Zom-BIE: (Zom’be) n. also ZOM-BIES pl. 1. An animated corpse that feeds on living human flesh.

Illustration by Andreas Hykade. Courtesy of Chris Robinson.

That the dead walk among us is no big surprise. We didn’t need George Romero to tell us that. Every moment of every day we encounter somnambulists. Most days, they are — contrary to popular theories — quite harmless. Their lumbering sigh of non-existence usually passes before us without notice. The zombies tend to prefer certain locations: shopping malls (as we know), financial districts, civil service buildings, churches and sporting venues.

The animation world, like many cultural areas, has been pretty much free of these potentially life-sucking predators. Every so often, one creeps into the mix every four years or so, and there have been numerous zombie sightings along the west coast of North America, but most of the time animation (and art) remains a zombie-free zone.

However, zombie sightings and attacks in the animation world have increased dramatically since the mid-1990s. What is most disturbing about these reports is that there are a few familiar patterns. The reported attacks are often about three years apart and all take place near locations where the group called ASIFA (a.k.a. the International Animator’s Association) is known to meet.

Recorded Zombie Attacks: 1997 A.D. Annecy, France
The first clues of a zombie presence in animation were reported in 1997 near the small town of Annecy, France. While strolling through the old town, two animation festival directors, Herper and Toto (rhymes with Otto) were startled by disturbing sounds emanating from a nearby building. “Dey were almoost like what you say… groan or scream like people having fuck but not liking,” Herper was once heard to say inside a men’s latrine near Tallinn. The two men spotted a small window and crept closer to take a peak inside. What they saw so horrified them that to this day they will not speak of what they saw. Toto remains in seclusion near Winterbach, Germany, while Herper spends in days between the Utrect Civic Hospital and the Netherlands art gallery where he repeatedly lunges at Russian paintings.

Rumors have since surfaced about what the two men saw that day. Rickie O’Conkie, a Brooklyn based zombie spotter, believes that the groans were, “a collision of sounds emanating from a mix of about 30 foreigners who were walking and talking aimlessly in a small room.” It appears that many were talking at the same time. No one appeared to be listening or responding to the talk. This babbling intersection went on for perhaps two to three hours. This in itself was not unique. What was startling according to O’Conkie, was that about half of these people were long thought dead: “I heard names like Halas, McLaren, Hubley, Kinoshita; people who have been dead for years. Interestingly, all of these people were known to be active ASIFA members in 1960 A.D.

It was also reported that several younger people had entered the meeting. They initially spoke clearly and with great enthusiasm, but by the end of the meeting had become victims of what O’Conkie labels “the ASIFA Zombie.”

According to zombie historian, Max Brooks, there may exist, somewhere in the old town of Zagreb, Croatia, a physical record of the meeting with a list of all in attendance. But this document has never been discovered so the accuracy of this 1997 attack remains impossible to confirm.

2000 A.D. Montreal, Quebec
O’Conkie also speaks of a meeting in Canada where a board member from the Ontario city of Ottawa reportedly suggested that the Canadian chapter of ASIFA should consider having national representation (rather than just people from Montreal) and perhaps even organize events and meetings outside of Montreal, Quebec (just one of 10 provinces and three territories that compose Canada). “Mais oui!,” said the Montrealers. “Certainement!” said others. A few days later, though, the Montrealers held a secret meeting to try and oust the member from Ottawa. However, — and this is where, O’Conkie notes, “we uncovered the zombie conspiracy in Canada” — true to zombie form, they did not dispose of the member. Reportedly a vote never took place. Instead, the zombies merely walked around the room screaming obscure Acadian language obscenities littered with references to “PQ” and “Anglofucks,” “Parizeau” and “Rocket Richard.”

The unknown Ottawa member, though, was never heard from again. There are reports that she/he headed for a small country located in the Baltic region.