by Ray Wallace

Brainchild . . . A Collection of Artifacts
by Omnibucket
Omnibucket      

Attention, zombiephiles!

Publisher Omnibucket has released a new book entitled, Brainchild . . . A Collection of Artifacts. And you won't want to miss it.

Stories. An article. A bunch of artwork. Even a bit of poetry. All of it dealing with that longtime favorite monster of horror lovers everywhere, the zombie.

First, the stories.

After an untitled little short that gets things rolling along, we come to "The Red Room" by Scott Lambridis. Undead mayhem and motherly love always make for a tasty concoction as we see here. Next up is David Wellington's "Running," which centers around a group of people who are, you guessed it, running. As in running for their lives, searching for a safe haven in a world suddenly overrun by the walking dead. "Black Days: Sandy" by Rebecca Brock, shows us what it might be like when the dead first come back to life and begin feasting on the living. Just another day at the office soon becomes anything but, as you might imagine. Following this is another one by Scott Lambridis entitled, "The Oldest Profession." Some industries, it would seem, have to continue no matter what the consequences may be. A second offering by Rebecca Brock is next. "Black Days: Paul" shows us a man who has survived much, who has found an abandoned house where he hopes he might rest for a while, who then makes a terrible discovery in the basement. D. Senecal's "SPQR" puts forth the idea that a device invented by the ancient Romans might be the best weapon to use against the undead. "On the Western Front" by D. Senecal and Scott Lambridis depicts a man doing what he has to do to protect his neighborhood, his home. Scott Lambridis strikes again with "Finnegan's Scoop," a story about a popular zombie killing technique and the man who invented it. And finally we reach "Book of Matches" by Charles Hogle, a touching little tale in which a daughter is forced to deal with her father who is on the verge of becoming a zombie. Nothing that some gasoline and a match can't set straight.

Then there is the lone article. Mia Epstein's "My Zombie Girlfriend: On the Female Undead in Film and Literature" deals with, well, exactly what the title says. Examples of various female characters are put forth, ranging from the lead in Brian Yuzna's Return of the Living Dead III to the protagonist in Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia. Insight into the behavior of these fictional women is offered and is at times quite educational.

The book is filled with artwork by various artists, all of it dark, some of it truly impressive. There is even an illustration of a rampaging zombie done by a nine-year-old boy. How cool is that?

Brainchild . . . A Collection of Artifacts is a must-have for fans of zombie fiction. While not every story presented within its pages is terribly original, each of them is at least adequately well-written and fun to read. Published on glossy paper in a prestige comic-style format, this book is sure to stand out no matter where it sits on your bookshelf—probably somewhere between those well-worn copies of Philip Nutman's Wet Work and Skipp and Spector's Book of the Dead. Volumes 1 & 2, of course.