A clear sign that the geeks have inherited the Earth, and that mainstream culture is embracing genres like horror, sci-fi, and fantasy is the prevelance of zombies in pop culture. From The Walking Dead to 28 Days Later (I’ll let you all debate whether you think the things in that movie actually qualify as zombies), from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to World War Z, zombies are everywhere, and it isn’t only geeks who are signing up to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. As Adam Miller of Terminal Press points out, “Well, the thing about it is that I don’t think it’s so much a fad anymore. I think it’s really become its own genre. It think it’s like The Western. I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”

Adam Miller and Rich Woodall honor the zombie genre through an anthology series they edit for Terminal Press called ZombieBomb! Currently on its third issue, ZombieBomb! assembles a broad range of talented artists and writers to create new zombie stories for each issue. What makes this zombie anthology special is the diversity of the storytelling brought to the zombie-loving public by artists with diverse backrounds – it boasts comics professionals, children’s book illustrators, photographers, and even a heavy metal musician! – which allows the books to offer stories in a range of styles from different points of view.

Caption: Contributors Rob Dukes and Keith McCleary with editor, Adam Miller and Terminal Press staffer, Josh Morrissette

When I asked the ZombieBomb! team why they chose to do a zombie anthology, editor Adam Miller said, “I’m a late bloomer when it comes to the horror genre. Terminal Press does a lot of brutal, dark comics, and a few years ago when I was getting really into horror I wanted to do an anthology project that could involve a lot of the artists I’ve gotten to know over the years. It seemed like a zombie series was something everyone could get excited about.”

Keith McCleary, contributor to ZombieBomb’s current issue, “Highly Contagious”, and regular member of the Terminal Press stable of comic talent said, “We’ve gotten a lot of people involved just because we’re doing zombies. People are fascinated with horror, with apocalypse, with adventure and life and death. If you’re a writer or an artist, it’s likely that by this point you have your own zombie story floating around and you’re looking for an outlet. That’s the creative wellspring we’ve been able to tap into.”

One of those people is musician Rob Dukes who, when he’s not playing with Bay Area thrash metal band, Exodus, has written a zombie story for the second issue of ZombieBomb!, “The Feed.” When I asked him why a heavy metal musician would be interested in contributing to a zombie comic, he said, “I love Zombies!!!  And I want to be a writer in between the metal. I get a lot of enjoyment out of sitting and writing the crazy shit in my head.” It was the collaborative nature of comics that made him want to participate in this particular project: “I just love the process, the passing back and forth of ideas and trying to make something interesting for the reader. The guys I got to work with were just awesome and I hope we get to do more work together in the future.”

I asked the editors why they think zombies are still so popular, and Miller said, “Our fans are into them for the same reasons our creative teams are! I think zombies are actually their own genre now, like westerns or sci-fi. There’s so many kinds of stories you can tell — funny, scary, gross, happy, sad  — zombies aren’t going anywhere; you can’t just call them a fad.” Woodall was surprised by how eagerly comics fans have embraced the ZombieBomb! series: “The popularity of the book kind of took us by surprise, honestly. We have signings every weekend. I think since the book launched we’ve had one weekend off!”

If you have a taste for zombies (and/or brains), check out Terminal Press’ website for more information about ZombieBomb!

Words by Teresa Jusino. Photos courtesy of Keith McCleary and Terminal Press.