Top Zombie Posts at Monster Complex

“Zombie stories are not about zombies.”—Jonathan Maberry

Over at my website Monster Complex I cover a lot of zombie fiction—including books, movies, TV, music, games, comic books and more. As I’m setting up this companion account here at Substack, it seemed like a good to list some of the most popular zombie-related articles that folks are reading on Monster Complex. Take a look at the list and maybe find something you really want to read or watch…

A Great Place to Start

The Zombie Issue: Isaac Marion, Justina Ireland, Zombie Comedy Movies, More! An online catalog of zombie fiction author interviews, Top 13 Zombie Comedy Movies, 70+ Zombie Book Series, plus BONUS links about zombie books, zombie movies, zombies on television, and zombies in comics. Check this out here.

Or you can check out these articles that focus on specific categories…

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BOOKS

#1) 70+ Zombie Book Series—from David Wellington, Justina Ireland, Diana Rowland, Manel Loureiro, and more! Whatever you want from a zombie story—light or weighty; political or romantic; futuristic or set in the past—you’re bound to find a series here to match your, um, taste… Read the list here.

#2 Best Zombie Books: 50 Great Zombie Novels from Colson Whitehead, Seanan McGuire, Isaac Marion, more: Looking for a zombie story? You can’t swing an undead cat without hitting another one. If you want some help narrowing down the field, here are some zombie novels worth checking out. Find the list here.

#3) 100 Supernatural Detective Series: Want books that mix urban fantasy and crime fiction? Including titles from Jim Butcher, Shweta Taneja, Seanan McGuire, Jewell Parker Rhodes, plus novels from X-Files, Supernatural—and more. Find the list here.

#4) Laugh Or Scream—50+ Comedy Horror Books: Horror and comedy both make us jump—which is why these elements work together so well together. Here are more than 50 books that touch on elements that are funny and scary. This list includes books from authors Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Tanya Huff, Kelley Armstrong, John Scalzi, Diana Rowland, and many authors you should meet. Check out the list of books here.

#5) Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson Series in Order: This urban fantasy series from Patricia Briggs stars shape-shifting mechanic Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson, who can take the form of a coyote at will. “I actively avoid power creep. I think that underpowered characters make much better protagonists.” Find the list here.

#6) Patricia Briggs Complete Alpha and Omega Series: Set in the same world as the Mercy Thompson series, the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs. The urban fantasy author talks about the books in her Mercy Thompson spin-off series. See all the books on the list here.

#7) Charlaine Harris—Complete Gunnie Rose series: The author of the Southern Vampire Sookie Stackhouse series has returned to bookshelves with the latest title in her Gunnie Rose series. Find out info on all the books in the whole series. Find out about the books here!

#8) Complete Warm Bodies series by Isaac Marion: Isaac Marion’s 2010 best-selling debut novel WARM BODIES inspired a major film, and led to a series of four books. “I find it telling,” the author told us, “how quick people are to dismiss zombies as non-human cannon fodder the moment they stop behaving in ways we understand.” Find out the list here!

#9) Jonathan Maberry—Complete Joe Ledger Series: Horror writer Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger is the star of series of bio-terrorism thrillers that started with 2009’s Patient Zero. The series—which includes novels, short stories, audio originals, and novellas follows Captain Joe Ledger, who fights terrorist threats that range from zombie pathogens to weaponized plagues to transgenic monsters. See the list of books here!

#10) Night of the Living Trekkies—merging Roddenberry’s culture with Romero’s: Journey to the final frontier of sci-fi zombie horror! “I love the zombie genre,” says co-author Kevin David Anderson. “I’m a Star Trek fan, too. In the right situation, these people could be the heroes.” Find out more here!

#11) James Scott Bell—Complete Zombie-at-Law Series: Lawyer-turned-suspense-writer James Scott Bell came up with a humorous horror angle that included a zombie lawyer taking on supernatural cases. Mallory Caine, Zombie at Law, defends the creatures no other lawyer will touch… and longs to reclaim her real life. Find the list here.

#12) Diana Rowland—Complete White Trash Zombie series: Horror meets humorous urban fantasy in the award-winning White Trash Zombie series, a fun urban fantasy collection starring an ordinary Southern girl who became a zombie. Learn more about the series here!

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MOVIES & TV

#1) Top 13 Zombie Comedy Movies: These filmmakers found a way to mix laughs and scares to bring new life to the zombie genre. For this list, we’re ranking 13 of the best funny zombie movies any fan should check out. Find it here.

#2) Top 7 Kolchak: The Night Stalker Episodes: A look at the show including a list of the best episodes (including that one with the zombie), an episode guide, a look at why the show was canceled, and how to watch the episodes free online. Find the article here.

#3) Shaun of the Dead (2004)—How the zombie comedy borrowed a TV plot and became so much more: Zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead is one of the best. Watch the video playlist for the official trailer, a clip of Pegg’s character being oblivious to the zombies, plus see the process behind making it. Find more here.

#4) Anna and the Apocalypse—Go behind the scenes of the holiday zombie musical: A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven—at Christmas—forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival. Go behind the scenes! Watch the videos here.

#5) Eat, Brains, Love (2019)—Zombie comedy won Best Picture at the 2019 Screamfest Horror Film Festival: An ordinary lunch hour explodes in an orgy of spurting blood and flying organs. In the video playlist, watch the official trailer, and also watch an interview with the director. Watch them here.

#6) The Return of the Living Dead: What idea did the zombie comedy movie invent? The Return of the Living Dead introduced some popular concepts to the zombie genre. Watch the official trailer, and go behind the scenes of the making of the Return of the Living Dead. Watch the video here!

#7) Little Monsters (2019)—The zombie comedy where allergies are scarier than zombies (not a complaint): Our list of zombie comedy movies had to include 2019’s Little Monsters. Watch the video playlist for the director and stars talking about a kindergarten class surviving the zombie apocalypse. https://www.monstercomplex.com/blog/zombie-comedy-movies-little-monsters

#8) Fido (2006)—Putting zombies to work? This zombie comedy has it figured out. In a world where radiation from space has turned the dead into zombies, ZomCon has created a remote control collar that turns hungry zombies into servants. Watch this behind-the-scenes video. Watch the video here!

#9) Zombieland (2009)—How a TV pilot became a blockbuster movie: “Who’s Bill Murray?” In the video playlist, go behind the scenes of the zombie comedy Zombieland. Even see the reunited cast rewatch Zombieland’s best scenes 10 years later. Find out more here!

#10) Army of Darkness (1993)—How the zombie comedy went so far from its origins: A sarcastic hardware store clerk is stuck in 1300 A.D. and must battle an army of the dead. In the video playlist, we’ve got a trailer, clips, and a documentary about the making of Army of Darkness. Watch the videos here!

#11) The Dead Don’t Die—The zombie comedy has a gloomy political angle: This ludicrous zombie comedy focuses on how people tend to make bad situations even worse. See interview clips with the amazing cast, learn about the making of the movie, and more. Find more here!

#12) Dead Alive AKA Braindead (1992)—This zombie comedy is one of the goriest movies ever made: This 1992 New Zealand zombie comedy splatter film is one of the most blood-soaked movies of all time. In our video playlist, you can watch the trailer, and hear director Peter Jackson talk about the film. Find out more here.

#13) Army of the Dead Director Zack Snyder—Zombies Are Perfect For Social Commentary: The director of Netflix’s zombie movie Army of the Dead shares why zombies are perfect for discussing social issues. Snyder offered his take on why zombies are perfect for social commentary: “That’s part of the genre. [We] use the zombies to hold up a mirror to ourselves and that's really why I feel like they've endured in pop culture. They teach us about ourselves.” Find more details here.

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AUTHORS

#1) Zombie author Q&A—Justina Ireland: “There’s a whole new level of trauma when your dead friend is trying to eat your face.” The Dread Nation author shares the origins of her Civil War-era zombie books, reveals the inspirations for her no-nonsense heroine, and explains the importance of representation in media. Read the interview quotes here.

#2) Zombie Q&A—Isaac Marion: “George Romero tried to touch on the humanity of the zombies.” In this exclusive interview, the Warm Bodies author shares the personal inspiration for his unique take on zombies, explains his biggest genre pet peeve, and reveals why zombies stories are “hard to love” as a category. “I find it telling how quick people are to dismiss zombies as non-human cannon fodder the moment they stop behaving in ways we understand.” Read our exclusive interview here!

#3) VIPs making horror comics: Creepshow, Bruce Campbell, Owl Goingback: Here are some horror comics you should check out—from horror author Owl Goingback, noted actor Bruce Campbell, and the makers of a new comic for the classic title Creepshow. Find out more here!

#4) Zombie Q&A—Dana Fredsti (Ashley Parker Series): The author talks about what inspired her love of zombie stories, explains the innovation she brought to the party, and reveals why she prefers slow zombies. “There are ways to include details that show you’ve done your research without being tedious.” Read our interview with Dana here!

#5) Zombie Q&A—Sylvester Barzey (Planet Dead): The author explains his unique spin on zombie fiction, shares why his books set an example for his son, and reveals why he’s written clown zombies. “I want to sit back and be like, ‘Damn, I wish I thought of something like this.’” Read our interview with the author here!

#6) Jonathan Maberry—“Zombie Stories Are Not About Zombies”: The thriller author on the enduring appeal of zombies, what drew him to write stories with them, and why a zombie outbreak seems so damned plausible. “All the way home I was continuing that story in my head, figuring out how I might survive an event like the dead rising.” Find more of what the author said here!

#7) Zombie Q&A—Andy Kumpon (Seeds of the Dead): The Mexican-American author talks about combining survival horror, gallows humor, action, and suspense; reveals what inspired his unique take on the zombie genre; and shares his zombie movie influences. “If zombies eat everything around them, why are some as skinny as a beanpole?” Read our interview with him here!

#8) Mira Grant AKA Seanan McGuire—Complete Newsflesh series + Interviews: The author reveals what she wanted to bring to the zombie genre, explains why diverse readers can see themselves in her books, and teaches us how to survive the zombie apocalypse. Find out more here!

#9) Zombie love story? The roots behind WARM BODIES: The 2013 zombie movie Warm Bodies is a romantic comedy based on Isaac Marion’s 2010 novel—which, the author admits, is inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Find out ore about the movie and the books from the author himself. Find out more here!

#10) Greg Rode: ‘The Wall’—concluding zombie thriller series: Half the book’s royalties support the American Cancer Society. “A grisly array of the dead are finally a true army in front of us—we’re in a crapload of trouble…” Find out more here! Find out more here!

About the author

Chris Well writes about monsters and the people who hunt them and/or love them. The chief at Monster Complex, he’s also published crime fiction and religious fiction, plus worked in newspapers, magazines, and radio. He’s even won various awards. He is currently writing some books influenced by the stuff he’s been reporting on at Monster Complex. (It’s a viscous cycle.) Find him online at https://substack.com/@monstercomplex.