Archive for March, 2012
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Well, I promised you more pictures and details about our recent trip to the Annapolis Comic Con, and I aim not to disappoint! Although this convention is a relatively new convention, this show reached an apex of over 150 people on Saturday which gave the dealer’s room a great vibe of excitement. Now you may be saying 150 people? Really? Well when you consider it’s only in its second year it is pretty amazing how well this community got together to put on a great show. There were some highly recognizable names in the comic book industry in attendance like Jo Chen, John Ostrander, and Greg LaRocque. In addition to its lineup of industry professionals, this year the convention offered panels to provide better value to your dollar. Being able to talk to these seasoned professionals about their projects and pick their brains about the industry gave artists-to-be an insight on what to expect from their potential professions.
Also if you paid any attention to our booth, attendees might have noticed the début of a brand new comic just hot off the presses for this convention! At the Grim Crew booth we were able to début Extraordinary, Issue 2! Follow the continued stories of superheroes, when there not so super side starts to show. Following up on the characters from Issue 1, Issue 2 provides even more insight, and raises more questions about these all too human vigilantes.
Ever wanted to be a super hero? Be prepared for the not so glamorous side of crime fighting!
And next to great deals on potential literary treasures, the next biggest draw to the convention was the cos players. The costume contest provided an ideal time to snap some photos of most of the caped crusaders all at once. Winners of the contest were treated to prizes ranging from gift certificates to Third Eye Comics, to con exclusive issues of the Adventure Time comic book!
Enio won 1st prize in this contest. The costume was wicked!
Here you see a great rendition of Captain Malcolm Reynolds and Kaylee from Firefly!
Interesting note: Aquaman's flip flops said Reese's, I didn't even know they had them in the ocean. I guess there really is no wrong way to eat a Reese's
He may be a vampire killing machine, but I bet he would hold his own against a few zombies as well.
Sunday showed slightly less foot traffic, but I believe that was more due to the great panels that were lined up rather than lack of attendees. Mostly centered on family activities, such as sculpting your own super hero, Sunday provided an opportunity for geeky parents to introduce their younger ones to the greatness of comic books. And although it may have been Family Day, Grim Crew was able to still corrupt the scene just a tad with my presentation on Zombie Survival!
And finally, the day ended with yet another costume contest with equally as good prizes! The number of people dressed up for this “small” convention is rather surprising and just goes to show you how great the fans in the Annapolis Maryland region are.
Dr. Horrible and his kids, I mean, some of the crew.
Batgirl and Nightwing made an appearance even though Batman told them to stay out in the car.
This princess was a big help during my panel by bringing up the point that if you talk on walkie talkies, other people might be able to hear you!
All in all it was a great show and we look forward to next year as well. Our next show will be the Eastern Shore Fan Con on April 28th! I will be manning the booth and pedaling our wares if you want to stop by and chat some zombies with me.
If you had some memories from this show you want to share, be sure to comment below, or feel free to email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. You can also follow me on Twitter and Google +.
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
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Wow guys! What a show! If you are just visiting our site for the first time from the convention, welcome and we hope you like it. This post will actually be a two part post as I got home late and haven’t had a chance to put up a real review of the show. But I did want to share with you some of the pictures I got including some of the great cos-play action that went down. Look for Friday’s post for the skinny of what actually went down at the convention. On Friday I will talk about some of the people we met, some of the fun things that happened, and of course I hope to have clips from my presentation that I gave on Sunday. Until then please take a look at these great pics. You will also be able to see more pictures at the Annapolis Comic Con website soon.
Our booth was smack in the middle of the convention and as always, Martin makes this thing look good!
This Vault survivor may have had the wrong currency, but hopefully our book helped increase his Nerd Rage perk!
This Tron family won 1st place in Sunday's costume contest. And for good reason! The mother even has the symbols tattooed to her arm. That's staying in character!
An opportune photo with three heroes in training!
Again it was a great convention. More photos on Friday, but if you don’t want to wait, you can always visit us at Facebook and Google +. You can also follow me on Twitter and Google +. And of course if you want a copy of your photo, you can feel free to email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com and I will try to facilitate as may requests as I can!
Till Fate brings our Future
Penguin Prince
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I try to keep my blogs a little on the lighthearted side. This is because no one wants to read an emo talk about death all the time. But sometimes it’s good to be a little bit heavy every once in a while to keep you balanced. Here it goes.
I recently had an experience that provided an epiphany. About a week ago I attended the funeral of a dear family friend of mine. I have been to funerals before, and I thought I knew what to expect. They are hard and sad and to be honest not much fun. I had been to one other open casket funeral in my life, but I did not know the person that well. I was younger and went because my parents wanted to go. This time was different. I looked at the face of my friend, one I had memories of and conversations with not too long ago, and I experienced this sadness that I cannot explain. I felt it only one other time in my life and that is when my grandfather passed away. This sadness for who my friend was and the fact that I would not see him again in this life hung like a fog cloud in my mind, and I couldn’t shake it. I still can’t.
At the time of seeing him in his casket, what I talk about on a weekly basis came into my mind. Part of me was disgusted with what I had once considered harmless fun. I had come to realize that in order to poke fun at a zombie; I had to remove the human condition from it. It’s easy to be gung ho about such a macabre thing when you remove the human element. A zombie is just a monster that looks humanoid. When you mow down Nazi zombies in Call of Duty, or clear a hole through the undead in Left 4 Dead, it’s easy to see zombies that way. But I began to think as I was standing there, what if…
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not insensitive. I cared about my friend and I care about the love ones that he left behind. But sometimes you need a shock to your system to put you back in reality a bit. And don’t tell me work has never entered into your mind at an inappropriate time. My work just happens to deal with the theoretical unholy resurrection of the dead. I may feel bad for my thoughts at an unfortunate time, but let’s face it; it was going to come up. I filed the question away for me to answer later and this post is where it will come out.
Let’s scale this mind bending question down a bit. What would happen if you had to face a loved one you cared about in a life threatening situation? Let’s say your Mother, or Father, or Sister, Brother, Aunt, Uncle, or best friend got sick off of some mind changing disease like super rabies, or became suddenly mentally ill where they tried to kill you. Could you defend yourself? Being a disease one would rationally say that they would try to escape and find them help. But if there was no alternative, if it was just you or them, kill or be killed, could you pull that trigger?
Time to make a choice. Your life depends on it {1}
Some would say, “No. I would let them kill me. I could never bring harm to someone I love, even if it means the end of my life.” I used to see these people as weak. I couldn’t understand why you would let an emotional attachment to what the person was come between you and your life. Now I have a little more sympathy. Words cannot describe the horrors that one would have to face in that situation. Someone you know, and loved, turned to want to harm you. You see the face of this person that been friendly and kind and safe. And now, not so much.
Loads of feelings would then enter you. “This can’t be real,” or “What’s going on?” may be your first thoughts. “Why?” or “But I love you!” can make you hesitate. “Stop! Don’t make me do this!”
“NO!”
And then the moment of truth would come. You must pull the trigger. Or swing the bat. Or thrust the sword. Anyway it happens, the blood of that person you loved and cared about is now on your hands. After that, it doesn’t matter if they were going to kill you or not. You killed someone you loved. Could you live with that?
Because of my experience, I now see this matter through this other “weaker” point of view. As for me, after some soul searching I have come to realize that my fight or flight reflexes are still more tuned to the fight option. However I won’t pretend to be a cold hearted zombie killer that I once thought I was. After doing the dead, I would probably be pretty shaken by the whole ordeal. I talk a lot of bad ass talk on this blog. But being able to talk the talk, and being able to walk the walk are two separate things. Just goes to show you that the training for the apocalypse is defiantly more than just physical.
Time for homework. It's not going to be fun. {2}
Your homework for this blog is to do this exercise yourself. It may be hard, but something that must be done in case a situation pops up where you may have to make a choice no one should have to choose. Find a picture of a relative, or a dear frend who has passed away. Really look at it. The imagine that they were a zombie and answer this question, “Would you pull the trigger?” If you don’t have a deceased friend or family member, use someone still living. This would be an even tougher exercise, but again I feel we must all take this introspective journey in order to test our steal. Then lets’ hope it would never come down to it. Leave your answers as a comment below. I really want to know your thoughts and feelings on this one. Even if all you have to say is that I’m a sicko, that’s ok.
Of course if you didn’t feel comfortable sharing with everyone else you could email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com.
Please remember that you can also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. You can also follow me on Twitter and Google +.
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
Image Sources:
{2} http://emssolutionsinc.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/h1n1-swine-flu-vaccine-adjuvants-the-moral-dilemma/
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If your going to be in the Maryland area next weekend and are looking for something to do, come on down to the Annapolis Comic Con! Third Eye Comics brings us its second Annapolis Comic Con. We went to the one from last year and we were surprised by the turn out. It was small, but the attendees were in abundance and enthusiastic. Annapolis really has a strong base of comic book fans and we couldn’t have asked for a better time last year.
This year the convention will be bigger and better. Having moved to a new location, the convention boasts a larger dealer’s room which means more value for you and more of a variety of things to see and buy. They are also adding to the fun by hosting panels covering all sorts of topics like how to break into the comics industry, and how to sell your own comic book, all the way to how to make a cosplay outfit, and a chance to sculpt your own super hero! There is also two days of fun planned with different activities for each day. Saturday is the day you want to attend if you’re looking at getting some advice on how to excel in the comics industry, or if you’re just looking at talking with the guest artists. If you want something to bring the kids to, Sunday boasts the activities centered on children’s entertainment. Both days boast a costume contest, and of course the dealers’ room will be open throughout the event.
Nothing but nerds as far as the eye can see... oh, and a few comics as well.
A couple of special things to keep in mind for this convention is that on Sunday, at about 3:30, the convention will be hosting a live auction to benefit the Hero Initiative, which provides aid to comic book writers and artists in need. You will want to bring extra cash for this event as they always have awesome artwork to auction off and sometimes a few surprise items as well.
By far my favorite costume from last year. There were other good ones, but this was most original. Think you can do better? Come out and show us!
The other thing of note is that at 12 PM on Sunday I will be hosting my own panel! The Zombie Survival Techniques panel will cover the basics of zombie survival like knowing your enemy, basic methods of zombie extermination, and day to day survival techniques. The panel should be fun for both new zombie fans and diehard fans as well. So come on out and see me!
For more information on the Annapolis Comic Con, visit their website. We hope to see you there!
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
Image Source: All pictures were taken from http://www.annapoliscomiccon.com/index.php?page=photos
To survive in a zombie apocalypse, sometimes you have to fight with some unconventional weapons. Let’s say you accidently drop that handy dandy machete that served you so well, what are you going to use to defend yourself with? That’s what the melee weapon blog is about. Sometimes you find that useful steal pipe, or that large pipe wrench that will do some damage. Sometimes you have to make do with worse. Much worse.
Today we are going to talk about how you can use a common household object found nearly everywhere to your best advantage. Nearly every home I’ve ever been in has some sort of movable chairs. I’m not talking your comfy recliner. I’m talking the kind you would find at a dining room table, or even some bar stools. These things aren’t the first thing I would pick up in a fight. They are usually easily broken as they can be flimsy. They are also nowhere near strong enough to break open a human skull under normal conditions. So using one of these things will require some strategy.
There are many different designs for chairs. {1}
First we will distinguish between a metal chair or stool vs. as wooden one. One would normally argue that because metal is usually tougher than wood, your metal bar stool/chair would be the better weapon when fighting a zombie. One could hope that by swinging a metal chair or stool, that you could at least concuss the zombie, slowing it down or stopping it temporarily. However to actually crack through the skull would be a difficult task as the stool’s legs may not be strong enough to break the bone. You would of course have better luck hitting the zed with the actual seat part as it will be denser and able to take more of a beating.
A wooden chair however, probably could not, on its own, kill a zombie just by swinging it. Wooden furniture is designed to hold one’s body weight off the ground, not pummel it into the ground. My suggestion for this type of chair would be to give the zed one good smash with the seat of the chair, in which you hopefully break the chair to pieces. The pieces In this case would be stronger than the whole. You can use the seat portion as a barrier between the zombie’s teeth and your body. You can also use the hopefully splintered legs as thrusting weapons. Aiming these pointed pieces of wood at the eye sockets is not an easy strategy, however if pulled off, would be more effective. There are some solidly built wooden chairs on the market that may do more damage if swung as a whole. However, these are usually heavier than you want to be swinging around and you may find it difficult to use them as an effective weapon.
As many different chairs and stools have different designs, it will be hard to tell you how to use the best strategy, because you may be in a different situation every time, using a different designed seat than the last time. However another strategy one could use would be by using the feet of the chair to knock down your opponent. Once the zombie is on the ground, trap it there using the chair. Once you have the zombie pinned, a few good curb stomps with your shit kickers would be enough to put it out of commission permanently.
Wild designs like this should not throw you off. {2}
Ideally, you could create your own chair to be used for not only comfort, but also for offence as well. Inspired by a table I saw last year, you could easily apply some of the same concepts to a chair as well in order to give you 4 perfectly good weapons (the legs), and a shield (by putting some straps to the seat). Breaking it down into its individual pieces would also make it easier to transport. And if you could find alternative configurations of the components, you could make the parts have multiple uses, including, making a large table, the framework for a backpack, a setup for a small tent, etc. If someone builds this, or comes up with design drawing for this at least, please send me some pictures at penguinprince@grimcrew.com and I will feature it in a blog. This is my challenge. If you build this, or at least design it, I will not only feature it in a blog, but I may even throw a few goodies your way as a thank you. There is no official contest, but I know that true nerds can’t resist a challenge like this, and I look forward to seeing your ingenuity. If this challenge goes well, I may end up organizing an actual contest of the likes of the safe house contest.
If you have any ideas for future melee weapon blogs or you just want to share your opinion on today’s blog, you can email or post in the comments below. You can also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. You can also follow me on Twitter and Google +.
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
Image Sources
{1} http://remodelista.com/posts/10-easy-pieces-red-dining-chairs
{2} http://www.archiexpo.com/cat/restaurants-bars/bar-furniture-bar-stools-K-912.html
Survival Post: Highways and Roads
Who doesn’t like the highway? The sun on your face? The wind in your hair? Good tunes blaring from the radio? America’s highways are designed to be travel friendly for long distance trips with high speed routs to get you where you want to go with convenient stops along the way in case you get the munchies or need to get some rest for the trip ahead. Highways are great right?
Well in a zombie apocalypse highways can be dangerous death traps waiting for unsuspecting victims. The highway can be your worst enemy despite all the convenience and luxury it may provide. Highways close to metropolitan areas will look more like parking lots and battle scenes than a road, and the dangers are numerous.
Expect many highways near cities to look like this. Dangerous and near impossible to get through in a car. {1}
If you must travel by highway remember some of these important safety tips.
Stay Quiet: As with all zombie infested areas, noise will attract the undead like a fly to shit. Moving silently but quickly will be your key to getting off the highway as soon as possible without attracting too much attention.
Stay away from other cars: If you can see dead people in a car, those dead people can probably see you. No sense in alarming an undead to tell other’s its meal time. Even if a car’s occupants look truly dead, it’s not worth the risk. Quietly move to safety away from other vehicles if possible.
Avoid over passes: Overpasses only have 2 ways on or off them. If you attract attention from a hoard of zombies coming one way, you only have one escape rout. If you attract attention from 2 hoards of zombies coming both ways, you might as well hang a dinner bell around your neck. The same goes for bridges and tunnels as well.
Some highways will look like this. Quick to travel, but be careful with the heat from the pavement. Also the overpass may look nice and safe, but if zombies are waiting for you at the other end it won't be so fun. {2}
Never stop on a highway: You don’t only have to worry about zombies, other travelers may see your camp and decide to try to help themselves to your supplies. Highways are very visible and thieves will try to use them to take your gear. Stopping to rest on a highway would be like the mouse eating the cheese on the mousetrap.
Treat a Highway like a desert: Highways can get really hot in the summer with the sun beating off the pavement. There is no extra water if you get thirsty. Try traveling a highway at night when it’s not so hot out to conserve your water. Wear gear that will protect you from the sun, yet keep you cool. Always use sunscreen. See my Desert Post for more ideas on safety.
A special note about roads: Roads are much more narrow than highways, and more dangerous depending on where the road is. If it’s in a city like New York, defiantly more dangerous. If you’re talking about your back woods road in a place like Montana, probably much safer. Just keep in mind that because they are narrower, there is less space to run around and maneuver if in a fight. Also a narrower road is a better place for thieves to trap you up. Be smart if you are traveling by road and know where you are and how to get out in a dangerous situation.
Now all this being said, highways and roads will be a treasure trove of spare car parts and halve empty tanks of gas (if you’re lucky). If your quick with a wrench, and know the area is safe, and have plenty of people to keep guard, you might be able to use the leftover cars to your advantage. However if you’re traveling smart (i.e. bicycle), then there is no need for all that worry.
A good scavenger may be able to find necessary supplies however, just be really cautious. Always check the back seat and trunk before you go searching through an abandoned car. If there are bodies, alive or dead, stay away. Even if they are truly dead they can still get you sick and you don’t want to be sick while running from the dead. If you’re not sure about the occupancy of the vehicle and are still feeling ballsy enough to tempt fate, knock before opening, it should stir any undead to life. It’s better for them to wake up while you’re on the outside than the other way around.
Try not driving during a zombie breakout. This is what you will see, and being stuck in the traffic will just force you to abandon your car anyway. {3}
If you have any more tips please feel free to add them in a comment below. If you have a survival blog you would like to see on the website, or maybe there is one I have done and you want to see revisited, email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. You can also follow me on Twitter and Google +.
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
Image Sources:
{2} http://www.ecorazzi.com/slideshow/10-post-apocalyptic-visions-of-a-world-after-humans/227/
{3} http://ishkadub.tumblr.com/post/8325871309/lol-turnin-back-for-my-shotgun
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