Warning: main(/art_subnav.php) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /mnt/web_prod_share/www-be/columbusalive/content/2006/0427/a-brain.html on line 2

Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening '/art_subnav.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/opt/lampp/lib/php') in /mnt/web_prod_share/www-be/columbusalive/content/2006/0427/a-brain.html on line 2

Brain Food

Omnibucket's limited-edition book documents a horrifying zombie takeover

by John Ross

blog I e-mail

From the first report of the zombie invasion:

"The dogs started barking around 1:40 a.m....I remember hearing somebody scream over and over... I ran like hell in pure terror and left them to become food for the undead."

By page 10 of Brainchild, the new compilation of zombie lore published by local creative media outlet Omnibucket, you've crossed the threshold into a world that no longer recognizes dead from undead.

"It's not exactly B-movie gore," said co-publisher Scott Lambridis. "But it's brutally honest."

The limited-edition compilation is told through non-linear bursts of text, photography, drawing and digital art. It amounts to a "collection of artifacts" meant to mimic a real zombie takeover.

Mia Epstein's poem "Death of a Salesman" stands next to Ken Meyer Jr.'s ghoulish send-up of American Gothic. Paul Kelley III's crawling, erotic zombie maiden is juxtaposed with a haunting skeletonized child done by Heisler Mulano.

"This is definitely an international project," said co-publisher Dave Senecal. "If you're going to expand a genre, you've got to act globally."

We caught up with two-thirds of Omnibucket's brain(-eating) trust at Stauf's Coffee Roasters in Grandview.

Why a zombie artifacts book?

Scott: The horror/zombie genres can be a little cheesy. We started off wanting to do a fine art book centered around something that's not fine art. We said, "Let's start with something we know, something that's got its own fan base." This was an interesting way to see if we're doing the right things.

Dave: I am the big zombie fan. It was kind of like a vacation for me, since I show more traditional artwork in galleries. There are many specific anthologies that don't give any opportunity to push the boundaries of the genre. We wanted to bring together people who are independently doing great stuff and see what happens. Part of our mission is to advance these people who are the best and brightest in their field.

With a compilation format like this, there's always a risk of the story seeming disjointed.

Dave: The progression [of the story] was something that was very deliberate and very subtle. The people who have seen it have picked up on the flow. When we sat down and ordered the pieces, we really thought about what would happen first, what would happen next and how would humans adapt to the world. It sort of reflects how the timeline would unfold.

Scott: We wanted do a series of vignettes and art pieces—not a straight narrative or a sequential art book. We wanted to keep it 50-50 at least. [Even with] the essay in the middle, it has a really good flow.

What's in the works for the future?

Scott: In a couple months, we're doing a project called God's Acre, which involves two kids in a graveyard near their house. This will be another one where we don't want a comic book or just a straight narrative. It's like a children's book—but not for children. We want to have a sense of natural imagination.

Dave: A lot of time with graphic novels, the text and art are so integrated that they get lost in each other. With God's Acre, we want to keep them distinct.

How did Omnibucket start out?

Scott: It started as a portfolio of art, music and media stuff. It quickly became the Ology magazine back in May 2005—a fun way to compile cool things Dave, [co-publisher] Angie Needels and I were doing, mixed with promotional stuff. Now, we are really looking for ways to bring back the concept of "story" outside the typical publishing methods.

Dave: My background is in studio art and in hypermedia—taking older trends and incorporating something new. When we started out, we saw the traditions of older media and decided to do something more than the typical art house.

For more info, click to omnibucket.com

April 27, 2006