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Zombies have taken the world by storm. Calm down, everyone! I didn't mean literally! What I meant was that zombies have begun to step from the shadows of the basement and into the world of popular culture. There are hit television shows, movies, and books that center around nothing but the undead and I couldn't be happier. People who have never really been into zombies before are now wearing zombie t-shirts and buying up anything that even references a zombie.

Even though there were several movies about zombies before '68, George Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead" is the film that really catapulted zombies into the imagination of a nation. Yes, it was very much a cult hit...but the fans of the movie were stalwart and devoted. They were guys like me, who wore their NotLD zombie t-shirts until they were covered in holes.

George Romero knew he had struck gold when "Night Of The Living Dead" was so critically acclaimed. Two more zombie films followed the first, and Romero continued his legacy until the late 1980's with "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Day Of The Dead." The movies were great individually, but as a trilogy they set the rules for all zombie films to come. If they weren't modeled after the Romero zombie, then they were just not acceptable. While not my favorite film, "Dawn Of The Dead" zombie t-shirts can be seen everywhere these days.

It wasn't until the late 90's that zombies really became a mainstream attraction. This is when Romero's classic "Dawn of the Dead" was remade for modern audiences. The zombies were changed from slow-moving shamblers to fast-moving ceiling-crawlers. While this certainly made some old-school fans upset, it made zombies truly exciting for new fans. Overnight, people started buying zombie t-shirts and eating anything up that had anything remotely to do with zombies. There are even zombie plush toys now.

Less than a decade later, zombies are still on fire with popularity. Two new franchises have been developed for print, and are currently in development for film. "The Walking Dead" is currently in its second season and seeing massive responses in popularity. Max Brooks' huge bestseller "World War Z" is being made into a movie with Brad Pitt as the star. In a year, I bet we'll see zombie t-shirts on everyone of all ages. So long to the vampires and wizards, because it's time to get gory.