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Roger Ma, Zombie Fighter

Jaya Saxena

Published Apr 6, 2010

Modified Apr 10, 2010

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Jaya Saxena

Published Apr 6, 2010

Modified Apr 10, 2010

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Brooklyn is a dangerous place. There are muggings, exploding manholes, and if you're not careful, zombies. And for those of us who have no idea how to defend ourselves in the increasingly inevitable zombie apocalypse, Roger Ma is here. Taking the sage advice "In times of peace, prepare for war," the Brooklyn native has assembled a handy guide, The Zombie Combat Manual, for any lay person wondering what the best short-range weapon would be most effective in hand-to-zombie combat. It includes a full conditioning manual, guides to different weapons, and even witness reports detailing zombie attacks and battles. The book is mostly a gag, but is surprisingly powerful, with stories of life on the front line that parallel any other wartime narrative. Ma talked to us about the impending zombie threat and his favorite bagel place. Hopefully never the twain shall meet.

Where in Brooklyn did you grow up? Midwood, a block away from the now-infamous Madison High School.

What do you do when you're not defending yourself from zombies? When I’m not defending myself against zombies, I’m thinking about defending myself against zombies.

What started your interest in the undead? Growing up, my dad would take my younger brother and me to the movies on weekends. One weekend, at my urging, he took us to see George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead at the Kingsway Theater on Coney Island Avenue. Since Dawn was released in 1978, I was probably around eight, and my brother was three. We’ve both been messed up over the living dead ever since.

I'm sure this is going to get a lot of comparisons to Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide. You address this a bit in the book's introduction, but what makes your book different, or more likely to keep us alive in case of the zombie apocalypse? I’ll start by saying that I love Max Brooks’ work; his survival guide was an inspiration for me to write this book. As a zombie fan, I wanted to address the one issue that I’ve never really seen handled in detail in any zombie work: what if you don’t have a gun? Most people, New Yorkers especially, aren’t going to have a firearm on their hip when a zombie outbreak occurs. Even if you do, you’re probably going to run out of ammunition at some time. Everyone needs to know how to bring down an attacking cadaver with a hand weapon, be it a battle axe, crowbar, even your bare hands. That’s what I hope people learn from this book.

How did you research all this anatomy and weaponry? I guess I’m lucky to have quite a few friends who are physicians. My sister-in-law, one of the consultants for the book, is an orthopedist, so I pored over her anatomy texts to make sure I was accurate in my skeletal analysis. Other doctors I know helped with the dentistry, ER, and psychological stuff. One of my other consultants is a medieval reenactment actor, so he helped a lot with the historical weaponry.

Zombies aside for a second, what else do you do for a living? What made you get into that? I've worked in marketing for most of my career, so I've always had to write for my job, much of it being marketing copy or business articles. I suppose I got into it for the reason many people do - it affords you a certain level of creativity while also operating in the business world.

**So then when did you get the idea to start protecting people from zombies?**The seed for the book was planted probably four years ago, when I was looking into getting a handgun license in NYC and learned that it was probably easier becoming mayor than getting one. I thought to myself “Man, if zombies attack the city, I’m totally screwed,” and began thinking of different ways to neutralize a walking corpse without a firearm. That’s when I started developing content for the Zombie Combat Club, which eventually led to writing the manual.

I started the Zombie Combat Club website shortly after I came up with the idea for the book. I guess what drove me to start it was that it helped structure my thinking around what topics in undead combat I wanted to address in detail. Plus, I really like the idea that it's not a dojo or an academy where there is one figurehead teaching everyone else. It's a Zombie Combat Club, meaning that everyone who is a part of it can contribute something of value.

Has your day job helped at all with your zombie research? Years of dealing with difficult art directors has made me resilient to the threat of zombie attack.

Hah. So what do you think is the best weapon to use in a zombie attack? Ahhh, trick question. The “best” weapon is the one you have at the ready during an attack. People make the mistake of preparing for when the dead rise by buying an expensive weapon, like a thousand-dollar samurai sword, and wind up shoving it into a closet behind the boxes of winter clothing. The other mistake people make with weapons is “going Freudian,” or choosing a weapon that’s just way too big or heavy for their physical build. In undead combat, bigger is not necessarily better.

When zombies aren't around, what's your favorite part about living in New York? The fact that in New York, should the dead begin to walk in the city, you could seal off the island to isolate the rest of the boroughs from infection. That, and bagels from Terrace Bagels.

Do you have a favorite New York moment? I was walking with a friend in Park Slope towards the Barnes & Noble, talking about how Steve Buscemi lived in the area and how damn cool he is. As I’m approaching the bookstore’s door, who do I see walking towards me but none other than Mr. Pink. I hold the door open for him, he says “Thanks.” We then proceeded to stalk him for 10 minutes in the magazine aisle.

Awesome! So ok, now that the book is out, everyone is going to know what to do in case of a zombie attack. What are your future plans? Any interest in defending the world from werewolves or yeti? Now Jaya, you know that werewolves and abominable snowmen don't really exist.

The Zombie Combat Manual is out today on Berkley Trade. Roger Ma and book illustrator YN Heller will be signing copies of The Zombie Combat Manual at the Park Slope Barnes & Noble on April 9th at 7:30. There will be a zombie defense lecture, Q&A, and a make-up artist on-site early to “zombify” anyone wanting to safely join the ranks of the living dead.

Tagged

brooklyn

interview

roger ma

zombie combat club

zombie combat manual

zombies

Jaya Saxena

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