Okay, that was a longer delay than I would have liked (about two weeks, I think), but sometimes it just can't be helped. Look for regular posting to resume next week.

Thanks for reading!

While Gone Zombie came to life many years ago, it wasn't until it was accepted into the Zuda Comics competition that folks had a chance to see it. Though we didn't fare well in the competition -- we finished in sixth or seventh place; I'm not sure right now -- our month in the Zuda trenches was a very positive experience.

And, as it turns out, something of an endangered experience: Zuda is leaving the competition portion of its Web site behind.

I'm excited about what Zuda will become and will keep visiting. I hope my visits evolve into something involving an iPad app: Zuda was MADE for the iPad ... they just didn't realize it at the time.

Oh, and I'd be a liar if the following bit from Zuda's Ron Perazza didn't capture my attention:

... I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that there were clearly great series that, for one reason or another, didn’t win.

I'm just going to sit back and imagine that he's talking about Gone Zombie. Please don't say anything to the contrary.

Cable channel MGMHD aired Night of the Comet the other day and, thanks to the miracle that is the DVR, I  had the chance to watch it.

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this movie, which scores that rare trifecta of suspense, humor and humanity. If you haven't seen this one yet but you loved Shaun of the Dead, you know what I'm talking about.

In the pre-Internet days -- remember those? -- there weren't many outlets to express your appreciation for a movie such as this. Friends, sure, and folks you met at a convention (comic, horror, or otherwise) or the local comic shop. Maybe Fangoria. Did they ever cover Comet? Outside of those venues, though, you were kind of outta luck.

Thanks to the Internet, though, you can enter "Night of the Comet" into the Google bar at the top of your browser (if you don't have one there, just play along) and get:

• A Night of the Comet fan site. It's the "Ultimate."
• Cast list and more courtesy of IMDB.
• A (reasonably recent) interview with star Kelli Maroney.

There's plenty out there; the affection my Internet compatriots have for this film does not surprise me in the least.

Hey, want a poster? Here's one:

I actually prefer this low-key approach to the one they're using for the DVD:

But at least that DVD cover gets right to the point. Chicks! Guns! Zombies! Shopping!

The original trailer doesn't do it justice ...

... but it's all we've got.

If you haven't seen this movie, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Amazon has it, NetFlix has it, maybe your local Blockbuster has it. (I wouldn't know; I don't go to that $#@%$ place anymore.) Unfortunately, iTunes doesn't have it, but I suppose that would make things just too easy, eh?

Regardless: see it if you haven't, see it again if it's been awhile and let's all meet back here again in a few days, okay?

How is it possible that I hadn't heard of Mars Ravelo until about five minutes ago? I fancy myself reasonably well-informed when it comes to great comic artists, but this Filipino master evaded my radar up until this point. If he evaded yours, too, check out Wikipedia. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to find decent-sized repros of his art. Hopefully, though, what follows gives you a decent idea:

This next one isn't him, but it's a nice representation of the heroes this guy created:

Learn more about Mars Ravelo here.

Yes, Gone Zombie is a weekly strip, but sometimes events conspire to prevent posting regularly -- and that's exactly what happened last week. This week's strip is a day early and you can be sure we'll be back next Wednesday (the 24th) with another new strip and a couple blog posts in between.

In addition to this week's new strip, I've made a couple other changes:

1) I uploaded a higher-res version of page 36. Check it out here. The one that had been up there was a lower-res version I inadvertantly uploaded in haste one day. Here's a comparison, with the low res on top and the high res below:

2) I found an error in the dialogue of page 42 which I've corrected. Check it out here.

And, as always, thanks for reading.