With Andy Zielinski, creator of
Marv the Zombie
(www.zombie-pirates.com)

Interview by: Lavalle Lee

1. What is Marv The Zombie?
   Marv is a comic strip character I created back in seventh grade for a contest on the kinjokids forum, now known as the 4M. He's basically just a zombified version of my mental personality--I throw my own personal experiences ("Chai Tea Latte?") and viewpoints ("Ice Age") into his personality throughout the comic, aside from the random ones ("Seal of Approval") that basically just spawn off of whatever I can come up with in my spare time.

2.) Who are the creators? Staff on this project??
   I myself am the sole creator of the comic strip--I plot them out, write all dialogue and do every last thing in Microsoft Paint, yet sometimes Adobe Photoshop is used to do little touches. I created the first comic in 2006 as just a simple one-panel strip, and Kinjokids forum administrator told me to do afew more, leading to a whole series..

3.) Why comic strips?
    If memory serves me right, I got the small idea to make a little one-panel strip of Marv The Zombie after I lost the character contest, just for kicks. The creator of www.Kinjokids.com Lavalle Lee reccommended that I make several more strips, which I managed to reach 10 with in one night. Afterwards, it became a regular series of comics, getting more detailed each time. I mainly do these because I've been making my own little comic strips at home on paper since I was a young child and I always wanted to try it on a computer. Plus I don't know a damn thing about Flash.

4.) Will there ever be an animated version? or a Series of movies?
   Funny you should ask that; lately I've been thinking about learning how to use Flash. Since I got to around strip #30, I've wanted to make some animated adventures of Marv, but still do comics. Marv did have a cameo in the flash cartoon The Emo's as a trick-or-treater. Other than that, he's still awaiting to have a lead role in a flash video, which, by the looks of it, shouldn't be too far off. Fans should definitely expect Marv's supple green face to be on Newgrounds and the 4M soon.

5.) Main cast of characters??
   The main cast of Marv The Zombie consists of Marv himself, a zombified male who enjoys eating tacos and ramen noodles; he also has a brief history in cinema and politics, including being a stunt assistant for Steven Seagal. His current works as a park ranger, although he hasn't shown up for work in a few months. His main look was inspired by Jay Leno and the zombie Bub from George Romero's Day of The Dead.

Since strip #29, the zombie named Fred has become a regular character in the series, showing up in 23 of the 73 strips and accompanying Marv on his fun little adventures. Fred is sometimes a timid fella, yet quite likeable. Most of him bares likeness of the zombie Tarman from Return of the Living Dead.

One of the brief side characters is Marv's obscure neighbor, Marty The Suicidal Cow. He has a strange urge to bond with Marv, even while he's on binges and complains over the smallest things. His wife Martha wants nothing to do with him and they both drink his own milk since he finds markets to be hoaky.

6.) Some advice/tips for people who want to get into making comics like yours?
   Like popular indie director Robert Rodriguez says, you have to stick with an idea you like and go forth with it. Folks who want to get into the business should definitely find something that they actually like and can build personality on. The best thing to do in this instance is start early and create it close to something you love--in my case, it's zombie movies. I am a huge fan of George A. Romero and other zombie flicks from the past 40 years. A zombie comic seemed like the best, most fun thing to approach; little did I know, the zombie comic became something big and an excellent side-thing during my time as a coffee shop employee. If anything, true believers, keep the initiative and push yourself that extra kilometer--anything is possible.

7.) What is the back story of Marv the Zombie?
   The character Marv was originally made for the Kinjokids forum contest where members could create their own characters--the winner would get its own flash cartoon and the creator would receive a plush kinjokitty. My first character, Zombie Ape, was rather disappointing and led to redesigns--one of them became Marv The Zombie. Although I lost the contest, I made a one-panel strip of Marv and became encouraged to create more comic strips. Around the first 15, I built the structure and personality of Marv and made it a full-fledged internet comic which is now somewhat popular on the internet.

8.) How can your fans help?
   I always encourage fans to give me ideas and submit thoughts on the comics. Fans help out all the time and inspire those quality Marv strips we all know and love. Those who do want to help can email me at fozziebear92@aol.com

9.) Where did you learn how to make comics and stories?
   When I was a wee little child, I used to spend many of my afternoons reading the comic strip Foxtrot, made by Bill Amend. I was a pretty damn good artist in my early years and lots of fellow children knew me as the boy who could draw really well. Along with reading the comics in the newspaper, I made lots of my own little comic strips, dealing with a fish stick living in the sea, a disoriented family, among other things. I did lots of this roughly up until 6th grade, when I started to get into action movies. So basically I taught myself how to do comics and tell jokes, and that really guided me as a funny guy through elementary and middle school. Now as a Junior, I make Marv's once a week and use my childhood methods to create the wonderful strips.

10.) Anything else you'd like to add?
   Yes, I'd like to thank The Academy....
I want to thank the fans for their dedication to the strip and all of their appreciation for my hard work to make the so-far 86 Marv The Zombie strips. It was one of the best moves I've made so far to create this comic series and I hope you'll all keep reading the future of Marv The Zombie. Thanks for interviewing me as well, Lavalle. It was a great pleasure!

(My response was no problem Andy!! Make more Marv Comics!!)

For anyone who is a zombie fan, and loves comics, Keep checking back to flashzombies.com to see when the new comic(s) are out!