Xombie (Web Animation)

Xombie is a Flash animation and comic book series by James Farr. A 6-year-old girl, Zoe, wakes up on a beach with no memory of how she got there. When she wanders into a cemetery, she discovers why the place is so deserted. Zombies begin rising up from the ground, and gather around her. As the zombies close in, a lone figure enters the scene, and proceeds to summarily OWN the gathering zombies...with a shovel. This lone figure is Dirge, a "variant", a zombie that retains cognitive functions, but no memory of who or what he once was. He decides to escort Zoe through miles of zombie-infested wasteland, accompanied by a zombie police-dog called Cerberus, to a nearby human settlement.

Along the way to the Acropolis, Zoe and Dirge gain new allies: Nephthys, another variant, dressed like a mummy and wielding a scythe with ninja-like ability, and Chimaera, a zombie Velociraptor from the Natural History Museum. They also learn more about the origin of the variants, and meet new enemies, the "Hands of God", Cthulhoid cyborgs/aliens that know a lot about Dirge.

The comic book continues the story, picking up 9 years after the events from the original animations. Disaster has struck the human settlement, and Dirge is the only one who can help. We gain a glimpse of the human settlement's culture, a rigid theocracy, ruled over by a half-mad, babbling priest named Ammon. We find out /much/ more about the zombies and the aliens here, as well as hints about Dirge's former past. He is likely Zoe's father.

As of September, 2009, DreamWorks is pursuing the rights to a live-action movie.

The videos are available from eXploding Pickle, a Flash animation site. See below for a numbered list.

  1. Chapter 1 [dead link]
  2. Chapter 2: Cadillacs & Cadavers [dead link]
  3. Chapter 3: Grinding Organs [dead link]
  4. Chapter 4: Relics & Reptiles [dead link]
  5. Chapter 5 is split into two parts:
    1. Chapter 5.1: The Exhibit, Reel One [dead link]
    2. Chapter 5.2: The Exhibit, Reel Two [dead link]
  6. Chapter 6: The Hands of God [dead link]
  7. Chapter 7: Thunder & Light [dead link]
  8. Chapter 8: Death Under Wraps [dead link]
  9. Chapter 9: Falling Forever [dead link]
  10. Chapter 10: Hallowed Grounds [dead link]
Tropes used in Xombie (Web Animation) include:
  • Affably Evil: Mr. Gallows (arguably Faux Affably Evil).
  • Alien Invasion: It's hinted that the zombie virus, Nekrosis, was created as a weapon by an alien race, probably for the purpose of taking over the world.
    • Actually, Word of God states that those aren't aliens in the traditional extra terrestrial sense It is directly stated in the comic that Nekrosis isn't actually a virus but part of a hive mind race of pathogens. The aliens themselves are super-evolved super-intelligent version of Nekrosis.
  • Artificial Limbs: In Chapter 10 Dirge lost his left arm and had it replaced with one of the Hands of God's arms.
  • Berserk Button: Dirge (Zoe), and Zoe (Dirge).
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Zoe (several times). First, she takes Dirge's shovel and re-kills a Strong-man zombie from the Circus of Fear by cutting the wires holding up a sky-ride car. Next, she severely injures an alien monster with an exploding teddy bear. Finally, in the comic, she fakes out Mr. Gallows and then shoots him. You do not mess with this girl.
  • Bulletproof Vest: A modified variant appears in the comic (Dirge installs a "titanium disulfide" skull plate, rendering him impervious to headshots, as Mr. Gallows demonstrates in the laboratory. "What's the matter, lose something important?" - Dirge
    • He also wears a big metal collar, eliminating the advantage of cutting off his head.
  • Children Are Innocent: It started out, but soon averted with Zoe.
  • Church Militant: Father Ammon is head of the religious in the human settlement, and is your standard, run-of-the-mill traditionalist fanatic that views all zombies as EVIL EVIL EVIL!
  • Circus of Fear: In Chapter 3, Zoe & Dirge end up in a zombified circus.
  • Daddy's Girl: Zoe and Dirge, to some extent (more so in the comic), although Dirge is more of a "surrogate father" (at least, that's what they want you to think).
  • Deadpan Snarker: Almost everyone gets at least one moment, even 6-year-old Zoe.
  • Disappeared Dad: At the beginning of the comic, we discover that Zoe's dad has been dead for an as-yet unstated length of time.
  • Dog Dies At the End: Subverted. In Chapter 8 of the original animations, the last we see of Cerberus is him being de-limbed by several alien shurikens. But he's back to normal at the end of Chapter 10.
  • Faking the Dead: Zoe plays dead when Mr. Gallows shoots her, thus triggering Dirge's Berserk Button. She then grabs the anti-zombie gun from the floor, throws Gallows' words right back at him, and shoots him.
    • She earlier actually jokes with this trope. Where after a car crash, Dirge asks if she is alright. Her immediate reply is "Arrg... Brains"
  • Improbable Weapon User: Dirge uses a shovel as a weapon, and is more awesome with it than many other characters would be with any conventional weapon.
  • Ms. Fanservice
  • Necessarily Evil: Mr. Gallows. He doesn't have any grudge against humans, he just doesn't want them to cure zombification, because he wants to keep living.
  • Not Using the Z Word: The entire series is called "Xombie" after all. Ironically however, in the series they are never referred to as Xombies, just Talkers and Variants.
    • Mostly because it's pronounced exactly the same and thus you'd have to waste time clarifying anyway.
  • Our Zombies Are Different: Dirge, Nephthys, and Gallows
  • Outlaw: Mr. Gallows from the comic (also has elements of The Rustler).
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Zoe, to some extent.
  • Sacrifice: Subverted twice. First, Nephthys is cut in half by boomerang alien shurikens, and then Dirge draws the fire of the automated defense systems in order to destroy one of the aliens.
  • Shout-Out: If you look in the endless hoard of zombies, you can see Waldo.
  • The Virus: The Nekrosis Virus responsible for the Zombie Apocalypse.
  • This Is Sparta: Zoe in the comic, when she destroys an alien bloodhound with her blood, shouting "LEAVE! US! ALONE!"
  • What Could Have Been: Dirge's weapon was originally planned to be a helicopter blade.
  • What Have I Become?: Dirge, and later Zoe (partially)
  • You Fail Biology Forever: Too much to list.
  • You Fail Geology Forever: Dinosaurs were not found in the Ice Age, nor were they found frozen in mud to such a great point of preservation.
  • Zombie Apocalypse
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