Zombie Cliche Lookout: Smiling Faces
When meeting a new group during the zombie apocalypse, it makes sense to put a bit of thought into your approach. You can choose to look quiet and maybe even a little awkward so that you don’t appear to be a threat. You can do the complete opposite, and come off as a complete hardass to show that you’re not going to take any shit to keep the other side’s threats at bay. Or maybe you go in there with a big smile on your face. You’re friendly, but when a disagreement pops up, you don’t back down. You’re forceful with a congenial confidence. And the other side? They’ll be wondering what that actually means for them.
As a reader/watcher, I’ve always found this approach more threatening than the characters who come in full of rage and swagger. It’s an instant indication that they’ve got something over the other side, and they’re extremely confident in that. What do they have? Well, we don’t know. It could be nothing.
About this Episode:
I spent quite a while with this new character’s minifig. Looking at him, it probably doesn’t seem like it, but hear me out. I wanted someone who looked very, very normal. Someone you would run into on the street and not really think twice about. Fairly put together, but not fancy. Confident, but not intimidating. Friendly, but not overwhelming. So obviously, he’s wearing khakis.
Discussion Question: Visual Cues
Conventional wisdom tells us not to judge a book by its cover. This is good advice, because going by outside appearances gives us very little information, so it’s hard to make an accurate call. That said, there’s a world of difference between choosing your next bathroom read, and figuring out whether you can trust some random dude in a survival situation. So how would you go about figuring out whether someone was safe, or at least worth taking the risk of interacting with?
Typo alert: “here me out” here–>hear 😀
Discussion Question title: Queues–>Cues 😉
I’d like to see Dave blame that one on his mobile! 😀
Hah, fixed both. They were just me being dumb.
Awesome Minifig! Hope his Name is Stewart. Just to make things confusing. Haha!
Hmm, that’s not a bad idea.
Sometimes you gotta trust your gut. A lot of the time, in the z-apocalypse, that’ll be all you have.
Everyone’s gonna look rough. Everyone’s gonna be bloody. Everyone’s gonna be carrying around nasty weapons.
No one’s gonna trust anyone. Everyone’s gonna be a bit cagey.
So…It’s gonna be tough to read people. Gotta go with your gut. 🙂
Go with your gut, or kill everyone you meet. 😉
That would be fine if there wasn’t a horde of zombies that want to eat your gut and any other part of you that they can latch on to! 😀 Having a gut and being able to stop to use it are two entirely different things! 😉
😀
Hah!
To the original point, I would agree. I doubt we’ll have the ability to be overly logical and methodical about things, especially in the earlier, more chaotic parts of the outbreak.
Trust your gut.
Then question why your gut is acting this way.
Are you prejudging a situation based on preconcieved notions? Or did your instincts catch something in tone and body language.
This man here, for instance, is obviously a psycopath. Hes wearing khakis in a zombie invasion yo.
Or he is about to sell them a vacume
Lol! Yes! To all of your points!
Excellent point. Reflection is always a good idea, but I think it would be something many would leave behind because it requires time and attention, both of which will likely be in short supply.
“Judge a book by its over”
😉
Hah, fixed this one too.
Just wondering, I assume you have another face in store for that guy? Something a bit more neutral?
I probably will. I have a few male faces with stubble that I can swap out.
On the other hand, keeping that ludicrously overbearing smile on his face 100% of the time would be kind of fun.
I have learned the hard way to trust my “gut” Especially in my interactions with other people. I rationalize this with the theory that humans exchange a lot of subtle queues though nuances in speech, vocal inflection, body language and maybe even pheromones that we are unaware of on a conscious level but still pick up and process subconsciously. Anyone who owns a pet or spends time with animals learns the power of this kind of communication. That being said there is no way in HELL I would call my entire group together in this situation. He may be trying to assess your groups strength or even have his buddies nearby to catch you all in a single attack. If he had the stones to just walk up to the door chances are hes been watching the cabin for a while and already knows your number. Just tell him to say what he has to say and sod off.
After catching up on the last couple of issues I had missed, which were great by the way, it occured to me that despite reading this comic for almost 8 years I don’t think I’ve ever commented. So hi, love the comic and can’t wait to see how you decide to end it.
honestly he looks like the tin-man from Stephen King’s the stand book, when the role got turned into a cast member for the movie, also the smile gives off the same vibe as the twd’s governor.