Zombie Cliche Lookout: Parting Gift
Mention zombies to a crowd of high school or college aged guys, and the conversation will turn to weapons in less than a minute. Why? Well, because it’s fun, that’s why. Naturally, there are different approaches one can take with weapons. People often fall into two camps: camp gun, and camp melee weapon. There are pros and cons with both approaches, and, like all things, the best answer likely lies somewhere in the middle.
Want to survive the zombie apocalypse? Be smart, and use every advantage you have. When you can, be quiet and take out zombies with a bat or a machete. When things get nasty, grab that gun and start blasting. Either way, be versatile. Remember the old maxim: when all you have is a hammer, every problem starts looking like a nail. When all you have is a machete, you’re forcing yourself to approach zombie defense in more or less the same way every time, even when that approach would be suicidally dangerous.
About this Episode:
I know there’s nothing going on there, but I really like the way panel three turned out. Sam has psyched himself up to get going, and he’s understandably upset about the delay Tara is causing him, which will let doubt start to creep in.
Discussion Question: Guns or Melee Weapons?
Let’s go back to the discussion above, and turn ourselves into high school boys for a few minutes. Let’s say you have to choose either a gun or a melee weapon in a zombie survival situation. Both would be basic, let’s say either a machete or a nine millimeter pistol with one loaded magazine. Which would you choose, and why?
Typo alert: “and he’s understandable upset” understandable–>understandably 😀
Fixed! Thanks.
Given his recent fracas with accidentally shooting ol’ Abe and turning him into a zombie, and all the mayhem that sprang forth from that saga, I highly suspect Sam is going to surprise Tara and reject the offer of the gun! 😀 A man can only take so much pressure, what’s Sam’s breaking point?
Good thinking there BrickVoid… I could see him hesitate to take the gun, but reject the offer? Not sure, Sam is a smart guy and he must realize that he could always use a backup plan.
Here’s the thing, will his smartness overcome his timidity? Given what he’s been through, and his obvious unwillingness to talk about it given that he had ample opportunity at present, I’d say this will factor greatly into whether he rejects the offer of the gun. He probably has also figured out that loud objects attract more zombies, since he was playing that radio, having a gun go off is a sure-fire way to have a lot of zombies tracking you for their next meal! 😀
I don’t know that I’d call his hesitancy to talk about his past timidity. I think it’s just very painful for him, and he’s not ready to talk about it just yet.
Excellent points. Having it and using it are two very different things. An added bonus of having it would mean that Tara’s unhinged dad wouldn’t have it, making himself a little safer in the process.
He could even justify it by saying he wants to make sure they’re safe while he’s gone.
Simple choice. Take the gun. Use it to rob someone with a better gun. 😀
You would hit us with a question like this XD It’s like “Which Wonder Twin would you bring to a fight?” They are both super heroes, generally more usefull if together but still not the idea people to bring.
Let’s be honest. I, like most people, are probbibly going to end up injuring myself if I tried to tackle fighting any monster while trying to use a sword or pistol. Unlike the movies which show us people blowing zombie heads off left and right while steadying their gun with one hand while running through uneven streets, or people with swords and blades that instantly render bone and flesh like tissue paper, the reality is that while the above stuff is possible, its not very likely.
If you don’t know how to aim a gun, go with the macheti. If you don’t think you habe the skill / upper body strength to cut through legions of undead, go with the gun.
If you sont know hoe to use either…go with the one you are less likely to shoot / stab your eye out with.
Gah! My grammers. Dave. You have infected me. You are the Grammer Zombie.
And yes you should totally make that a thing!
The thing Dave! Do the thing!
I think Grammer Zombie would be upset to see “grammar” spelled wrong 🙂
Excellent points here, and something almost every zombie story glosses over. My shining counter example here is Shaun of the Dead, where he struggles to accurately hit anything with rifle, even with everyone’s help. I’d love to see more of that.
I thought for a second she was going to hand him over a big pile of dirty clothes and ask… “would you mind dropping these at the dry cleaner on your way to the pharmacy?”. But, on second thought the gun makes more sense.
Maybe she’s just bringing him the broken gun so he can drop it off at the gunsmith’s for repairs on his way home?
The gun gives the advantage to offer its owner a fast and less painful death if he has to use it against himself or someone he wants to protect from a horrible death.
Other than that, and as you said, I don’t see which can be better cause each of those weapons has the benefits of his drawbacks.
Wow, that’s something I hadn’t considered at all. Dark, for sure, but a great read on the question.
Leave the guns.
Take the cannolis.
Great, now I need to watch The Godfather again. Of course, being one of the best films ever made, I’m not too hard to convince to watch it.
Im a gun guy and I make no pretenses about that. Ive been actively shooting and hunting since I was 9 years old. I think that most people overestimate the ability of even a living and thinking human being to accurately locate the source of a single loud noise, particularly in an urban environment with all kinds of echo and noise deflection going on. Im inclined to believe that, in a situation like Sams, if you shoot only when absolutely necessary and keep moving you will be ok.
I also think that people underestimate how quickly they will get tired of swinging any melee weapon that is heavy enough to be effective. Go grab a baseball bat, head outside and take 10 really good swings with it. Il bet real money that your pretty winded and feeling the burn after that.
And for the record, a machete would SUCK as a melee weapon because it would get stuck in bone too easily.
All that being said, if I HAD to choose just one I would probably go with the melee weapon. Especially if I could get my hands on a good aluminum baseball bat or a crowbar.
I agree with Damage but he forgot one important thing. The machette is harder to aim then the pistol. With the pistol if you miss you can try again or run for it, usually. With the machette you have one chance at a small target with the aggressor literally on top of you. Miss and your dear off balance and Dead.
The eternal debate, when it comes to the zombie apocalypse anyway.
My big problem with guns is ammunition. Without bullets, a gun isn’t much use. And eventually you will run out, probably a lot sooner than you would think.
Hollywood is terrible for making us think that guns can shoot forever.