Tag Archives: guns
Zombie Survival Guide Review
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead
Let’s face it: at one time or another we’ve all faced a zombie scare we aren’t prepared
for. And yes, the local constabulary usually cleans things up with a minimum of fuss, but what happens when things go wrong and the cavalry doesn’t arrive? That, my friends, is the day that Max Brooks’ “The Zombie Survival Guide” saves your life. With several millennia worth of field experience distilled into a manageable 254 pages, everything you need to know to survive the coming war with the undead can be found in these pages. Your life and the lives of those you love are at stake, act now and be prepared!
OK, so that paragraph was obviously tongue in cheek, but hopefully in conveys some sense of what Brooks’ remarkable “The Zombie Survival Guide” is like. While obviously a parody of both the horror genre and civil defense/survivalist manuals, it maintains an “all-business” demeanor, never once cracking the façade to reveal the underlying humoristic intent. The result is a book that is, when taken as a whole, a funny, incredibly thorough work of satire. However, at the same time, page-by-page, it is a rather accomplished addition to zombie horror.
Starting with zombie physiology and then moving on to weapons, tactics, long-term strategy and history Brooks has produced a manual which has a thoroughness that belies the absurdity of its subject. Point by point he discusses the pros and cons of rifles, machetes and flamethrowers, then considers the optimal defensive positions for various types of outbreaks. After an extensive discussion of survival in a zombie doomsday scenario, he lays out zombie outbreaks through history, and what their implications are. Throughout, entries are extensively cross-referenced and alternative courses of action are always weighed for potential risks and benefits.
The remarkable thing about all this is that Brooks has managed to infuse a tension, and urgency into his manual that makes for great reading. Part post-apocalyptic fiction, part “Night of the Living Dead” and part “Saturday Night Live” sketch, this is a book that should hold appeal across a broad range of genres. Thorough without being dry, creepy without being clichéd, and funny without relying on cheap laughs, “The Zombie Survival Guide” is undoubtedly one of the most original books I have ever read, and one that I enjoyed reading immensely. If you appreciate any or all of these genres, or if you just enjoy a well executed, original idea, this is definitely a book you’ll want to check out.
And remember…Tomorrow may be too late, read this book today!
The Ultimate Zombie Gun: Red Jacket ZK-22 Bullpup Rifle
When Max Brooks, the author of “World War Z” and the ultimate zombie apocalypse guru, walked into the Red Jacket shop, we were all damn excited to see what he wanted to do. We weren’t disappointed in the slightest.
Max wanted to build the ultimate civilian zombie gun, and he wanted to make it a Red Jacket. But we had to answer a few questions first. What makes the best apocalypse weapon? What is the one gun that will not only save your life once, but keep you alive in the long run?
Do you want the firepower of a military rifle or the simple functionality of a civilian-type rifle?
We went back and forth on the argument of tactical versus practical. After a lot of conversation, we decided that we want three things from the gun: availability of ammunition, accuracy and versatility.
To meet all these requirements, our mad genius Joe Meaux took a .22 cal. rifle and dropped it into the bullpup platform, added a suppressor, an ambidextrous charging handle and magazine release and an aluminum rail to mount your light or other undead erasing device. The gun he put together is light, silent, easy to use and does the job at close and long ranges — we call it the Red Jacket ZK-22 Bullpup rifle.
The bullpup has a match trigger in a barreled receiver which allows the gun to function with a match trigger on both ends. The solid milled trigger bar helps transfer energy perfectly, producing positively no loss in flex. We added a tactical solutions lightweight aluminum barrel, Red Jacket magnum .22 suppressor and a Vortex SPARC red dot scope for good measure. You can even throw in a mounted spike for the hand-to-hand moments in your killing spree.
I could go on all day, but I’ll let Joe Meaux tell you all about his new zombie-murdering creation.
8 Best Guns for the Zombie Apocalypse
So the zombies are at your door. Death is upon you, but the gun shop is just a block away. You make a run for it, and you make it to the most extensive armory for miles. Time to make a decision: Which guns do you grab? Contrary to popular belief, not every gun will do the job the same, so to help make up your mind on which guns will save your life, here are my eight best guns for the zombie apocalypse.
Glock 17
Without a doubt, the Glock G17 tops the list. It is dead-simple to use, but unusable by the undead. Anyone alive can figure it out — you can train your family on it in ten minutes. It is durable, ubiquitous and it takes perhaps the most common ammunition on the planet: 9mm Parabellum. Magazines hold an ample supply of skull-popping ammo. You do have to keep one thing in mind, though, while scavenging for ammo, magazines and spare parts in an abandoned police station; the G22 is just as common, but the magazines and some internal parts won’t work in your 9mm. Mixing 9mm and 40 cal magazines in your inventory, without proper markings will get your medulla oblongata munched.
Walking Dead Season 3 Filming Begins
Today, Mon. May 7, production of The Walking Dead Season 3 officially kicks off. Now AMCtv.com begins its series of on-set interviews with the show’s talented creative team by chatting with Executive Producer Robert Kirkman about Danai Gurira’s (Michonne) sword skills and the most impressive set he’s ever seen on the show. (Yes, we’re talking about the prison.)
Q: After two seasons, you must feel like an old pro on set. What aspects of production still surprise you?
A: One thing that’s surprising me is how much I’ve fallen in love with Georgia. The town Senoia where we’re filming is absolutely beautiful…The big change this season is we’ve got this amazing prison that we’re filming in. It’s absolutely stunning, and I never get used to being on set.
Q: What went into constructing the prison?
A: They’ve taken a lot of what you see in the comic book series and brought it to life in ways that I didn’t think possible. This is going to be one of the most impressive looking things that’s ever been put together for a show.
Q: The room in the prison with all the guns and the SWAT gear in the comic is really cool. Is that going to come up on the show?
A: We’re a big fan of the SWAT gear here at The Walking Dead writer’s room… maybe that’s an indication that we’ll be seeing that stuff in the show. It’s important to us to maintain the tone of the show. Thus far [the characters] have been out on the road, desperate and living in the heat, and we don’t want it to be that they’re relaxing in this safe place now.
Q: With the evil Governor in the picture, does that mean the humans are the bigger threat this season?
A: The plan was always to evolve naturally into a place where the zombies essentially become a manageable threat. You know the rules. You know how to deal with them. To a certain extent they become something to not really be scared of unless you mess up. Humans, however, do not follow any rules and will always do something that surprises you and are capable of doing things far worse than trying to eat you…We’re definitely going to be seeing a lot of horrible things.
Q: What can you tell us about David Morrissey’s portrayal of the Governor? Have you seen him in costume yet?
A: I’m actually waiting desperately to see him dressed up in Governor mode and walking the streets of Woodbury. I think he’s going to be absolutely great playing against Andrew Lincoln.
Q: Michonne was introduced in the Season 2 Finale. How are Danai Gurira’s sword skills shaping up?
A: There’s been quite a bit of sword training going on and [Danai] is doing an amazing job. She’s going to be do all of the hard character stuff and drama that The Walking Dead is known for, but she has tremendous physical capability and the sword training that I’ve seen is absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to see her hack up some zombies.
Q: Can you tell us anything about the sword she’s using?
A: She’s using a sword that we specially designed for the show…The origins of the sword will be revealed on the show.
Q: This season has got so many exciting story lines…
A: When you think about The Walking Dead comic series, you think about oh, the stuff they with did the Governor, the stuff they did with the prison and Woodbury and Michonne. And that’s really a lot of the stuff that people remember the story for and that’s stuff we haven’t even gotten to in the TV show yet. So as much as people love the show, and as high as the ratings are, and as cool as the show is, I feel like we haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. This season is absolutely going to blow people away.
Q: You’re developing another of your comics, Thief of Thieves, with AMC. What can you tell us about that project?
A: Thief of Thieves is a great heist story about a man named Conrad Paulson who leads a double life as a master thief known internationally as Redman…I am working with Chic Eglee, who is a fantastic writer who worked on the first season of The Walking Dead, and right now we are in the pilot development stage, so he’s going to be working hard on the pilot script and once that’s written we’ll go from there. But it’s really exciting to be working with AMC again.
Q: This season will be 16 episodes instead of 13. Are you looking forward to the longest production time yet?
A: The actors and the crew and a lot of the producers would not be thrilled to hear me saying this, but I love doing 16 episodes a year. I think the more the better, and I think it’s a lot of fun. We are going to get to tell bigger stories, and tell more stories, and get into the characters a lot more. So the more the merrier.