What is it about reanimated corpses that captures our fascination? Aside from the “ew” factor, there’s a degree of horror that exists in zombies that vampires, even the non-sparkly ones, Frankenstein’s Monster or mummies just don’t quite capture (even if they are, technically, also animated corpses).

I’ve been thinking about zombies a lot, which has made my sleeping time quite…interesting, let me tell you. The prospect of Friends and family turned into shuffling, mindless strangers is one that sends shivers down my spine.  But what I realized, even in just a quick perusal of resources online, is that I’d need a lot more than just a blog post to even begin parsing through all of the various zombie lore and incarnations, as well as their cultural significance. From Haitian zombie potions to humorous sendups (Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland), to biological weapons of mass destruction (28 Days Later), the topic has been covered in a variety of ways, and by those far more capable than me.

Shaun and Ed being menaced by zombies

Simon Pegg (Shaun in Shaun of the Dead, pictured wearing the red tie), wrote rather eloquently in The Guardian about why the zombie strikes more fear and dread than their undead cousins.

As monsters from the id, zombies win out over vampires and werewolves when it comes to the title of Most Potent Metaphorical Monster. Where their pointy-toothed cousins are all about sex and bestial savagery, the zombie trumps all by personifying our deepest fear: death. Zombies are our destiny writ large. Slow and steady in their approach, weak, clumsy, often absurd, the zombie relentlessly closes in, unstoppable, intractable.

Simply and rather clumsily, zombies are death, the ever-creeping, impossible-to-escape fate that awaits us all. What’s more terrifying than that?

Zombies beware! (Zombieland)

Well, maybe Woody Harrelson.

In any case, I don’t see our zombie love going away anytime soon. So if you’re going to host a Walking Dead marathon, why not do it in style? You can get great zombie makeup tips from Extreme Face Painting by Brian and Nick Wolfe. If you like zombie poetry, check out Zombie Haiku and Dawn of Zombie Haiku, published by our sister imprint, HOW Books. And David Okum gives some tutorials on zombies and the zombie lord in his book, Manga Monster Madness or check out Jim Pavelec’s Hell Beasts.

IMPACT’s sister site Artist’s Market Online is offering a 10% discount on 1-year memberships. Just use the coupon code SAVE10 when you register for a complete 1-year subscription.

Artist’s Market Online includes over 1,700 listings for markets that buy artwork, including fantasy and comic art. You’ll also get regularly updated informative articles and interviews, a portfolio manager to help you organize & track your submissions, and much more…

But don’t wait! You must sign up on ArtistsMarketOnline.com and use the SAVE10 coupon code before it expires on January 31, 2012.

Have a great weekend!

Mary

2012 is going to be an exciting year! Do you do resolutions? If so, what are some of your goals this year relating to your art?

Here at IMPACT Books, we want to help! We have a great year ahead of us with some exciting books coming out, including Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley, an awesome book showing you everything you need to know about drawing characters and scenes in a true manga style. Mark doesn’t just cover the basics; he shows a wide variety of figures and faces; characters that you need to make a dynamic story, but aren’t covered in other how-to books. Check out his website at markcrilley.com and look for his book to be in stores in March and you can preorder today!

In May, look out for some fun Color Workbooks heading your way. I don’t want to give too much away yet, but I can guarantee you’ll love the the instruction from a variety of your favorite IMPACT Books authors, plus lots of line art you can color yourself!

You’ll start Fall off right with some breathtaking dragons, and be ready to mark your holiday wishlist for new, adorable furries and their friends.

And that’s just a small sampling of what we’ll have on offer. This year we plan to offer you more comics, more fantasy, more graffiti, and more everything you love to draw and want to learn!

I’m excited because I got the first copies of Buddy Scalera’s latest, biggest offering, Colossal Collection of Action Poses: Comic and Fantasy Artist’s Photo Reference yesterday. There’s so many poses packed into this book and you’ll want to draw them all.

I thought I’d whet your appetite by giving you some exclusive online poses we couldn’t quite squeeze into this massive tome. And if you want to draw them and post your results either here, on Facebook, or DeviantART, we’d love to see them!

Rory seated

Pamela on the phone

Jarrett smiles!

If you think these are good, wait ’til you see what’s in the book! For 1,200 more poses and sixteen demonstrations on how to use them to create your own comic and fantasy characters, pre-order Colossal Collection of Action Poses. Be ready to draw your arm off!

Can’t wait or looking for more? Check out these titles from our stores:

• Creating Comics From Start to Finish, by Buddy Scalera
• Bryan Hitch’s Ultimate Comics Studio
• The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels, by Andy Schmidt

IMPACT’s sister site ArtistsNetwork.com is giving away art supplies! The Journal Junkies Sweepstakes includes a variety of artists journals, pens, a watercolor travel set, 4 North Light Books, a subscription to Watercolor Artist, and a bunch of other great stuff (a $475 value). You have until May 31, 2011 to enter, so check it out. Who doesn’t love free art supplies?

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Superman, schmuperman. This real-life superhero doesn’t need a fancy uniform; just some scuba diving gear, some plastic, and a bicycle to save lives.

When the earthquake hit, Hideaki Akaiwa was at work, but when his entire town got hit by the tsunami, he grabbed some scuba gear (because doesn’t everyone just have that lying around?) and dove into the water, dodging cars and debris to get to his home and save his wife. Eat your heart out, Lois Lane!

And he succeeded, too. He got her out of their home to safety in a manner that conjures up fabulous movie scenes– or even better, would look great laid out comic-style in panels. But he wasn’t done, yet. He rescued his mother, too!

And he hasn’t stopped there. Every day, he goes out multiple times a day, looking for survivors. Talk about taking action! This is one guy who needs to be immortalized in manga! I just have one question: where did he find the scuba gear?

As graffiti continues to grow as an art form, its impact can be seen and felt all around the world—even in some rather unexpected places, like Afghanistan. U.S. troops in the region have been using graffiti as a way of recording and sharing their experiences with the rest of the world. These images are just a couple examples of graffiti left behind by soldiers. Click here to see more.

For years, well-known graff writer and IMPACT author Scape Martinez has advocated for the medium as a voice for the voiceless, a platform for communicating to the masses, and a means of letting others know where you have been and where you are going.

“Graffiti art is a voice for ordinary people to make extraordinary statements…. It is that passion to experience all of life’s ups and downs and share those experiences with the world through your own unique prism…. It is a reflection of truth, even if that truth is simply stating that you exist. And with that end result, how can anyone question that it’s art?” says Martinez in his upcoming book Graff 2.

A follow-up the original Graff, Graff 2 delves deeper into the elements covered in the first book, helping readers learn how to expand and fine tune their graffiti techniques and styles including 3-D wildstyle, characters and objects, and letter manipulation. Martinez uses step-by-step demonstrations to instruct readers on use of easy-to-access materials like paper and pens to more complex, legally-sanctioned wall pieces including five full-scale demonstrations that show the creation of a wall piece from start to finish. Purchase your copy of Graff in the North Light Shop today, and look out for Graff 2 in Spring 2011.

Did you know that you’ll save 34% by pre-ordering your copy of Extreme Face Painting? Award-winning artists Nick and Brian Wolfe share more than 50 step-by-step demonstrations that turn everyday faces into sweet, funny or frightening works of art. Full of friendly instruction for beginners and fresh inspiration for seasoned painters, this book also includes a bonus DVD featuring two videos of face painting in action!

Visit the NIShop today to pre-order your copy.

So I finally made the leap. I’ve gone from mere comic collector and nerd to full on scary comic guy. I bought a piece of original art. Superman is so freaking awesome and I’ve really been digging the way Renato Guedes has been drawing him. So, I’m at the San Diego comic con working my tail off at the incredible IMPACT booth, and who is one aisle over? Renato Guedes with a portfolio full of original art for sale. Every time I make a bathroom run or sprint for a hotdog, there he is smiling and being super friendly and showing off crazy good art.

So, at first I’m strong. I buy just a limited cover issue and get him to sign it. Then day 2, I figure wow he’s got great deals on prints, I’ll just get one of those and satisfy the itch to buy that one-of-a-kind-only-one-ever-unique-page of Superman blowing up a planet. Day 3 and I’m spinelessly poorer and the proud owner of an original Guedes Superman page.

Original Art

Insider’s fact: The crowd reacting at the bottom is made up of the Renato and his friends.

So, it’s mounted framed and I couldn’t be happier. If you want to learn more about Superman, well wow i can’t believe you get internet access under that rock, but if you want to check out more of Renato’s stuff you can check out his Official Site or if your Portuguese isn’t up to snuff bounce over to Wikipedia for an overview. And if you’ve given up hope, go here to buy some phenomenal art.

Justin Combs