Popping In With Another Update - Part I


Eight years of false starts, multitude of reschedules and flat out lies. It's here.

It's here.

Actually forgot about it until the start of this month and decided to do another check to see what has changed (again). This time it said it was coming out in two days. Did nothing, could be another layer of BS.

Waited until that afternoon, making sure they had it in stock - for real. The answer is yes.

The LONG awaited final novel by George A. Romero, completed by Daniel Kraus is out! Released on August 4th for $27.99 from Tor, received my copy on the 11th - I had Amazon free shipping.

Gonna take my time, the novel is 635 pages with an additional fifteen by Kraus detailing how he got involved and his method for completing Romero's book since he had died before completion. Not going to rush - it is the final rodeo.

An excerpt was published earlier in the undead anthology, "Nights Of The Living Dead", published by St. Martin's Press in 2017. "John Doe", the sixth short in the book. It stands out since it has no crescendo - it just ends before anything real happens.

Did a story by story review of the book in late 2018 to early 2019 - here's Part 2 on "John Doe".

This needs to be made clear since there are some who just can't grasp. This isn't all in the same cinematic universe. These are sequels and reboots - starting at day one, not connected with the films which came before.

The first iteration was a trilogy which became a quadrilogy. The modern/contemporary zombie concept, now a trope started with...



"Night Of The Living Dead" (1968); the undead contagion begins. The movie concerns itself with the events through the eyes of (mostly) random strangers who have taken refuge in a now abandoned farmhouse in a rural part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is day three of the infection, now becoming an epidemic.

"Dawn Of The Dead" (1978); three weeks have passed since the events of "Night"; the undead crisis is getting out of hand - authorities are overwhelmed. We are witnessing the fabric of civilization coming undone. Now following four survivors who take refuge in a fortified mall in Pittsburgh of their own doing. A sanctuary which becomes their tomb. But gets worse with invaders who want the goods inside.

"Day Of The Dead" (1985); undetermined number of years have passed since the events in "Dawn". Humanity is facing extinction. As Dr. "Frankenstein" Logan says, "400,000 to 1" (conservative estimate), the ratio of undead to the living. We follow a group of survivors; military and scientists who were gathered in the last minute to find a solution in an underground, repurposed facility. This is where film series originally ended, a bleak conclusion. This entry took place in Florida, not in Pennsylvania.

"Land Of The Dead" (2005); undetermined number of decades have passed since the events of "Day". People have been born, only knowing the world of the insatiable resurrected. Humanity consolidated itself, retook urban areas, created (mostly) safe zones. Fiddler's Green in Pittsburgh is one of several such places around the planet. We follow a group of city soldiers and mercenaries who were tasked, retrieve a stolen survival tank, Dead Reckoning which will be used against Fiddler's Green by a terrorist. This is where the franchise starting with "Night" '68 concludes.

but...



Before his death on July 16th, 2017 - Romero was working on a fourth sequel, "Road Of The Dead". The screenplay was completed and was getting ready to shop it around for investors, then he died. Written by Romero and Matt Birman.

It's set in a sanctuary city where this fat cat runs a haven for rich folks, and one of the things that he does is stage drag races to entertain them. There's a scientist there doing genetic experiments, trying to make the zombies stop eating us, and he has discovered that with a little tampering, they can recall certain memory skills that enable them to drive in these races. It’s really "The Fast And The Furious" with zombies.
- Romero

That quote was made three days before his death. Romero understood he could not keep it up, opted not to direct, but to produce. Birman was going to direct, he was second unit director on "Land".

"Road" takes place six years after the events in "Land".

Think a makeshift Roman coliseum with cars and ghouls; taking inspirations from "Ben-Hur" (1959) and the "Fast And The Furious" films. Like with "Survival" it is set on an island, not in Pennsylvania nor Florida.

We have a Caligula type ruler who unknown to him has among his stolen possessions (a person) - the cure. Zombies can end. It's a race (literal) to make sure he doesn't find out and to take it off the island. Because with the remedy, he could rule the world - his exclusive salvation.

[Sorry had to break this into two parts since I had too many text characters]