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Zomblog – Designing The Zombie Apocalypse

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9 years ago

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Working within someone else’s world requires a certain degree of intimacy between that world and your work. You can’t just come in with a one-man war of attrition. That’s not how great stories are told. On Monday we talked about the larger freedoms of working in a defined world, and today I want to tell you even more about Double Take’s behind the scenes plan.

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By now I’m sure you’ve all thought about how you’d deal with a zombie outbreak, but have you ever had to plan one? That’s what Double Take has brought upon themselves with their “Big Bang” initiative. (Pre-order now) For the unfamiliar, Double Take is launching ten zombie comic series on one day, all based in George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead universe. So yeah, things may seem daunting, but I assure you they have a plan, and it’s a damn good one.

Zombies always shamble in, kill thousands of people, destroy society as we know it, we fight back, we win, we lose our humanity in the process and the credits roll. But, what if it didn’t have to be that way. What if we had a plan? Well like I said, Double Take’s plan is handed out to every writer in a document called the “escalation schedule.”

So far everything is broken down over a set amount of days. We’re briefed with what happens every hour, as well as given a overview of what that day looks like.

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For example:

Sunday – April 24, 1966

Overview:

The titular Night of the Living Dead. Informal posses form in conjunction with local law enforcement. The National Guard is deployed. Z-Men come to Pennsylvania to investigate.

Midday

Murders start.

Murderers band together.

That’s the first day, and the events that kickstart this whole mess into high gear. You might not remember the Z-Men from Romero’s films. But, I assure you while this is the basis for the story, we’re going much further.

Here’s an overview of what’s happening a few days later:

In most areas, the posses and the government seem to be [redacted]. The zombie tide is [redacted]. The military uses a [redacted] with civilians and [redacted]. As the day goes on, however, the [redacted] show that they are still stronger than many have thought. The goal of the government shifts [redacted].

You didn’t think we’d give you the whole story just yet did you?

After a brief like this, Double Take has filled the document with sound bites from some of the most important infrastructures in the United States. We know what NASA is saying, we know what’s happening in DC, and we know what the reporters are saying.

Each individual story has the same tools used to inform it’s storytelling, but that doesn’t mean all the characters will be privy to the information outlined in this escalation schedule. Moreover, it serves as a bible like document for our own internal purposes to ensure everyone is on the same page.

So remember that time Swamp Thing showed up in the pages of Animal Man and your brain melted?

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Well Double Take figures it’s high time we start telling zombie stories that way.

 

 

 

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‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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