Zombie Cliche Lookout: Don’t Let’em Come Back
If there’s one truism about zombie stories, it’s that zombies beget more zombies. Now in some stories, you have to be bitten/scratched/engage in some sort of fluid transfer to reanimated. In others, anyone who dies with an intact brain comes back as a zombie. Now, you could make an argument that, in the latter category, the zombies aren’t actually creating new zombies. You’d be technically right, but most of the people who die and reanimate do so at the hands of zombies. In fact, it’s often a surprise when someone reanimates later into the story without getting bitten, so I’m sticking with the theme here.
There’s a sort of unwritten rule among survivors (although sometimes it’s implicitly stated) that no one wants to come back as a zombie after they die, which makes it incumbent on the other survivors to ensure that doesn’t happen. Usually with a bullet. Or a lead pipe. You know, whatever’s handy.
About this Episode:
I’m pretty happy with that muzzle flash in the third panel there. I’m sure a lot of you firearms enthusiasts will point out how inaccurate it is (and I’m sure you’re right about that), but it looks cool. In a comic, looking cool sometimes has to take precedent over realism. Especially a zombie comic. Made out of LEGO®.
Discussion Question: Rules for Reanimation
How do you prefer your zombies to work? Should people need to get infected with a bite before they die? Do they have to get killed by a zombie? Is everyone already infected and reanimated on death? Are only those who are exposed to some sort of pathogen going to turn?
I’m pretty much cool with any of these methods, so long at it remains internally consistent in the story. If it’s well done, I’m happy.
Well, at least she did the right thing and killed Danny too. Although I’m sure next Monday’s comic will be a very interesting one! 😀
Women are often portrayed as having sympathetic reactions when someone they love or are near to emotionally dies. I wonder what Emma’s reaction will be when confronting Sam on Monday, and how it will be modified by the fact that he shot Abe?
I think men have the same sympathetic reactions, it’s just not overplayed in movies and TV as much, which bugs me.
As far as how I’d prefer zombies to work, I wish Dave’s zombies would follow a fairly clear-cut you had to get bitten to be infected rule. The way it is now, someone with an intact brain dies and becomes a zombie, which is something I’m not okay with because it defies normal logical progression of infection plagues that turn people into zombies. Okay, sure, it makes for an easier storyline but it also smacks of laziness on the author’s part. It also lumps people with intact brains who die into the “oh you’re dead you’re a zombie now” category.
I’d have much preferred it if Dave had taken some time to make it so someone who turns into a zombie has to be visibly infected first.
Fair enough. My reasoning here is that the disease has spread already, but lies dormant until the body dies.
My belief, and reasoning to a certain extent, is that some people might be naturally immune to the zombie plague, and might therefore not turn when they die. In other words, with such a large number of people, it’s possible some might not become a zombie, ever, but still die of natural causes, because they never had any contact with any infected people. For instance people outside of the current area in your comic might not be a zombie simply because the infection hasn’t got there yet. Do you get what I’m saying here?
Absolutely. If the pathogen is environmental, it could absolutely be confined to a certain area.
I have 1 movie called “the happening” for you to watch then.
Or if you prefer the older movie called “outbreak”.
Basically once a germ takes on a new vector (path to infect) the old disease is out and something new takes the place. It is the second part of why we don’t see the black or red plague around. (Immunity shots being the first)
Over in Australia here, it’s Good Friday, so I wasn’t really expecting a comic today, good thing Dave’s in a different country with a different holiday calendar! 😀 You all have a safe and happy Easter break, if you’re celebrating it now! 😉
It’s good Friday on the north American continent too as is it Easter Monday on this upcoming Monday. I’m guessing good Friday isn’t a good enough’ holiday’ to consider a no comic day.
Yeah, it’s Good Friday here in the US too. As far as holiday breaks go, I usually only take the day off if I also get it off from work. My office is open on Good Friday, so I did a comic.
As far as the holiday itself goes, I’m a lapsed Catholic. I was raised Catholic, but don’t practice now. I’d consider myself agnostic.
So, are you doing a comic on Monday then? 😀
Yep, I’m planning to do an episode for Monday as well.
I love zombies no matter what way they work. But I do think I enjoy the pathogen plot with the option that zombies can also spread the pathogen, allowing several different possibilities for plot direction. If looking to create a really long storyline this helps give you more time when writing to flush out more good ideas and character development. That’s me anyway. Still loving BOTD of course. Woohoo, go Dave!
Hah, thanks!
I think the pathogen route makes more sense. My thinking behind it is that how could so many zombies be created from 1 or 2 initially, going around and biting others untill it spreads like crazy – that doesn’t quite sit well with me since you’d probably be able to contain it.
Maybe, it’s a virus and everyone is exposed and it only activates in necrotised tissue and the reason people suddenly become zombies after a bite is they are infected by an active version of the pathogen after the bite, otherwise it remains inactive until a person dies. This would account for the comic over the last few days.
Also, if it was only via a bite then people who died of natural causes, gun shot or anything else for that matter would just be dead.
Perhaps thinking too much about it. As long as it makes for a good story…
Of course you’re overthinking it. That’s what’s so fun about it.
I think you make a good point that a zombie outbreak spread only through bites would be much more easily contained in the beginning.
Quick explanation. In the “Everyone comes back world” everyone is already infected with the “zombie disease”. It takes a compromised or dead immune system to allow the virus to take over the body.
For me at least this makes the “being biten and turning into a zed in a few hours” make less sense. If your already infected then how does being bitten speed things up?
Also since most of the zeds keep eating until nothing is left, you would have very few new zeds around or at least ones who are reasonably intact.
The way I like to think about it is that the zombie bite is extremely nasty, and it kills you. Once you’re dead, the disease kicks in an reanimates you.
As far as the zombies completely devouring the victim; yeah, that’s another issue with the zombie outbreak spreading only by bite.
I tell myself that after a few minutes dead bodies close to reanimate doesn’t taste that good… so zombies give up on them…
Light explanation I admit but it’s all I have.
That works.
Now let’s wait and see what Sam and Emma are going to do about each other. And it seems that Sam would rather have an axe than a firearm…
I’m with you concerning the mode of Zombies Dave as long as it’s consistent… I don’t mind eider way.
I think Sam just grabbed what was handy; Clem didn’t have a gun (which was something I was going to address in story, but abandoned).
I like the fact that in order to prevent people to turn, they have to protect themself from something. It add tension in insecurity to the story.
I’d prefer the zombie attacks (bitte, scratch,…) as a way to transmit, as it makes zombie “usefull” to the story, over a virus or infection but both idea are fine for me.
The everyone is infected situation (as seen in TWD) make things a bit hopeless, inevitable. You have to fight for you life of course but for what… U’ll die and turn anyway (ok it may take dozens of years for some of us ;)).
Some good points here.
Viruses evolve methods to spread themselves from one host to another. The viruses behind the common cold makes us sneeze and cough so it can hitch a ride on sprays of bodily fluid and move to a new host. The virus that causes rabies in animals causes its host to become violent and aggressive so that its more likely to attack other animals and spread the virus though its bite. l Ive always kind of figured that the zed virus would evolve (or be engineered) to trigger a predatory response in its host causing them to attack and try to consume any warm blooded mammal it came across. A healthy human would most likely be able to escape one or even a handful shambling zombies but a good number of those who escape will be bitten in the process. If the zeds manage to bring one down then that person will be consumed at least partially. Since the virus has no interest in a dead host the zed will probably have evolved/been engineered so the zed looses interest once its clear its victim is dead. Zeds dont attack each other because they realize that the zeds they encounter are already dead even though they are moving.
As far as the is everyone infected or do you need to be bitten, the Newsflesh series of books has a great take on this. The zombie virus arose in this case though two medical breakthroughs. The first is a retrovirus that wed developed to cure cancer. The second was a virus developed to cure the common cold by infecting the host with a symptomless version and allowing their bodies immune system to adjust. It a long story but the second virus got widely released before it was tested and intereaced with the first virus that was already in the systems of hundreds of thousands of cancer survivors. The mutated visrus just hangs out in your system unless you die, in which case the virus starts to multiply like crazy and take over your system. Likewise, being bitten by a zed introduces a spike of the virus in your system and causes the virus that was lying dormant ot go crazy and start multiplying. The books themselves weren’t great, in fact I wouldn’t recommend them, but the zombification mechanism was top notch.
Awesome response, sir. I really need to read the other books in that series. Feed was pretty awesome.
Honestly, they go downhill pretty fast after that first book. Not to mention that there is a really bizarre plot twist that ruined the series for me. Email me if you want more info.
It’s good to see that you changed Emma’s face. It gae some more feeling to the comic. Plus, I wonder if Sam will do anything to Emma with that axe…I doubt she’ll simply forgive and forget.
Happy Easter! This holiday made me think of a discussion question: How would special occasions (holidays, birthdays, etc.) be celebrated in the apocalypse?