Are you a big fan of the choose-your-own-adventure genre, but are hoping for something more zombie intensive? Well, Mongadillo Studios has an iPad app called ‘ZDAY Survial Simulator HD that may serve that need. The app is text and picture based and takes place in a zombie apocalypse scenario where you have to make various choices throughout the story to determine your fate. If you’re not totally sick of zombie-themed, well, anything by this point, you can pick the ZDAY Survival Simulator HD at the iTunes app store for $2.
Featuring a 2.75″ steel blade by Ka-Bar, this LaserLyte pistol bayonet has a radioactive green handle, constructed from 30% glass-filled nylon, to easily identify its status as a high-caliber, zombie-slaying tool of destruction. It attaches to any medium or large sized pistol with a rail, easily sliding on or off with a press of two buttons. A custom polymer sheath is also included.
LaserLyte – ZK PB Serrated
Leupold is the latest company to jump into the Zombie market with their VX-R Zombie Riflescope. Based around the VX-R Patrol Scope, the VX-R Zombie has a few unique features that cater to its namesake. For starters, the power on switch is green, along with the scope’s illumination dot. The scope caps feature Zombie imagery on the inside, and the two included BDC dials are designed specifically for use with .223 REM and .308 WIN Hornady Zombie Max ammunition. The VX-R Zombie will retail for $599 with a limited production run.
http://www.leupold.com/
Two new products on display at EOTech’s booth attracted my Fanboyish tendencies. The first was the MW3 Holographic Hybrid Sight II. The MW3 sight is composed of the EXPS2-2 holographic sight with 2-dot reticle combined with the G33.STS magnifier. The MW3 logo is clearly displayed on the side of the EXPS2-2. Like other kits in the Hybrid Sight family, the Quick Switch to Side (STS) mount allows the operator to disengage the magnifier with a simple lever flip, then snap it back into place as needed.
The other product is the XPS2-Z Zombie Stopper Holographic Weapon Sight. The main feature that differentiates this sight from the standard XPS2 is the use of a biohazard symbol as the target reticle, which features a 65 MOA ring with a 1 MOA aiming dot. The reticle is also displayed on the top of the sight in white instead of red. Additionally, the final product will feature a stylized Zombie Stopper logo on the side of the sight. At the very least, it’s a relatively unique concept; no other company, to my knowledge, has done a zombie themed reflex sight with a biohazard reticle before. It’ll be available in April of this year with an MSRP of $559.
It’s stuff like this that might make some wonder if the Zombie craze has long reached its peak. Not me, of course. I love my daily fix of the walking (or crawling) undead.
This clever image shop by Sarah Anne Langton of Secret Arctic Base shows exactly how awesome a Barbie doll would be if the Zombie craze happened five decades earlier. Throw a few of those Zombie Ken dolls in the mix, and you’d have the ultimate playtime doomsday scenario, just with more pink and effeminate, formerly-living boyfriends. Now with grenades!
This “United States Government” provided poster shows the percentages for use of various weapons in Zombie outbreaks, along with the various causes for Zombies, and Max Brooks’s 10 lessons for surviving a Zombie attack. I’m assuming this data was recovered from the various movies listed in the timeline chart near the bottom. I’d hoped bladed weapons would have more prominence, but the stats don’t lie. Also, ‘Army of Darkness’ and ‘The Evil Dead’ get mentions, which I always love to see.
Hornady makes Zombie ammunition. Ka-Bar makes a series of Zombie blades. Now, Taurus has joined in on all the undead fun with the Zombie Responder. Like the revolver it’s based on, the Taurus Raging Judge, the Zombie Responder is chambered for .454 Casull, .45 Colt, and .410 shotshell. The Zombie Responder also features its name in stylized letters on the cylinder, once for every chamber, and a green and red grip with a claw mark/blood streak design. Its a shame that Hornady doesn’t produce Zombie ammo in the compatible calibers, because Zombie ammo used with a Zombie gun is too good a combination to pass up.
http://www.taurususa.com/
We here on TFB have been putting out a lot of Zombie-themed content in the recent weeks, since it’s the month of Halloween and all, and we figured another article on undead killin’ implements wouldn’t hurt since there’s no kill like overkill. Speaking of which, meet the Louisville Decapitron. A creation of Gord of Gordsgarage, the Decapitron is the melding of a large blade and a Louisville Slugger, a combination that makes for a powerful anti-Zombie weapon. The business end is meant for any undead looking to make a snack of your innards, while the blunt portion is meant to beat away any humans going after your survival stash. Anyone else getting a ‘Dead Rising 2‘ vibe from this thing, or is it just me?
Available from Osprey Publishing, “Zombies – A Hunter’s Guide” by Joseph McCullough is a detailed guide on how to combat the undead menace. Along with a detailed history of Zombies and their threat to the world, the book catalogs the various types of undead that can be encountered and their strengths and weaknesses. Also covered are tactics and equipment that are to be used in a Zombie fighting scenario, with full color reconstructions to assist with identification and proper technique.
Tonight, The History Channel will debut “Zombies: A Living History”. Featuring some of our favorite Zombie authors Max Brooks, Jonathon Maberry and JL Bourne, this documentary takes a look at Zombies through a historical lens.
Examining not only the voodoo Zombie but also the modern apocalyptic Zombie myth, “Zombies: A Living History” considers what makes the phenomenon just so damned scary. And oh yeah, there will be some guns in the show too.
Described as “…a fun new way of teaching the importance of emergency preparedness.”, the CDC’s ‘”Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic” is a graphic novel that uses the always nightmarish Zombie pandemic as a frame for teaching people about the importance of having an emergency kit. Seriously, the last pages include an item checklist for that very purpose. Blatant advertising aside, the art isn’t the worst I’ve seen and the story is almost passable. It also features quite a bit of unintended hilarity. For example: because it’s from the CDC, all opportunities for full-on violence are completely abandoned for a good-ole’ dose of political correctness, which leads what is unequivocally the best part of the whole graphic novel:
A number of Gerber blades have shown up on ‘The Walking Dead’, everybody’s favorite Zombie-comic-book-turned-tv-show. I was too absorbed in the story (and Zombie killin’) to notice most of them, which is perfectly fine by me. Of course, now if anyone decides to purchase any of these tools, they’ll surely have ‘As Seen On The Walking Dead’ prominently displayed on the packaging. After that, who knows how long before Gerber does their own line of specialized anti-Zombie blades.
Cheesy video (and disclaimer) aside, Hornady’s line of undead stopping rounds, called Zombie Max, are real. Just take a look at this sales sheet for further proof:
Hard to tell if this is a great victory for Zombie meta humor, or a cheap marketing gimmick. Either way, ammo is ammo I suppose.
Zombie Industries has available a line of zombie-themed 3D targets that bleed when you shoot them. For those of us that are environmentally conscious, the targets are filled with biodegradable matter which is apparently palatable with emus. Models from the common slack-jawed moaner to the ever popular Nazi zombie are available, making zombie killing a fresh experience each time. Also available are Zombie Paper Targets with score zones (Protip: aim for the head), the cardboard Face Off Shooting Gallery, and ZOMBOOM! Exploding Rifle Targets. All Zombie Industries products are made in the USA.
http://zombieindustries.com/
Hornady makes a lot of different types of ammunition… the latest bullet they’re allegedly coming out with is their own proprietary brand of Zombie-fightin’ ammunition. Now, despite numerous claims that it’s the real deal, to be released in 2012, we’ve got no formal or official confirmation from Hornady that they’re really doing it. It could always be a bad ass example of excellent photoshopping and a great idea. Anyway, if they are making this stuff, kudos to them. They’re going to sell a ton of them just for the novelty factor.
No word of course if this ammunition will be ballistically superior when applied to a living opponent, but pretty much any piece of metal hurtling into your head at several hundred feet per second while spinning too fast to see courtesy of proper barrel rifling is sure to be a Bad Thing.
Ka-Bar has developed a series of knives under the ‘ZK’ designation, which stands for ‘Zombie Killer’. One of these knives, the Pestilence Chopper, features a 10-1/4″ blade made from SK5 high-carbon steel, with an overall length of 15-3/4″. The handle is made of “radioactive” green textured GFN-PA66, although a replacement black handle of the same material is included. Each Pestilence Chopper also comes with a black nylon sheath and a back-up 5Cr13 stainless steel skeleton knife. Considering you can get a hold of a good military-grade Golok machete for a lower price, this knife is purely a novelty item in my book. In the Chopper’s defense, I’ve read its sharp blade is pretty good at clearing small vegetation.
This book features all the telltale signs of a zombie outbreak and how to defend oneself. The catch? Instead of being some extensive professional-looking tongue-in-cheek guide, it’s instead written as a tongue-in-cheek children’s book (similar to ‘Go the F**k to Sleep’, but with more zombies, and less cursing). ‘That is Not Your Mommy Anymore – A Zombie Tale’ is written by Matt Mogk, founder of the Zombie Research Society, and illustrated by Aja Wells.
I was at the Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend and I had the pleasure of seeing the FUBAR team for the second year in a row. For those not familiar with FUBAR, it’s a graphic novel zombie anthology series that takes place during WWII featuring a mix of different artists and writers for each story. The first volume, FUBAR: European Theater of the Damned covered the Nazi and Allied zombies in, appropriately enough, the European Theater.
This year, the FUBAR team has released FUBAR 2: Empire of the Rising Dead, taking place in the Pacific Theater, with plenty of zombified soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Despite being the second volume, it’s not linked to the European stories, so you wouldn’t miss anything story-related by skipping straight to FUBAR 2, although I suggest you get both; it’s an exellent series.
In addition to the graphic novels, there’s also a set of zombie targets available. Originally confined to just WWII zombie soldiers, the targets now include a Wild West Cowboy, Michael Jackson in Thriller, and my personal favorite, the Modern Operator (complete with Blackwater Logo, lol), among others. These come in two sizes: 11″ x 17″ and 24″ x 36″.
Finally, the FUBAR team is currently running a Kickstarter page to help with printing the second book. In exchange for your contribution, they’re offering everything from T-shirts to posters to both volumes of the book with custom sketches, depending on the size of your donation. You can donate here.
zombiefubar.wordpress.com
Equal parts funny and violent, this trailer for the upcoming ‘Rezurection’ DLC Pack for CoD: Black Ops shows the work the researchers at the zombie labs undertake to understand and better combat the moon zombie menace. ‘Rezurection’ includes the 4 original World At War zombies maps in addition to ‘Moon’, as well as the zombies soundtrack and a premium zombies dashboard theme. As a nice bonus, if you already have the original maps through the hardened/prestige edition of Black Ops, you get this content pack for free. Score!
‘Rezurection’ drops August 28th on Xbox Live for 1200 Microsoft points ($15)
It seems only fair; they eat us, why shouldn’t we eat them? Granted, the drying process is somewhat unpleasant (if not as unpleasant as carving the meat). A company called Harcos has been selling zombie jerky for a while now and they claim it’s mutagen free (so presumably eating it will not turn you). We don’t know what spices they use, nor whether it’s rubbed or marinated and frankly we’d rather not know. In any case, if you need a snack to augment your trail food or rat-f%&*ed MREs, try it out. They offer zombie blood power drinks as well, and have posted numerous testimonials. Rumors that the SADF is issuing Harcos Lyk Byt Biltong cannot be confirmed (see picture).
Check out this trailer for the upcoming two-part series of Mission First Tactical attending the DPMS Outbreak: Omega 4 Zombie Shoot 2011. From the looks of the trailer, if you like the following: guns, bravado, a bit of humor and a fun shoot with plenty of zombie targets, then this is a video series worth checking out when its released.
This (fictional) manual details “the primary doctrinal reference on conducting fire team sized infantry operations in a Zombie infested environment in the United States.”, care of Army Zombie Combat Command. The topics contained within include how to identify the undead or soon-to-be undead, effective weaponry and tactics against the undead, and other similar topics, all zombie-related. It’s a pretty solid guide, and since it is free and all there’s no reason not to give it at least a quick peak. A word of warning, though: the creators are definitely familiar with the works of Max Brooks, frozen zombies and all.
For those who forgot, I held the first ever ‘TFB Caption Contest’ and the winner was announced last month, the awesome fellow posing in the pic above, Mr. Shane Sasaki at a recent tactical shotgun class. Thanks for spreading the word of TFB and SSD, Shane! For everyone else, stay tuned, as you never know when I’ll pop up with something else cool to give away.
