Shane and Griggs: Foils in Zombie Fiction

While writing the second book in the Zombie Ascension series (Queen of the Dead), I keep thinking one of my characters is a lot like another character in a wildly popular television show. It's not intentional and some of the comparisons are weak, but I think both characters underscore important ideas.

Patrick Griggs, a former police detective who was fired from his job because he came apart at the seams; he couldn't keep his family life together, due in part to his addiction to pornography. He shares a lot of traits that Shane exhibits in The Walking Dead. Yes—Shane. You remember Shane, don't you? How are they similar? Why does it matter? 

Let's answer the first question. Griggs has been exposed to violence. He worked in Detroit's homicide department, his career choice heavily influenced by his father's police career. From his first crime scene, Griggs accepted violence and murder as nothing more than common occurrences; blood and death weren't a big deal. He married and had kids because it was something men were expected to do, in his opinion. Secretly, he enjoyed coming to work, but gradually became unhappy because he didn't feel fulfilled. The depravity and dehumanization of porn influenced him to jump into the porn business after his wife left him and his detective career had been lost. 

Shane may've also seen his share of violence; he's also used to making difficult choices. He'll do anything to survive once the zombie apocalypse begins, and he firmly believes that he's always doing the right thing for the good of the group. He's a pragmatist, and holds no illusions about what's at stake. He'll go to any lengths to get what he wants, including murder. Like Griggs, Shane's primary goal is to reunite with the woman he loves more than anything. Both men have felt misunderstood, but Griggs has Mina, and Shane has Lori. Or so they think.

Griggs and Shane are both selfish people, but as we learn more about their ideals, we see how far gone these men have become; they've rationalized their violent actions as part of a belief system that keeps them alive. This blind faith in a methodology does not make them right; they're counters to moral "correctness" in a world where morality may have expired with the milk everyone left in the refrigerators. They’re both tortured men--we want to sympathize with them, but we often decide not to because they're "bad" men. 

Both of these characters are important because they provide balance to their stories; they're fates are embedded and conflicted with the protagonists'. They don't represent evil, but rather provide the questions. They often serve as a quasi-Greek chorus, questioning whether or not morality still reigns in a world gone mad, or helping us discover it all over again. Just as Griggs is the counterpoint to Vega's crusade to find innocence in the wreckage of her life, Shane—and the Governor—provide the counterargument to Rick's morals. 

These characters aren't always antagonists. They're foils—and they've been a part of the Western storytelling tradition for centuries. They're important to a story for obvious reasons. By the time Queen of the Dead is unleashed upon the world in mid-July, I'll finally know whether or not Griggs will be around in the final book.

Why Does a Werewolf Have a Katana?

 A werewolf is sometimes in human form, right?

Like vampires and zombies, werewolves come with expectations: they rely on the phases of the moon to transform into a beast and they're weak against silver. In a werewolf story, we often find the protagonist struggle with humanity while attempting to reconcile its existence as a beast.

With the Japanese Werewolf Apocalypse serial, I've decided to combine Japanese myth with Manga expectations and Takashi Miike-style gore. Werewolves don't need the moon to transform; they're ancient spirits that curse humans, and once the wolf is destroyed, it returns to a lifestream, which is a netherworld of spirit energy, until it randomly curses another human. The werewolves can be permanently destroyed when the heart is destroyed by a silver weapon—one common element I kept from werewolf mythos.

Speaking of elements, these beasts have powers, too. Each wolf possesses wind, fire, water, or earth energy, and each elemental "clan" is represented by an ancient werewolf (there were preceding "representatives," but that's a story for another day).

And then there are the clanless. The scourge of the werewolf species; as long as the elements remain in balance, the world itself remains balanced. The werewolf elementals are essential, and for the most part, they're hardly bloodthirsty beasts. However, the clanless represent chaos, and there are some who believe the werewolf species should rule over mankind in a savage, violent world.

The clanless are hunted in every corner of the globe.

Why does a werewolf have a katana? In her quest for vengeance against humanity, Ritsuko Kita wields a blade with terrible powers, and with it, she can awaken an ancient power to unite the clanless in an apocalyptic war against man.

Let's meet the cast of the first episode of JWA:

Edmund Grant: An American werewolf hunter whose personal vendetta against the beasts give him a taste for violence; once he destroys the last clanless, he will extend his crusade against all of the creatures, though this is against the rules and traditions of the hunter caste.

Takeshi Asa: A college student who is dragged into a werewolf-hunting escapade because his ancestors have served the Society, the group of hunters dedicated to destroying the clanless. Though he received the proper instruction for hunting, he still doesn't believe it. To him, it's nothing more than a silly fantasy, though he is honor-bound to carry out his father's wishes.

Ritsuko Kita: Armed with a mysterious katana, this woman claims allegiance to the fire clan, though her true intentions involve a lust for revenge that can only be satisfied when every human is wiped off the face of the planet.

Sano: The ancient representative of the fire clan, he once created the Society to combat an uprising of clanless wolves that were led by his lover, Amano. Sano once believed in maintaining the elemental balance, but his faith in humanity has been lost. He now languishes in solitude, and many believe him to be dead. 

The first episode is only 99 Cents! 

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Let me know what you think! Leave a review to help keep the series going! Episode Two will be on the way very shortly...!!!