Posts Tagged ‘The Walking Dead’
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The hype around the AMC’s Walking Dead Season 3 premiere this week is nothing short of phenomenal. Everything that this franchise has put out this year has been nothing but a super marketing ploy for their 3rd season. I don’t say that as a bad thing, on the contrary, it’s all been genius! Ever since Season 2 has ended AMC has kept you wanting more by developing some of the best marketing strategies I have ever seen. Everything they have done has been very consumer interactive which brings people to start to grow interest in something even if they have never had interest before.
Let’s take for example the Video Games that have been released this year. These games have been a great gap bridge between the comic books and the tv show as they bring you more into the plot behind the story. They stayed true to the comic book vision of the story and gave you behind the scenes glimpses into one of the characters that you never got to see before. The bonus for the TV show was that not only did you get something shortly after the 2nd season ended to keep your taste buds fresh, but by releasing a series of small games it kept people interested longer than 2 weeks. Just like the show every week people couldn’t wait for the next installment of the game which its final installment was just recently released.
The wheals on the bus go squish squish squish, squish squish squish, squish squish squish. The wheals of the bus go squish squish squish, all through the town! {1}
Another great marketing gimmick that was use by the franchise was creator Robert Kirkman’s involvement in the San Diego Comic Con. With the help of Honda he built a car that he believes would help one survive in the zombie apocalypse. Some might have disagreed with his design (read: I disagree with his design), but no one can deny that the car still looked bad ass. It gave people a talking point and an opportunity for some photo shoots that would guarantee extra advertising when people posted their pictures all over Facebook!
Let’s not also forget the 2nd huge thing that the Walking Dead did for San Diego Comic Con. Namely The Walking Dead Escape! It was a run for your life thrill through the world of the walking dead as you navigated an obstacle course worthy of the apocalypse. Not only were you jumping, crawling, sliding, and of course running through the obstacle course, but you were also being chased by zombies at every turn. And don’t worry if you didn’t get your chance to take part of this epic thrill because it was on the West Cost. It’s coming to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA on October 27th. Which happens to also b the date of our next show at the Annapolis Comic Con. That weekend you also have Run 4 Your Lives in Baltimore MD. It’s an entire weekend of sweet zombie action! Of course I will be super sad if you don’t come and see us at the convention however. With as hard as I’m working on my next live presentation! (More details to follow!)
But The Walking Dead was not done there. When AMC heard that Dish was giving them the boot, they took those lemons and made gold. That may not be how the saying goes, but that’s exactly what they did. With arguably the best advertising campaign that AMC has done for the franchise, they made commercials at first asking people to tell Dish not to drop them. Then when the boot came down, they turned the commercials around and told everyone to drop dish instead! It would be interesting to find out how many people switched from Dish Network to another provider just to be able to watch the Season Premiere on Sunday. Their most popular campaign for this was the announcement that A. Zombie was running for President. At both the Democratic and the Republican national conventions, A. Zombie made an appearance to voice his political views for a brighter America where all would be able to watch The Walking Dead. An America without Dish Network. A little angry at Dish don’t you think?
I wonder if he’s had any surgery done. I mean at his age, he should just be falling apart. {2}
All in all I would say that this has made for a wonderful marketing ploy for AMC’s number 1 show. I know many who are hyped about the premier and are holding viewing parties. As for me, I’ll probably record it and then stay off the internet until I can watch it the next day. In an unfortunate lapse of planning I agreed to spend the afternoon with my parents instead. A Sunday without football or The Walking Dead? What have I done!?
If you have a recommendation for a blog post you would like to see me tackle, please send me an email 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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Zombie Toy Review: The Walking Dead
Normally the toy review is done about a toy or series that was once popular, and at one point drifted into obscurity, and has since then become popular again. These toys fell to the bottom of your closet and have somehow clawed its way back up to the surface to bite off your face.
This time however I wanted to actually talk about a zombie toy. Now I have seen advertisements for these toys all over the internet and I’ve been wanting to get my hands on these for a while now. I’m talking of course about The Walking Dead action figures. There are 2 series of figures, one for the AMC TV Series, and one for the comic book. I will be featuring the TV series set, however I encourage you to check out the comic book series as well.
Original Image taken from www.spawn.com
If you’re a fan of the TV show on AMC, these toys are a must have. Created by the celebrated action figure maker McFarlane Toys, these toys are sure to catch your eye. Series one was released in December of 2011, and consists of 4 equally awesome toys. Of course pictured above you will recognize as Deputy Rick Grimes, the reluctant leader of our favorite band of survivors. Also in the series you will find Darrel Dixon (the resident survivalist), a zombie walker, and a zombie biter.
The figures that were based off the main characters in the story are to scale models of the actors themselves. 3D technology was used to create a scan of the actor’s faces. The scan was scaled down and then transferred to the toys. What is neat about these toys are their accessories. McFarlane always provides quality and value with their work, so with the Rick Grimes figure you will also get a revolver, a shotgun, a baseball bat, a hand grenade, and what amuses me most, a walkie talkie. That’s right; enjoy recreating the highly ridiculed opening scene of season 2! Darrel’s figure won’t disappoint either with accessories like a crossbow, hunting knife, a fire axe, and again my favorite, a string of squirrels. Nothing says backwoods country survivalist like a string of squirrels.
Original Image taken from www.spawn.com
Now unfortunately the zombie toys don’t come with nearly as many cool extras, however as I said, McFarlane still brings the value. I would like to point out that these aren’t just random walkers that they decided to put together. The designs of these toys were based on actual memorable zombies from the show. The Walker you may remember as the zombie that chases Rick from the bus wreckage to the tank in his trip to Atlanta. The Biter can be recalled as the zombie that was found gorging itself on a dead dear near the group’s first encampment, and although they beheaded it, the zombie kept biting until Darrel ended its unlife with an arrow to the brain. The due to lack of accessories with the zombies, these figures feature unique features, like the windup-and-walk feature for the walker, and a spring loaded moving jaw and dear meat accessory for the biter.
The prices of the figures are found for about $15 (USD) a peace depending on where you shop for them. The toys are currently being sold in local comic book shops through Diamond Comic Distributors, Toys ‘R’ Us and Barns and Noble. If you don’t feel like making the trip for the figure of your choosing, you can always shop online through e-bay, Amazon.com, and other retailers.
If you want to find out more about the figures, and see more pictures, visit McFarlane Toys’ website at www.spawn.com.
If you want to comment on today’s post feel free to leave a comment below, or email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. You can follow me on Twitter and Google +.
Till Fate Brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
I used to watch zombie movies for entertainment. I now watch them for education. You see the great thing about great zombie film is that it’s very enlightening on what to do in a zombie scenario. The Walking Dead is no exception to this. This show is intriguing, entertaining, and most of all educational. Let’s look at some of the hidden lessons from The Walking Dead.
One thing I noticed from watching the first episode of season 2 of The Walking Dead was how important silence was to them. I mean it’s kind of obvious that you don’t want to make sounds to attract the living dead to you, but the extent that they took this to gives you a lesson to be learned here. For instance let’s take a look at one of the biggest noise causers, disagreements. In most groups there’s going to be some disagreements and arguing. Someone is not going to like what someone else is doing, or has to say or whatever. This group has just a little bit of dysfunctionality. On one hand you have the suicidal crazy bitch (Andrea) who wants a gun, and for obvious reasons, no one trusts her with one. On the other hand you have another who is trying to leave the group (Shane) but like a predictable soap opera is the secret baby daddy to the protagonist’s (Rick Grimes) son (Carl). Rick doesn’t know his best friend knocked boots with his wife (Lori) and they have kept it a secret from Carl as well. Regardless Carl looks up to Shane like a cool older brother. As Shane tries to create distance from the little tag along, he hurts Carl’s feelings, and this causes arguments between Shane and Lori. This along with disagreements on what to do, and who to blame for losing the other child Sophia, you can see there’s a lot to argue about. And argue they do, but quietly. There’s a lot to be said about this. The group even though they have their differences knows how to survive. And to survive you stay quiet.
Let’s also take for instance the number of walkers killed in this episode. To my count there was 7. One with crossbow, two with a big old friken rock, and four with bladed weapons in the church. Every kill silent. It’s not that they didn’t have guns. Hell, they even found a few extra along their journey, it’s that they understood that shots fired would be loud and start calling all the walkers back to them. Also it’s good to save ammo when you don’t have to spend it to accomplish your goal. I keep saying this time and time again and I cannot reinforce this enough, learn to swing a bladed weapon. Become proficient at it. Practice in the back yard on a hunk of wood. Learn how to strike hard and clean, and learn how to maintain a blade. A sharp blade may seem dangerous; however it is loads better than a dull blade. A sharp blade will make it easier to sink into your target, whether that is a rope, wood, or a skull. A dull blade may slip, or not sink into your target making you miss and wasting precious time and putting you at danger. Not to mention if you slip, there’s a danger of damage to you, either by pulling muscles, or by cutting yourself.
Scavenging techniques are also something that can be gleaned from this episode. By paying attention to what the group did right and what they did wrong, you can be prepared for your scavenging excursions. You can learn what to keep and what to throw out, how you should keep a look out, and be attentive to where you are and what’s around you. By knowing where to search and not leaving out any possibilities you may find a truck full of water, or a collection of weapons, or even that revolver that the corps is still clutching, long after the bullet in the chamber has passed through his skull.
Hiding techniques are also to be gleaned here. By staying out of site and staying quiet the group was able to avoid the majority of the heard of walkers in the beginning of the show. When push came to shove, hide among the dead bodies, walkers only want fresh meat anyhow. By simply putting yourself out of site and hiding under an uprooted tree, Sophia was able to escape the walkers and attempt to find a way back to the group. Also learn when it’s safe to come out. Just because you don’t hear anything, doesn’t mean there’s not something there. Hiding for a bit longer may be the difference between staying alive and becoming a monster snack.
Didn't talk about this, but checking the contents of a walker's stomach is a good way to find out if he's eaten that little girl your looking for.
Last thing I want to say about hidden lessons is that you should really pay attention to how the characters interact and deal with each other. This zombie story is all about the people, and that is what makes it great. You have different personalities, and different ideas of what should be done and how. Not killing each other is a key to survival here and in a situation like this; everyone’s nerves are going to on edge. If you tend to be a condescending prick and always aggressive with getting your way, you may want to learn how to get your way through negotiation or compromise, otherwise you may find your friends to be few and far between. Learn what to do and what not to do with people of different personality types from this show as it does a great job at portraying people in general. One day you may be put into similar situations with handling similar personalities, and sometimes the answer is to give the crazy lady a gun and hope for the best.
If you caught any other lessons that I didn’t please share them with me! You can comment below, or catch me on email at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also Facebook us, or catch me on Twitter and Google+. Also don’t forget to enter your best zombie costume for a chance to win a copy of the Dead Future Anthology!
-Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
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By now you know what The Walking Dead is. The TV series by AMC that was based on the super popular comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. If you haven’t seen the first season, it is now available on DVD so hit a Red Box and pick it up. The makeup and special effects are out of this world and as far as I can tell it follows the comics decently well. With the new season beginning Oct. 16th fans are waiting with bated breath. Well if you can’t wait any longer, AMC has provided for your viewing pleasure 6 webisodes that may calm your hunger for just a bit longer.
Even if you haven’t seen Season One, don’t fret. The webisodes give nothing away for season one and it isn’t necessary to have watched Season One to understand what is going on, although it would help if you’ve at least seen the first episode. In the first episode Rick Grimes, the protagonist of Season One comes across a particular zombie that in a way was moving. Without a lower halve of the body it was left to its limited mobility of its week arms to propel it forward. You can almost take pity on it for its deteriorated state. She has come to be known as Bicycle Girl Hanna, and she is one of those zombies that leaves you wondering… how did that happen?
To answer those questions the six 2-4 minute long episodes does a wonderful job of telling this poor soul’s tail. You can view the webisodes on the official Walking Dead Website. What I liked about the webisodes is that just like with the actual series you keep asking yourself, “What would I do in this situation?” Also just because it’s a webisode, doesn’t mean AMC went cheep on you. They use all the great special effects that they did in the actual TV show which will leave you creeped out and feeling that this is all very real.
While you’re at the website you can also see behind the scenes footage of the shows, see highlights from the first season, play some free games, and get some cool wallpapers. Here’s the one on my computer now.
This has me all geared up for the next season and I hope it does as well as the first season did. Share your thoughts about the Walking Dead Season 2 and the webisodes in the comments below or feel free to email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and me on Twitter @PenguinPrince25. Also don’t forget to create your costume for our Dead Future Anthology Give Away! Deadline for the contest is November 1st so get those pictures in pronto! You can read more details about our contest here.
-Till Fate brings our Future
Penguin Prince
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