Vampifan's Views 07 Festive Greetings

As we approach Christmas and the New Year I thought I'd do an editorial to look back on 2010 and let you know what to expect next year. This past year has seen my blog go from strength to strength. As I type this I have 105 followers and my hit counter is just shy of 70,000, both of which are fantastic achievements. For me, one of the best things to happen to my blog is that I started my All Things Zombie campaign with my alter ego, Vampifan, taking centre stage. I deliberately set out to make my batreps as instructional as possible to help newcomers come to grips with the rules of the game. From the feedback I've received I certainly succeeded in that goal. I would like to do some purely narrative batreps and I have a scenario in mind for one. Before I can run it I need to get more scenery made, specifically a headquarters for Team Vampifan. One of their first goals next year will be to find somewhere in Mayhem City that they can call home. It also needs to be big enough to accommodate newcomers to the group. That is Vampifan's second objective - to recruit more survivors. For the HQ, I'm thinking of basing it on the Mayhem Junkyard. With its perimeter wall, it should make a good defensive outpost. I've been making a few Ebbles prefabricated buildings, which come in four sizes. They'll do fine for barracks, store-rooms and garages. So, lots to look forward to folks. Also, bear in mind, my last scenario took place on the night of Project Lazarus. So in future, expect to see Ragers and Smart Zombies joining in (yikes!).
Moving on to books, films and TV, 2010 turned out to be a poor year for horror films at the cinema but much better for DVD buying. My favourite undead related film that I saw at the cinema this year was Resident Evil: Afterlife in 3D. Alice sure knows how to kick zombie butt. All hail St. Milla! Best DVD went to True Blood series 2. I don't have satellite TV so I missed The Walking Dead TV series, but I am so looking forward to buying it on DVD when it's released next year. It'll be a tough call to decide which is best - True Blood series 3 or The Walking Dead series 1. I also enjoyed the zombie movies of Doghouse, Survival of the Dead, Zombieland and The Horde that I'd bought on DVD earlier this year.
As for books, I probably read more zombie novels in 2010 than I have in any other year. I have a huge collection of vampire novels but not many zombie novels. I made a deliberate effort to change that at the start of the year. I have no hesitation in choosing Feed by Mira Grant as the best novel I read this year. It is set 20 years after a zombie apocalypse and the world has changed forever. It follows the fortunes of a group of very successful bloggers who are chosen to record the campaign of a presidential nominee during election year. With bloggers as the heroes I was immediately drawn to them. The book starts off slowly, with zombies being almost incidental to the plot, but  once the heroes get the campaign gig, it really kicks off and by the end I literally couldn't put it down. I read the last 150 pages in one sitting as I was so caught up in the story. Oh, and it has one hell of a surprise ending that I just never saw coming. An outstanding novel. In fact, it was so good both my parents read it and enjoyed it as much as I did and they have never read a zombie novel in their lives!
Looking to the future, there won't be any major changes to how I run my blog. Figure reviews will continue to dominate most posts. Expect to see more size comparison photos in 2011. The zombie one proved very popular and I'll probably do a follow up to it later in the year as I add to my horde. Also, I'll continue with my scenery reviews and ATZ batreps. For January, I have something new planned. I plan on showcasing some of my undead related artwork. It says in my profile that I'm a graphic designer. One of my most pleasing assignments was to illustrate an anthology of short stories about vampires. I'll do a post to let you see my illustrations. I have a secret project that I'd love to share with you but I'm keeping it under wraps until it's finalised. For the moment, let's just call it "the Italian Job."
For me, one of the most pleasing aspects of 2010 was seeing the launch of so many new blog sites dedicated to zombie gaming. You guys know who you are and I'm proud to call you all friends. What I love about this blogging lark is we are a community. There is no rivalry or oneupmanship. I go out of my way to help others whenever I can and the positive feedback I get is more than enough reward. To everyone who runs a blog I salute you and I wish you every success. To those who just follow or lurk, my sincere thanks to you as well. Feedback is the lifeblood of any blog and I feel blessed to have so many enthusiastic followers willing to share their views.
The picture that I chose to illustrate this post is of course, Vampirella, in a festive mood. It is by comic artist Kevin Lau, who illustrated many of the Vampi comics.
So all that remains is for me to wish you a very happy Christmas and a joyous New Year. Peace and goodwill to you all.