Zombie CSU (38 page)

Dr. Ladany says, “Existentialists would argue that all anxiety is based on a fear of death and that people create fantasies or religions as a way to deal with, or distract themselves from the fact that we will die and there is nothing left afterwards. I don’t completely agree with existentialists, however, I think people are intrigued by death because it offers an alternative to the suffering that takes place for people. Almost everyone experiences suffering on a day-to-day basis and the idea of death offers an escape plan.”

The Zombie Factor

Zombie films and books have done a thorough job of exploring the different phases of psychological and spiritual disintegration that is likely during an undead attack. We’ve seen the gamut of human emotions, from heroism to cowardice, from self-sacrifice to murderous selfishness, from generosity to greed, and from wisdom to folly. And it isn’t just film and novels that have been used to explore the topic; comics, short stories, and art also get their say, and in these forms some of the most powerful insights are presented.

Robert Kirkman’s
The Walking Dead
tells of a group of survivors on the run: friends, family, and strangers smashed together by events and forced to redefine “civilized behavior” on a day-today basis. These black-and-white comics published by Dark Horse allow us to see the psychodynamics played out with more depth and complexity than any film can manage in two hours. Even a 400-page novel would have a hard time plumbing as many depths as Kirkman has in the hundreds of illustrated pages that comprise the series. The stark visuals give us the backdrop and set the scenes and allow the storytelling to be lean and hungry.

Short stories (the best ones anyway) have always been mini-dramas, allowing more room for experimentation than novels or films. You can take more risks in 5,000 words than you can in 100,000. If it flubs, very little of the publishing industry’s money is wasted, and if it’s successful, it drives sales of everything else in the genre. The 1988 anthology
Book of the Dead
(Bantam) edited by John Skipp and Craig Specter is widely considered to be the gold standard, and not just because of the caliber of writers (Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, etc.) but because of the inventiveness of the stories. This was a raw book, with stories that took chunks out of the reader; it was frightening and heartbreaking and often damn funny. The only thing it was not was forgettable.

And as for art…scattered throughout the book you’re holding are dozens of pictures from artists around the world. Professionals and amateurs are drawn to the world of the dead through some fascination or compulsion, each with its own deeply emotional story to tell. Look at the pictures, read what the artists had to say, and see where your mind wanders. Each one of these took me to a different, shadowy and important place in my head.

Zombies will do that, you see.