The Zombie Combat Manual In Action
The awesome guys at Thinkgeek created their own zombie combat video briefing using techniques described in the manual, check out their fantastic work:
I love that they incorporated multiple techniques from the book, including the Range Calculator, the OSS takedown, and the Skullcapper. Awesome work, guys!
If you develop your own video briefings based on techniques from The Zombie Combat Manual, send them along and I’ll post them on the blog.
Signing at Boulevard Books & Cafe, July 17th
Growing up in Brooklyn in the era prior to the Internet and book juggernaut retailers, I know how important having a local, neighborhood bookstore to browse around was to my formative years. Nowadays these establishments are called “Independent” or “indie.” I simply call them awesome.
I’ll be signing books, giving away swag, and doing a Zombie Combat demonstration at a new, awesome bookstore called Boulevard Books & Cafe in Brooklyn on Saturday, July 17th at 7pm. After the signing, the bookstore will be screening Romero’s original Dawn of the Dead, my favorite of George’s filmography. Because this bookstore is also a cafe, that means wine is available, which makes it even more awesome.
Come join if you’re around.
7518 13th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11228
Zombie Combat Lecture Series
I’ve been invited to conduct a series of zombie combat lectures at The Museum of Arts and Design in NYC for their Zombo Italiano film series, which starts on July 8th.
Below are the dates and topics I’ll be addressing at each lecture, and the films that will be screened afterwards.
Bring your copy of The Zombie Combat Manual and I’ll sign it for you after the screening, and give you something extra from the Club. There will also be copies available there if you don’t yet have one.
Zombo Italiano
The Italian Zombie Film Movement, 1972 – 1985
$10 a screening, $7 for students with valid ID or with zombie make-up
July 8th - How Not to Die: A Zombie Combat Club Defensive Primer
Join Roger Ma and the Zombie Combat Club for a pre-film demonstration of essential combat skills for life among the living dead. Topics covered will include: anatomy, weapons, techniques, and common misconceptions of confronting a ravenous walking corpse.
Film - Dawn of the Dead (1978, Romero)
July 9th - Zombie VS. Shark VS. You: A Zombie Combat Club Demonstration
Roger Ma and the Zombie Combat Club return for another in-person demonstration before the film. This time the ZCC will present vital underwater combat skills for aquatic encounters with the living dead and great white sharks. Must have knowledge for summer beach outings!
Film - Zombie (1979, Fulci)
July 16th - Improvised Weapons: A Zombie Combat Club Primer
What happens during a zombie attack if your trusty samurai sword, battle axe, or medieval mace isn’t available? In this primer on Improvised Weapons, Roger Ma and the Zombie Combat Club show that many found objects, from gardening tools to kitchen utensils to toolbox items, can be used to defend yourself against a walking corpse. Critical knowledge when facing an attack in the home, on the road, or at a cursed hotel containing a door to the underworld.
Film - The Beyond (1981, Fulci)
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Zombie Combat Video Briefings
To help disseminate accurate zombie combative information to the general public, my publisher and I created a set of video briefings that cover various techniques and topics covered in The Zombie Combat Manual: Melee Combat, Close Combat, and Improvised Weapons. Check out the videos here or on the ZCC Youtube Channel, and help spread the word.
Zombie Apocalypse Gear
The 2010 issue of Outside Magazine’s Gear of the Year is available. Although it’s been some time since my last outdoor excursion, I always purchase this issue, if nothing but to covet each of the GOTY category winners.
One thing I’ve always found lacking in these types of gear issues is the item’s functionality during an infestation of flesh-eating corpses. And since my letters the various publications have gone unheeded, I decided to pull together my own brief list a few weeks ago, in coordination with Uncrate:
It was a fun list to pull together, and required the full use of the myriad collection of catalogs I recieve that probably put me on more than one government watch list. Thanks go to the guys at Uncrate for pulling together the collage and agreeing to the joint effort.
Check out the full listing and description of the items here on Uncrate.
Reviews of The Zombie Combat Manual
It’s been exactly a month and a day since the release of The Zombie Combat Manual, and over the course there have been many nice reviews of the book, some of which I thought I would share with you. Some are from other zombie authors, others are from zombie and book review sites. It’s been great to see that the work is enjoyed and appreciated by the fans:
“The Zombie Combat Manual kicks undead ass! Roger Ma saves the day with this smart, funny, and thoroughly practical book on fighting the living dead.” - Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Patient Zero and Zombie CSU, and member of the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame
“As a practitioner of martial arts, and a former US Army Ranger, I cannot stress enough how important empty-hand fighting is…There are many survival books out there on how to deal with the living dead and then there’s this one. Roger Ma’s book should be on the short list of handy manuals to take with you to the zombie apocalypse.” - Don Roff, author of Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection
“Now that I’ve studied The Zombie Combat Manual I’ll always be prepared with whatever is nearby, even if my trusty Zombieville Slugger is out of reach.” - John Joseph Adams, editor of the bestselling anthologies The Living Dead and Wastelands
“If you’re a reader who likes books about zombies that never “blink” and keep up the intensity for the entire read, then The Zombie Combat Manual is the book for you.” - Scott Kenemore, author of The Zen of Zombie and Z.E.O
“The Zombie Combat Manual: A Guide to Fighting the Living Dead just might be the supreme manifest of how to fend off attacking members of the undead. Basically, when it comes to the Zombie Apocalypse, this book may be biblical.” - Allie Townsend, Techland.com
“…The best compliment I could give the book is that several times, I found myself agreeing with some discussion before I caught myself and said, “Wait, this is about freaking zombies.”" - Tony Deconinck, AOL News
“…there are three reasons for you to buy this book. First, you are a die hard zombie fan. Second, you like well written and very dry humor. Third, there’s a horde of zombies banging on your front door right now. If you fall into any of these three criteria then do yourself a favor and get The Zombie Combat Manual today.” - Brian Sammons, Horror World
“With a fresh take on a tired subject and an emphasis on violence and physical preparation, The Zombie Combat Manual deserves a place on your bookshelf. Right between the .357 magnum revolver and the Viking Axe, rated at over 200+ zombie engagements.” - Robert Fure, Film School Rejects
“The Zombie Combat Manual is a wonderfully thorough and readable guide. When (I’m telling you, not if) the zombie outbreak does come, I now feel thoroughly prepared to keep myself safe and to aim for exactly the right fleshy bits of the head.” - Deidre Crimmons, Open Letters Monthly
Bitten By Books Q&A and Giveaway, April 8th
For those of you who want to ask me questions about the book, and have a chance to win a copy, I’ll be participating in an author interview and Q&A tomorrow hosted by Bitten by Books. I’ll be fielding questions throughout the day from anyone who wants to pose a question, zombie-related or not.
You’ll also have the opportunity to win one of five copies of The Zombie Combat Manual. If you RSVP in advance to the session, you’ll get 25 additional entries to win. Nice odds!
It should be a fun event, especially for those who can’t make it to book signings and are just dying to ask me something.
RSVP at this link, and visit Bitten By Books tomorrow to ask me your questions!
Now Available! The Zombie Combat Manual
Today marks the release date of The Zombie Combat Manual!
"The Kabob," one of the techniques from The Zombie Combat Manual
Although I’ve been busy the past several months gearing up for the release, I hope to keep the blog more active now with news, reviews, and future events for the Manual and the Club.
There’s been some nice advance buzz about the book, some of which I thought I’d share with you:
AOL Weird News review: “Are You Prepared to Fight, Of Corpse!”
ZombieCommand review: Zombie Combat Manual Review
HorrorWorld review: The Zombie Combat Manual
Scott Kenemore, author of The Zen of Zombie, review: Book Review: The Zombie Combat Manual
I look forward to hearing what you think of the book. Visit the Zombie Combat Manual Fan Page at www.facebook.com/zombiecombatmanual to share your thoughts with other fans.
Pick up a copy of the book online at the following book merchants:
Announcing: The Zombie Combat Manual
Everything you knew about undead combat is about to change.
The Zombie Combat Club is proud to announce the publication of:
If you’re a fan of the ZCC, you’re going to devour The Zombie Combat Manual. With over 300 pages and 90+ illustrations of zombie anatomy, weapons, and combat techniques, The Zombie Combat Manual is your go-to guide for fending off mobs of revenants in hand-to-hand combat. The manual expands on everything you’ve read on the site, plus much more:
- Detailed evaluations of popular and unusual zombie combat weapons
- New strategies for long-range, melee, and close-quarters combat
- Step-by-step illustrated zombie fighting techniques
- Combat exercises, fitness routines, drills, and zombie training simulations
- More first-person accounts of vicious undead combat
This is the only manual available that provides everything you need to know to prevail against the walking dead in lethal hand-to-hand combat. When your ammunition runs out and the dead remain, you’ll be glad you kept a copy in your go-bag.
Published by Berkley Books. Available at all major bookstores and online on April 6th, 2010.
Pre-order your copy today at the following online merchants:
Amazon Barnes & Noble Borders Powell’s Books-a-Million
The ZCC Twitterfeed
We swore an oath that we would never open up a Twitter feed until we were committed to actually using it on a regular basis, as there is nothing more depressing than an inactive Twit. Well, the time has come, and the feed is active:
The reason we’ve decided that now is the time to open up this channel is because plenty of new updates, news and activity will be coming down the pike over the next several months, and tweeting, however ridiculous a word, may be the best way to keep you ZCC’ers in the loop up to the minute. Plus, we’ll probably be sharing some cool things over Twitter that may not always make it back on the site.
That’s your cue - Follow the Zombie Combat Club on Twitter here.
HQ