Just what is it that has turned zombies into the monsters du jour—the new vampires, as Time magazine proclaimed them in April 2009? They don't have any supernatural powers; as a matter of fact, zombies possess only the abilities of the people they were in life. In a battle between zombies and vampires, the former would almost surely lose—they're slower, weaker, and incredibly stupid. And forget about the sex appeal vampires have—no one would want to get up close and personal with a stumbling, reanimated corpse!
Call them blank slates on which any aspect of humanity can be scribbled, a commentary on the Vietnam War (George Romero's Night of the Living Dead was originally released in 1968), or a truly green monster—made of 100 percent recycled humans!—those shambling eaters of brains have gone from minor popularity with teenage boys interested in all things horror to mainstream pop culture icon. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Zombies brings the world of zombies chillingly to life—in a manner of speaking!—covering everything readers need to know about them. The book includes...
* The voodoo zombie, the viral zombie, and the whole zombie family.
* What zombies and the delicious fear of them say about human psychology.
* Zombies in American culture: in film, from the Romero classics to the Living Dead flicks that are so bad they're good, and in fiction, video games, comics, and more!
* The zombie survival phenomenon—of course they're not real, but that doesn't stop people from having loads of fun pretending they are!
