I am totes surviving the apocalypse and these books are why

Everything I know about surviving the coming apocalypse I learned from these books.

1. World War Z by Max Books
I will not purchase any black market organs infected with a zombie pandemic and then have said organs transplanted.

2. The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
I’m not opening the door for any of my dead relatives.

3. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
I will stay the heck away from fast zombies, especially when I'm in the forest.

4. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
I’m not climbing over the fence and going to a ghost amusement park at night, no matter how cute the boys are.

5. Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts
The minute my neighbors are possessed by an evil force, I’m getting out of town.

6. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
I’m not making friends with some strange girl who can walk in the sunlight. Not even if I was the last man on earth and everyone else was a vampire.

7. The Stand by Stephen King
I will not catch the flu. Cough. Cough.

8. Xombies: Apocalypse Blues by Walter Greatshell
If blue Xombies come, I’m having a hysterectomy. (Sorry for being so blunt)

9. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I am disguising myself as a guy and hiding from cannibals.

10. The Children of Men by P.D. James
I will do everything possible to make sure the last baby survives. Everything. Possible.

Above artwork by Mike Butkus, from How To Draw Zombies, published by Walter Foster

Getting in touch with your inner monster

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love monsters. I fell in love with them when I was just a kid. Vincent Price ruled the cinema in the ‘60s, and nearly every movie had some sort of creepy villain in it. So I was thrilled when artist, Jack Ruttan, offered to turn me into a vampire. I mean, isn’t that every woman’s secret desire? Immortality, eternal youth, an interesting dental plan.


Believe it or not, he didn’t stop there. He made me a zombie too. Now I’ve got two new monster avatars. Look out, world. Monster Merrie is here.


Anyway, I’m not the kind to keep all the cool toys for myself. I like to share. So I asked Jack to tell us a little about himself. I wanted you to find out how you can get your own scary avatar.

Jack's interview is below:

MERRIE: What is your background as an artist?
JACK: I'm self-taught. My mom was a watercolorist.

MERRIE: Well, you are definitely talented. If anybody wants to take a peek at what Jack does when he’s not drawing monsters, here’s a link to his website. Jack, why did you decide to start drawing monster portraits?

JACK: I thought it would be fun for Halloween. Actually, twittering with you, hearing about your book, How to Draw Zombies, gave me the idea. Then I had the brainstorm of thinking wouldn't it be cool if a lot of people zombiefied or monster-ized themselves just for Halloween, and sensed a business opportunity.

MERRIE: I think it’s a great idea! Everyone should get zombiefied. What’s the next step for you?

JACK: I'm going to set up an online web store, and zombify people for a fee (see below). It's a little late, and I wish I had the idea earlier, but I wanted to do this eventually to try and sell my usual watercolors, and this was a good push to get me started.

Monsters are a challenge, because I normally try to draw cute and charming things. But I love monsters, even though my parents would take me to the student counselor when I drew them. So, I've censored myself a bit. It's fun to get back into them, because I love horror movies and comics, not to mention "Rat Fink," Topps Bubblegum cards, and those bizarre cartoons from the 1960s. I'm getting in touch with my inner monster.

But it's actually a bit of a challenge, cause I want it to look like the person, and be fun and scary at the same time. Also make sense when shrunk to a tiny twitter icon.

MERRIE: I’ve always loved monsters too. What type of monsters do you like to draw best?

JACK: Some of the ones I mentioned above. I like Orcs and alien beings. Also dinosaurs and cryptids. Godzilla and his friends. Almost anything really, because I'm really just getting into it.

MERRIE: Well, I’m glad you are! Where can people find out more about your art?

JACK: At my website, also my sketch blog, and now my tumblr, which is sort of like my giant version of twitter. I like the web obviously. See my webcomic done in collaboration with R. Gagnon: The Skinny Nameless Punk.

MERRIE: If someone wanted to get their own monster portrait, approximately how much would it cost and how long would it take?

JACK: I'm thinking $20, and give me a day or two. For $35.00 plus $3.00 postage and packing, I'll send them the watercolor original, which will measure 9 x 9 cm, and be prettily matted (that will take a little more time). I've also got a Paypal account. Not sure how that works!

Send me a shot you want zombified or vampirized. Pets, even. $30 if it's more than one person in the picture. Three or four, we'll talk. Also other commissions!

MERRIE: If someone wanted to get their own monster portrait, how should they contact you?

JACK: You can e-mail at: jack [dot] ruttan090 [at] sympatico [dot] ca. And you can visit my Twitter profile here.

Thanks SO much for stopping by today, Jack. These profile avatars are creepy and cool and beyond awesome! I hope I start seeing them all over the place soon. The world needs more monsters.