Zombie Cliche Lookout: Extrajudicial Execution
In the zombie apocalypse, the criminal justice system is represented by two equally important concepts: the investigation of the crime, and the punishment of the offender. Often, the two sides are represented by the same person. In a healthy society, this would be considered vigilante justice, and represent a major threat to the rule of law. In the zombie apocalypse, well, you’ve got to take what you can get.
Also, yes, this is my half-assed attempt to satirize the opening of Law and Order in a post-apocalyptic setting. Also, yes, I would totally watch Law and Order: Wasteland.
About this Episode:
A few weeks ago, when I set aside a couple of hours to film all the remaining episodes of Bricks of the Dead, my wife stopped by and noticed the carnage of my photography area. “Hey”, she said, “isn’t this guy in the red hat one of your main characters?” Sure is. “So you killed him?” Yep. “Isn’t that a little cliche? I mean, you seriously killed a main character at the end of a zombie story?”
See? It’s not just you guys who are critical of my writing.
Other News:
I posted a new blog called “Bricks of the Dead AMA“. I wanted to do a Reddit-style Ask Me Anything about the comic as it’s drawing to an end. Ask your questions in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Discussion Question: How Does this Change Cheryl?
With her actions in today’s comic, Cheryl has gone through a major change. In the past, she’s generally been the pragmatic one, calling for cooperation. Now, she’s ignoring other members of her group, and acting both unilaterally and violently. What does this represent about her character as a whole? And does that change seem fitting given the plot of Bricks of the Dead to date? Finally, could the zombie apocalypse do this to anyone, or are certain people immune from the de-civilizing pressures living in this world would bring?
Well, that escalated quickly! 😀
It sure did.
Typo alert: “serious killed” You sure your wife didn’t say ‘seriously”? 😀
“Chance–>Change – that’s for the Discussion Question title.
Not bad, only two for today, although I don’t see you didn’t notice the one in the header of the Discussion Question! 😀
Fixed both.
Does this change Cheryl? I tend to think it’s more her way of saying that she’s had enough. Either that, or she finally is starting to see side-effects of ageing, and is starting to become sick of these weirdos and vigilantes they’re encountering in the zombie apocalypse all of a sudden! 😀
I long suspected Henry or Ned had it coming to them but didn’t think Dave would off two such newly-created characters so damned quickly! 😀
This seems like a very much rushed ending, a “get it over with and done” kind of ending. I’m not entirely okay with that aspect of it but so far it seems reasonably believable given their current circumstances.
Oh, she’s certainly had enough.
As to this being a rushed ending, that wasn’t my intent, but perhaps it came out unconsciously.
With all these gunshots coming from Cheryl’s direction, the odds that zombies in the woods are going to come investigate. And they’re probably going to come in great numbers! 😀
Question on the sound effect, though: Why “BLAL” in it? I think that’s the first sound effect typo I’ve seen so far! 😀
Lol. This must be a VERY rushed ending! Typos in the sound effects. Pretty soon well have Dave’s hand covering half the picture. Lol
Oh hell. I’ll have to fix that one in the Photoshop document. I won’t be able to get to that until Wednesday.
As for the blood effect, hrm, I think it’s leaked out over the edge of the panel and into the border of the comic itself! 😀
I like it, though, so Dave can keep it in! 😀
I’ve been doing it this way for a little while now. I saw similar effects in other comics and liked the way it looked.
WOW! 😮
She did it. She actually did it.
That is shocking. But Cheryl has always seemed like the kinda person that could snap, and become very cold. No more bs. You’re bad? You’re dead. :l
How does it change her?
Does it matter, if the comic is ending?
Of Course, it matters! We may never truly find out how this day will affect Cheryl, but I’d love to see what people think.
I think she’s gonna be a lot like Inez. (Although, I barely remember Inez, at this point. Lol) Doing whatever she feels needs to be done to keep her group safe. Not taking any risks. If someone could be a snake, they have to be taken care of. Which I’m sure others will have problems with. And it will cause a lot of arguments. And I think she would even tell people to leave the group if they don’t like it. That’s how stubborn she will become. That is, of course, until most of the her people leave, and she is all alone. She has driven everyone away. Maybe they have gone on to make their own group without her. And she will have nothing. But she will be alive.
From there, she could either live the rest of her life as a loner. Like Clark. (Maybe they could meet up, sometime. 😀 )
Or…she could open her mind and heart again, see she was wrong, and beg forgiveness from her old group. 🙂
This is a really interesting read, and not too far from what I imagine myself. I can see her driving some people away, certainly. I don’t see her ending up alone. I think she’ll be tough, and a little rough around the edges, but that will be the price she pays for keeping people as safe as she can.
Dave, you really should clean up Inez, and Michael and Joy, and also Barb and Clark! 😀
This group’s story has not ended but you really need to go find these other four people and finish up their stories! 😀
There’s mileage still to come in Bricks of the Dead and it’s not done until you nail down all of these loose ends that are just lying around untidily waiting to ensnare a zombie in them! 😀
Additionally, you could still take the one year break in between. I don’t mind at all. if you feel like a break before finishing the other story arc off, then I’m actually fine with that.
There’s also Emma, if you did it properly and figured it out over your break, you could do a really outstanding job of it! 😀
It seems a little weird that Ned hasn’t said anything since the tables have turned. Usually the villain gets in a word or two before they get offed. Either begging for mercy, or sticking to their guns and telling the hero that they’ve got it all wrong.
Maybe Ned knows he’s been defeated and just wants to get it over with.
Or, maybe this is just a very rushed ending. Lol!
Again, it wasn’t my intent to rush anything. I wrote these scripts out quite a while ago, and returned to them several times as we approached and before I started shooting the final episodes. If it’s rushed, it came out without intent.
I don’t think this changes Cheryl. I think she’s been that way for a while now and we’re only now seeing that in motion.
There are things that can change a person quickly–despite my previous post on Switch-Flipping. If a mother saw her child killed brutally, and had the means to take revenge, she would. It’s something traumatic happening to a loved one.
But in Cheryl’s case she didn’t have that level of connection to her companions. She was just angry and had the means to fight back. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw her wander into to the woods to find the others whom held laser (pointers?) earlier to convey a sense of power for the baddies. Just hunting them down to take back from the world that took so much from her.
Are you done yet? Can others get a word in?