A little animated online series we used to cover here on Bloody-Disgusting on a regular basis was James Farr’s XOMBIE, which followed a zombie with a conscious and his sidekick dog. Now we’ve learned that this little gem is jumping off your computer, off comics and onto the big screen as Halo-8 Entertainment has scored the worldwide rights! Read on for the story.
Halo-8 Entertainment has secured worldwide distribution rights to “XOMBIE: The Animated Series” by James Farr, an animated zombie adventure which developed a massive online following with webisodes downloaded over 13 million times. Halo-8 has slated the project for a limited theatrical release in early 2009, followed soon after by release on DVD.

“XOMBIE is a blast!” said Matt Pizzolo, President of Halo-8. “James Farr has a fresh and engaging storytelling voice that’s amplified by his inventive production style. It’s a rare mix that breathes life (and undeath) into his fun and compelling characters. We’ve been fans of his work for a while now, and we’re really excited to work with him and the great team at Xombie, Inc.”

“As the first sentient zombie in an animated series, XOMBIE provides a completely new twist to the horror genre, which is why it has resonated so well with the fans,” said John Frank Rosenblum, XOMBIE’s Executive Producer. “Halo-8, a distributor with a true love for horror, is the perfect partner for expanding this unique property into a whole new market.”

“XOMBIE is my attempt to inject something new and fun into an often over-mined genre,” said XOMBIE creator/writer/director James Farr. “I am thrilled it has gotten such a huge response and that the characters have endured so long. Dirge and his friends are very close to my heart, and thanks to Halo-8, I get to share them with a brand new audience.”

XOMBIE is the story of Dirge, a dead man with a mind of his own, who struggles against his posthumous cravings (not to mention legions of the living dead) to reunite a lost child with her family.

Halo-8 will work with Xombie, Inc. on additional XOMBIE animated media to follow, joining a slate of animated features in development at Halo-8 including in-house adaptations of Halo-8 comic books GODKILLER and HOW I LOST MY VIRGINITY -BY ALEXANDRA JONES.

XOMBIE has previously been adapted into a comic book and graphic novel by Devil’s Due Publishing, as well as a self-published illustrated novel. In its second week of release, the XOMBIE illustrated novel ranked #4 behind Watchmen and 300 on Amazon.com’s graphic novel sales rankings. Producer Epic Level Entertainment is currently developing a live-action XOMBIE adaptation for a major studio.

Xombie, Inc. was formed in 2006 to expand and manage the XOMBIE property, created by James Farr. Originally launched by James in 2003, the XOMBIE animated series has displayed an unparalleled appeal to viewers of all ages, tastes, and backgrounds, resulting in over 13 million downloads of the first ten episodes. Xombie, Inc. is managed through Epic Level Entertainment (www.epiclevel.com), an innovative entertainment company with development and production expertise in film, television, internet media and games.

Halo-8 Entertainment (www.halo8.tv) is a Hollywood-2.0 movie studio using bleeding-edge strategies to create and distribute daring new films and lifestyle videos. Recent releases include the arthouse-horror film THE DEVIL’S MUSE (which Rue Morgue called “intoxicating and sensual”), the award-winning hardcore-punk thriller THREAT (which Urb Magazine said “makes KIDS look like an after-school special”), the legendary NY hardcore documentary N.Y.H.C. (which Cinematical called “smashing… a terrific, well-told, engaging story”), and the campy, interactive horror-DVD-game SLUMBER PARTY SLAUGHTERHOUSE: THE GAME (starring Tiffany Shepis, Joanna Angel, Melissa Bacelar, Katie Nisa, Masuimi Max). Current productions include the iconoclastic hero’s journey GODKILLER and the sly, subversive sex comedy HOW I LOST MY VIRGINITY -BY ALEXANDRA JONES.