Doing Shawn of the Living was fun, but it wasn’t quite scratching that itch. I like talking about the Zombie Apocalypse more when I’ve got another person to kick ideas around with, so I asked Redwalker to join me. To mark the addition, we’re re-branding and re-launching the Zombie N3RDCasts under a new name, Dawn of the N3RDs!

Our plan is to go through preparations and discussions in a linear timeline, progressing along the hypothetical stages of a zombie breakout. To that end, we start with our first episode discussing your pre-apocalypse preparations: stockpiling long-storing foods, provisions and medical supplies.

HappyJack and Dr. Sexy are on the road (separately, of course). I gave serious thought to just droning on for an hour about all the comic book wisdom I know, but considering that my wisdom can be summed up with the phrase, “Check to make sure the pages of your book aren’t bent when you buy it,” I don’t think that would make for an hour-long show.

But fear not, gentle readers! To make up for the lack of HJ & Sexy, I invited THE Jason Earl Becker and the Godfather of Comics Podcasting, Bruce Rosenberger, to join me! We discuss the (now infamous) Robert Kirkman video, our comic reads of the week, and various and other sundry topics that float into our collective brain.

It’s my first time trying to use Talkshoe, also. It wasn’t horrible, and I think the sound quality was a lot better than I had expected - certainly better than what I’m used to with past Skype headaches.

Oh, and Becker spoils the hell out of the upcoming Watchmen movie. Be warned.

In this episode I discuss the moral dilemmas facing you in the zombie world when the people you love are turned. What will you do if you find your child turned? What about your co-workers? How are you going to handle it if your wife gets turned? More importantly, what about that gorgeous young college student down the street that always goes jogging past your house wearing little more than a sports bra… What? That’s an important factor to consider!

In this episode, I take a look at the various types of zombies we could see in the apocalypse and what each would mean to our chances of survival. Some of the material I discuss comes from this article over at Cracked.com.

We start out the show with a recap of our N3rd adventures at the Willard Rehab Facility.

We recap Kwip and his caring and compassionate nature as leader of a caravan of cars and our adventures on and about the grounds of Kwip's uncles house. The scariest thing we found was how SCARY AWESOME Kwip's relatives were at being hosts. I was eating their brownies until yesterday. Delicious. Here's the pics I took of the trip. My wife looks hot. So does Kwip. Also, Bini crawls in a morgue box thing. It's a hoot.

Also, despite Kwip's public service in helping you out by telling you about Zombies. In a crisis, do NOT rely on Kwip. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN! GRANDPA WILLIAMS WILL FUCKING STAB YOU and feed you to the ZOMBIES and tokyo-drift on your face.

We aren't sure why Penny Arcade, who runs the awesome PAX, decided to run with Reed, the people who so poorly handled our interactions with NYCC. But they did, so hopefully they will learn from their horrible treatment of the N3rds. They will RUE THE DAY!!! DO YOU RUE IT????

We talk about San Diego fall-out and chit-chat for a while about various and sundry topics regarding San Diego.

We talk about the comics this week. You don't need to know about them, just listen. It's the stuff we usually get.

I also talk about how stupid I feel that I don't understand Final Crisis or Grant Morrison at all. I feel like I should have a primer before reading each issue.

I sing the Heralds of Invincible Iron Man...I really enjoy it. No one else gets it...probably because we all hate the art.

In Episode 1, I talk about some of the basics: recognizing when you’re on the cusp of the zombie apocalypse (here’s a clue - THERE’S ZOMBIES AROUND YOU!) and what your first steps should be.

Thanks to Redwalker, I think I have a new theme song (I was originally planning on rotating, but this song’s too damn perfect - but I might still slip back to Marian occasionally). John wrote in to ask how I did my research. The answer, of course, is Google. But there are a few other resources you should make note of:

One of my favorite handbooks is the Zombie Survival Guide. Although some of the things I disagree with, it’s a great book and very informative. And if you like that, you should check out Max Brook’s other zombie book, World War Z.

A couple of websites you can’t be without: first, Lost Zombies is a good site full of lots of entertaining information. But for solid, serious discussions, check out Zombie Squad. Those froods are scholars of the coming apocalypse and their forums are chock full of great info!

We start out discussing some of our favorites from this week’s comics: JIM BUTCHERS DRESDEN FILES #4, PILOT SEASON THE CORE #1, THOR: AGES OF THUNDER (not new this week, but it’s REALLY good), JOKERS ASYLUM TWO FACE #1, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EXTRA, WOLVERINE #67, and a short mention of the Looking for Group webcomic, done by the same creative team that bring us Least I Could Do.

30:05 - Eisner discussions, where I do a wonderful time warp and wonder why a comic from 2004 didn’t win. And a little love for our friend M. Sean McMannis, who we had a WONDERFUL interview with - and then promptly lost thanks to my incompetence.

37:00 - JK Rowling coming out with a new book, and discussing some preparations and advice on the upcoming Baltimore Comic Con, PLB Comics got totally hosed by customs, and more on how Kaigon needs to stop wasting time designing sites for losers and get back to doing Chipmunk Bay.

44:30 - UGLY MUGGS! Honestly, if you’re going to pay $2,500 for these, would you let us know? We want to kick your ass for perpetuating that sort of stupidity.

This is a preview of a new series of micro-podcasts I'm starting, titled "Shawn of the Living." They'll still be part of the N3RDCasts, so no need to update your feed (because I KNOW you don't want to miss out on this brilliance!).

This sprang from the conversations many of us around here engage in on a regular basis: what to do when the zombies arrive. It's an important topic, and one near and dear to my heart. Because I have nothing better to do with my life, this is a subject I'm constantly considering. And now you have the benefit of my years of wisdom and careful research into the subject! Aren't I a generous guy?

This is just a teaser, and a short one at that - but even the regular shows won't be much longer. This isn't a show I'm going to spend a lot of time producing, it'll just be a weekly soapbox I climb up on for a few minutes every week before it collapses under my girth. If you want to participate, you can send your suggestions, questions and opinions to zombies@neenerneener.net for future discussion.

This week I'm using "We're Out for Blood" by the lovely Marian Call. It's a song she did for an upcoming indy zombie movie, so I thought it appropriate. But if you want a real treat, check out the acoustic version of that song she did (about half-way down the page in the right column). And if you like THAT, you should check out the entire show that you can listen to for FREE!