Zombie Cliche Lookout: Exclusion
In the last episode we discussed how certain characters in zombie stories just don’t have what it takes to cope with the tremendous stresses of survival. I’d like to note that I don’t make this observation to judge anyone. I’d hate to think how I’d react to the situations I’ve put my characters into. It’s certainly fun to think about surviving the zombie apocalypse, but actually living that reality would be horrific.
Okay, sorry about the digression. The point is, we’re going to be building on the idea of certain characters shutting down due to stress. This time, we’re going to address what the remaining characters have to do in order to compensate for that. After all, in a zombie survival situation, you really don’t have the luxury of just sitting around until everyone collects themselves. You have to keep working, or you die. That means finding a way to motivate those stuck people, ignore them, or just abandon them. That last one? Not very nice.
About this Episode:
I have to say, I’m really happy with the shadows in the corner of the room. If I’m being honest, they are exactly why I decided to have these two characters move in order to have their conversation. Naturally, they did need some privacy since they’re talking about a third character who is both in the same room and also appears to be a little unstable, but the big reason for the change was to get some cool shadows in the background.
Yeah, I’m easily amused.
Discussion Question: Coping with the Shutdown
Put yourself into the shoes of Barb or Clark (or both, if you’re feeling saucy). How would you deal with Vicky and the kids? Can she be reasoned with? Do you just have to let her be and move on without her?
Typo alert: “but actually living that reality would be a horrific.” A horrific what? Nightmare? Plot? What? Or Dave could remove the “a” next to horrific, that might fix it. 😀
There is also a graphical glitch in panel 4: The Toolbox is reflecting off of some surface so that it appears overlaid on top of Barb, plus there is some extra minifig’s hand there which completely destroys the panel it’s in as far as looks go. What happened here? It looks terribly out of place! 😀 I really hope Dave can explain or fix that one! It almost looks like a Photoshop copy/paste operation gone horribly wrong! 😀
Fixed the typo.
What you’re seeing in panel four is the staircase in the foreground. I shoot with a pretty narrow field of focus, so it’s quite blurred. I like to frame shots with things in the foreground on occasion. I guess this time is just doesn’t work. As to the extra hand, that’s Barb’s.
Clark talking to Barb is a little disturbing in a sense. He’s a loner, yet suddenly he’s looking to her for help and decision making. It really muddies the waters when someone formerly independent suddenly becomes dependent on people they don’t really know all that well. 😀
Question: What is going through Barb’s mind right now? What do you, the commenters, think she’s thinking right now? 😀
Excellent points. I think Clark is going through something pretty big right now. His notion of being an independent survivor what shattered when he was attacked at night and had to run for help, and he’s likely doubting his own abilities after accidentally shooting Ted. The guy’s had a hell of a time lately.
As for what she might have to do about Vicky and the kids, the answer is obvious: Try to prepare them to better understand the threat the zombies pose, and try to explain in simplistic terms to the kids what a zombie is, and why they’re highly dangerous to go near. Think of it as stranger danger talk amplified a hundred times. 😀
That’s a good analogy!
Not helping a person in danger? Isn’t that punished by law? Involving children on top of that… OK it’s not about law here… I honestly see no other way here but to try to save everyone.
Odds are people will die in those situation. A lot of them… But don’t forget that, abandon them today, and tomorrow you’ll be the one left behind…