Zombie Cliche Lookout: Don’t Forget the Zombies
Meeting other survivors with guns and whatnot can be pretty exciting, but it’s important that you always remember one tenet of survival: don’t forget the zombies. Sure, there are lots of other dangers out there, and many of them are much more deadly than zombies, but neglecting basic zombie defense is absolutely deadly. It’s amazing how often this trope comes up. How often have we seen characters assume they’re safe, and settle down to relax or gather supplies, only to be attacked? Way, way too often.
Generally speaking, this issue can be broken down in one of two ways: the character is either relaxing their guard, or they’ve developed tunnel vision and are no longer paying attention. Either way, it’s a recipe for disaster. This is one of those things that holds true outside of the survival horror universe. Get tunnel vision while driving, and you can get t-boned, let down your guard around the wrong people and you’ll get ripped off. It’s not getting ripped to shreds by the walking dead, but the consequences can still be nasty.
About this Episode:
You know what? I have a perfectly nice kitchen set that I could be using to host this discussion, so why not adjourn indoors? Also, there are (presumably) fewer zombies in there, so it’s safer for my characters.
Also, yes, that’s Stewart playing with the gun in the second frame.
Other News:
Friday is Independence Day in the US, so I’ll be taking it off. We’ll return to our normal schedule on Monday, July 7th. As always apologies to those outside the US where this isn’t a holiday.
Discussion Question: The State of Bricks of the Dead
I’ve noticed that both traffic and the number of comments has gone down around here lately, so I thought I’d ask everyone how the site is doing, and if there are things you’d like to see me change/improve/stop doing/etc. So fire away, loyal readers!
I guess an update on the character page would be nice; it’d be a great way for readers to get their bearings on what happened in the plot so far in case they forgot.
I’m working on that one; I’m probably about half to two-thirds done n it now.
Typo alert, Zombie Cliche Lookout, first paragraph, last sentence: to–>too 😀
About This Episode, second paragraph (the single sentence one) third–>second 😉 I don’t see Stewart doing anything with the gun in the third frame, mostly because he’s almost entirely off-screen in the corner of the shot, but he seems to be doing an awful lot of messing around in the second frame! 😀
Discussion Question my–>me 😀 Also, if it’s not too much to ask I’d like to ask you to stop using brackets except where a normal sentence absolutely doesn’t work, and also to stop using slashes, as it’s almost as bad as using and/or instead of something that works better or restructuring the sentence.
Fixed all, thanks. You’re absolutely right about the second panel.
As far as the parenthetical and whatnot go, that’s something I do overuse. It’s a trap I fall into a lot.
I think they should be safe inside a kitchen they just came out of two minutes ago, unless some idiot left the door wide open so some zombie could wander in and help itself to anything that resembled something edible! 😀
That’s a big if with this group, isn’t it?
Speaking of which, that makes for a rather interesting discussion question: Would zombies be attracted to the smell of food cooking or just ignore it as they’re only looking for human victims? My own take is that maybe they’d have a primitive instinct to investigate certain odors if they have anything left of their smell receptors to do so with. I don’t, however, see it as some sort of bloodhound kind of “uber tracker”, either! 😀 (Ice Age reference, if you’ve seen it! 😉 )
I’d tend to agree with you; I think they’d inspect it, but only if there wasn’t anything more pressing.
I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’m still very interested! Maybe it’s the typos that scares people away! 😛 The reason why I do to comment sometimes is either A. I’m busy or B. I have nothing to really say. Just keep up the good work and it’ll all pass over. My theory is that it’s because it’s summer people are spending more time with family and don’t get the chance to look.
Summer definitely seems to be a slower time. Thanks for your kind words, Nom Zoms!
In the mean time, take this quiz to find our how long you would survive the ZA! 😀 http://moviepilot.com/quizzes/1627000?lt_source=external,manual,manual
Though you will need an account if you do not have one already…
Summer time is for outdoor activities like boating and bowling and not indoor activities like web comic strip reading, gaming groups and skeet shooting.
Plus in this day of binge watching alot of people are binge reading. If you really want to find out install one of those page counters to see how your traffic is doing.
Yeah, I think I’m probably underestimating the summer effect.
I do have Google Analytics setup for traffic report. Works pretty well.
I check the site routinely and I answer in the comments when I find the question interesting or feel I have something useful to add. Maybe it’s time for another contest and couple it with a little Facebook advertising?
I can’t afford advertising, but a contest is a damn good idea.
I meant word of mouth advertising. I wouldn’t actually suggest paying FB. Use us, your minions, to spread the word. 🙂
GO FORTH, MINIONS! SPREAD THE WORD!
I’ve just been busy, I tune in occasionally, see how things are going.
That’s a fine username you got there.
Heh, yeah. A fine username indeed.
Hi folks, not been on for a while busy with other things and not spending as much time online.
All caught up now though Dave and I must say I’ve missed a few cracking discussion questions that I would have liked to give my ‘tuppence worth’
In my opinion the comic is still rattling along at a good pace (when you think about it, each 4 panel comic relates to a couple of minutes ‘real time’)
Keep up the good work!
Yeah, I can definitely appreciate the being busy. Seems like there’s never a dull moment anymore.
Quick question:is “tuppence worth” slang for two pence worth?
Indeed it is Dave, Scottish version 🙂 or if you are feeling slightly extravagant…you can add your ‘tuppence ha’penny worth’ (two and a half pence worth)
Oh man, I feel a little more Scottish already (and that sounds like a good thing to me).
There’s not a lot of zombie hype currently, the year has been slowing down in what is the most focused on as of late.
Good point, sir. It does seem to have died down a bit. I wonder if it’s just because it’s summer blockbuster season right now, or if people are really starting to get sick of zeds.
Like any fad they’re probably starting to get a little sick of them. Right now I don’t know the current market on what is becoming popular. I’ll just continue liking what I’ve always liked.
By the way I always check the site, but I don’t comment as much. Quality control is the reason for the most part.
Well I’m glad to hear you’re still around, Calicade.
You should try to add some teenage vampire romance into the mix, that seems to never tire anyone.
Hah, that does seem to be an evergreen genre of late, doens’t it?
I think I might have a discussion question for Dave: How would you overcome language barriers in a zombie apocalypse? We take the ability to communicate for granted most of the time and rely on certain body language indications but what would really help you to communicate with someone who might be of some help to you but doesn’t speak a word of your language?
Oh yeah, I like this one. I’ll use it for tomorrow’s episode.