Broodhollow

Last 30 Broodhollow Pins! (1 Comment)

Kris — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:09:47 +0000

Hello hello hello! I just checked my inventory, good grief!

We are down to just 30 Skull and Shovels pins left! There is still time to get one, and to get any of my books for $8 each. The sale ends once May does, in two weeks — Starslip and Chainsawsuit books will never be this marked down again! Prints, posters and t-shirts are also marked significantly down. Check it out and thanks for your support!

The Rules (34 Comments)

Kris — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:37:05 +0000

In Good Hands (27 Comments)

Kris — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:24:44 +0000

Big On Tradition (26 Comments)

Kris — Wed, 15 May 2013 05:30:16 +0000

High Society (46 Comments)

Kris — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:04:21 +0000

Join The Club (113 Comments)

Kris — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:01:41 +0000

Dream Diary: Three Stages, Part 2 (5 Comments)

Kris — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:41:16 +0000

Continued from Part 1

Lines break. Hysteria. This problem had never been solvable with protest signs, and people are learning this far too late. My friend and I make a break for it and cross wide, deserted areas surrounded by madness: parking lots, people’s yards, back streets. I complain about the distance, and my friend says, “try doing this in wool underwear. I thought it was going to be cold today.”

We finally get to his car and start threading our way through back roads, trying to leave the city, but it’s always either blocked by picketers or stampeding crowds. Finally we break through, and I think, “We got away… but I’ve seen the trailer to this movie, and there’s way more to it than this. There’s a part where I have to fight one of the rotted ones. So this isn’t over yet.”

Of course my friend goes, “We have a car, so we can leave whenever we want. We have to go back and find ______,” our other friend. I argue with him, but realize if he wanted to, he could take the car and leave me stranded in the city, so I have to help him.

The dream skips forward to another scene, where I’m alone, lurking in some clutter-choked attic, calling out our friend’s name. Then, behind some old chairs and a trunk, I hear buzzing, and see a cloud of flies illuminated by my flashlight. I know I have to kill what’s behind there, to prevent more from coming. As I approach, I see it’s the remains of a teenager, maybe 15 years old — and it rapidly stands up when I spot it. Instinctively I grab its neck, thinking the fastest way to stop it would be to tear its head off, but I find it’s much less yielding than I assumed it would be — in fact, the conceit that it’s a zombie completely fades at this point. It’s like fighting a regular, healthy kid wearing gray body paint.

I wake up and check Twitter to see if everything is okay.

Ye Who Enter (31 Comments)

Kris — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:14:45 +0000

Dream Diary: Three Stages, Part 1 (1 Comment)

Kris — Tue, 07 May 2013 07:23:36 +0000

The diary returns! I’m splitting this dream into two parts. I had this one in the thick of all my zombie dreams in 2009, when I seemed to have one every single night for months. It features a zombie lifecycle I thought was very clever when I woke up.

I’m living in New Zealand, where there’s been a recent series of zombie attacks in our metropolitan area. Rather than evacuate or take military action, the overwhelming response from the population is to demonstrate against the zombies with picket signs and rallies.

By all accounts, the zombie infection isn’t as virulent as it is in movies, where whole cities can turn in a matter of days — it’s much more restrained here, and it’s as though we all believe zombie-ism is spread by lack of understanding.

Zombies exist in three stages. Stage one is infection, which works much slower than you’d expect: it’s possible to be infected and function perfectly normally for weeks. Your appearance deteriorates, but those who know you might only think you aren’t taking care of yourself. You probably feel like you’ve caught a bad cold, until you begin to notice zombie-like cravings.

Stage two is full-on zombie, as you see in movies, although these zombies are as agile as a regular person. They are crazed and present a lethally violent threat to anyone around them, although non-fatal injury (including a bite wound) from one of the zombies doesn’t guarantee infection. The odds are more like 1 in 25.

Stage three is a putrified, barely-mobile creature. This worn-out skeletal zombie, noticeable by its cover of swarming flies, has only one goal: to push deeper into civilization, and find a place to hide. Its rotting body acts as a pheromonal beacon to encourage other zombies to press onward into densely inhabited areas. This zombie is only dangerous if disturbed, but is much easier to kill due to its disintegrating state. But it avoids detection — it prefers not to move from its curled-up position in attics, basements, rooftops, etc.

Today, citizens have turned out in force, participating in rallies and marches round the clock. Thousands and thousands of people carry banners and signs. Town businesses are all closed, and the streets are clogged with protestors, making it impossible to leave.

A small contingent of zombies (maybe 40 or 50) slowly approaches a park downtown, and the mayor thinks this is a good place for a stump speech. (She happens to look like an older Nichelle Nichols.) In the park, the mayor talks about civic pride and not giving up, and also passes out some pain medication in case anyone gets fatally injured — I guess with the idea that it’s better to spend your final minutes doped up than lucid, if it comes to that. (I take my pill right away, thinking I don’t want to wait 20 minutes for it to take effect, while I bleed to death in 5.)

The zombies appear over a hill and, spotting us below in the park, moan and charge.

To be concluded Thursday.

Do Not Go Quietly (36 Comments)

Kris — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:22:49 +0000

My $8 book sale is going on right now! All books in my shop are $8 to celebrate the 8th anniversary of Starslip. T-shirts and posters are also marked down!

And Broodhollow pins and prints are finally available!