots
Thanks!
To answer your question, I’m sticking with plain old Romero-style zombies in this strip. No smart zombies, no fast zombies, and no super-powered zombies.
I don’t have anything against any of those per se, I just prefer vanilla zeds.
Im a zombiologist and i know a few things about zombies, and its that zombies run faster at night when they’re more active, i know that im a zombie nerd but i know a lot of advice for the zombie Apocalypse
That’s a new one. I can’t say I would use that one, but I always like seeing how the zombie rules differ from one story to another.
Wow, you have everything I want!
Comix… Old school zeds… LEGO!
I love you guys! 😀
Thanks Adelaide! We love you too.
Hello first off i want to say i love your comic and second i want to know how to make some of the effects you do and which editors are best so can get into lego comics or videos plz.
Thanks Drew! I do all my effects in Photoshop, including all the speech balloons and text. I do blood spatters with a set of brushes made from paint splattered on the ground.
Sorry to bother you even more but could you explain more about brushes made from paint splattered on the ground and is their a certain paint brand you like?
Thanks for your help, keep on with the good comix!
It’s no bother whatsoever, Drew. I didn’t make these brushes myself, I just found them online some time back. Just Google Photoshop brushes, or Photoshop splatter brushes and you’ll find a ton.
Here’s a good place to start.
I think your comic is AWSOME! I have a question though. What happened to the news people? I couldn’t read it and it was dark.
The news people found some improvised weapons and were going leave the studio. They’re going to be coming back into the strip pretty soon.
Yay! I call dibs on the tire jack!
I wish LEGO or a company like Brickarms made something like a tire iron. Easily recognizable and a classic improvised weapon.
What ya gonna do for the 150th episode? Or will it have ended there? (The comic not the story)
Oh I’ve got something pretty fun in mind for that. I don’t want to spoil the surprise though.
on the day of episode 150 i will be amazed!
as will i. but i probably will be late in seeing it because life has so many distractions. school,church,etc.
well not really chirch, i am really fond of my religion and wouldnt give it up for the world.
i mean church.
the avatar
the avatar of worlds
Eh?
I don’t get it either.
Unless he’s referring to Avatar the last air bender.
Hah. Maybe so. I can’t say I’m terribly familiar with that show, although I’ve heard good things.
*blinks*
Would Bricks of the Dead be willing to review my new Xombie apocalypse novel called THE REAWAKENING which is due out in May. Check out the great cover, an excerpt of the novel, and my bio on www.josephsouza.net. Thanks Bricks of the Dead. Great site!
Hey Joseph,
Use the contact form and we can discuss doing a review. The cover is, indeed, very cool. Sounds like an interesting read.
comics are hard work, you need good pictures or no one will read your comic, of course i’ve only gone over the basics
Hah, yeah it’s a bit of work. Lots of fun though.
I love the comic, sometimes its funny, sometimes its entertaining, how come i’m not telling people about this?
Good question. Tell more people about it. I need more traffic.
Make a cowboy dude with a lever action rifle or some Marines or Green Berets or some rednecks.