Category: Books

Bought this book by Andy Black on zombie films with high hopes. Mostly, those hopes were dashed. It’s poorly edited (though he has the audacity to thank his proofreader in the credits — he should flog the proofreader). Too much plot summary, not enough analysis. His read on Romero is generally on target but superficial. Though I do think he hits Argento right on, and he does include plenty of detail on Cemetery Man (Dellamorte, Dellamore). Nice to see the greatest zombie movie ever made get some credit. Rent this film if for no other reason than to marvel at the beauty of Anna Falci. Wow. He also mentions Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, another of my favorites.

My main complaint is that he spends too much time on stuff that really isn’t “zombie.” Plan Nine from Outer Space, etc. If it doesn’t eat flesh, it ain’t a zombie, dude.

Instead of buying The Dead Walk, go out and rent Cemetery Man and Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things. Buy a six pack of beer. Walk with the dead …

Anyone who knows me knows I love zombie movies. I’m particularly fond of Romero’s work, especially because of the Pittsburgh ties. I’ve found a great, Pittsburgh-based zombie site that’s worth checking out — ZombieGirls.net. It has a lot of reviews. Still needs work in places, but overall it’s an impressive effort.

Another good, recent find in the living dead realm is ZombieKeeper. I particularly liked their “Best in Horror” section. There were several films there I’d never heard of. “Shatter Dead” sounded so interesting I went out and ordered a copy on their recommendations. They also have a positive review of Romero’s “Martin,” one of my favorites, even if it’s not about zombies. They might not be able to spell Pittsburgh, but they know their horror flicks.

And finally, my favorite comic strip these days is Boondocks. It’s definitely worth checking out. Aaron McGruder is one of the best artists doing comics, and the characters in the strip — Huey Freeman and his little brother Riley — are hilarious. Great social commentary. One of my recent favorites is the strip on Ann Kournikova.