Brandy Sims, left, of Studio Makeup Academy, applies makeup to Rhiannon Walsh outside Brave New World comic store.
Francisca Rivas (The Signal)

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By Melissa Gasca
Signal Staff Writer
mgasca@the-signal.com
661-259-1234 x518
Posted: Oct. 18, 2009  10:45 p.m.
POSTED  Oct. 19, 2009 4:55 a.m.

As daylight disappeared Saturday, more than 500 bloodied and oozing zombies shambled down Main Street on the hunt for living flesh and frightened victims.

"I want to eat some brains. I missed out on lunch," said Anthony Villwock, of Acton, as he prepared to follow the rest of the walking dead through downtown Newhall.

But before Villwock and the zombie crowd could fulfill their own cravings, they made their contributions to the living hungry.

The wannabe zombie crowd filled more than twelve shopping carts with canned goods for the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. The donations were the zombies' tickets to participate in the Main Street Zombie March hosted by Brave New World comic book shop.

By 6 p.m., when the march was scheduled to start, Brave New World had already registered more than 500 zombie walkers. More participants meant more canned goods and check donations for the food pantry and a more spectacular show for unsuspecting witnesses.

"There are a lot of families, teens, adults (and) little kids," said Portlyn Freeman, co-owner of Brave New World.

The march even brought out creatures from outside the SCV who discovered the planned gathering through social networking sites like Facebook or the Heritage Haunt Web site, www.scvhaunt.com.

"I am a zombie adolescent psychologist and my name is William D. Vower," said Mark Freeman, of Chatsworth, with a fake eyeball hanging out of his right eye socket. "My wife is an educator and her name is Ms. Earry."

For David Zuckman, of Canyon Country, it wasn't hard to tap into his inner zombie.

"I hobble towards people saying ‘braaains' or something along those lines," Zuckman said. "I go back to my acting roots ... and it really brings out the zombie in me."

On Main Street, the zombie crowd looked for retailers to terrorize. But the owners of the Way Station Coffee Shop were not troubled. They even had candy "body parts" and Jell-O "brain snacks" for the hungry zombies.

"We are very zombie friendly," said co-owner Lynda James. "The Way Station discriminates against no one."

Most zombies did not hold back when it came to scaring their unsuspecting victims, no matter what age they were.

Five-year-old Arwen O'Dell clung to her mother's arm as the zombie crowd passed her on Main Street.

"When I saw two little zombies, they scared me," Arwen said. "I'm scared of all of them."

The O'Dells were aware the march was planned and grabbed a bench on Main Street to watch.

"Being scared this time of year is fun," said Atom!, co-owner of Brave New World. "People go to things like Heritage Haunt because they like being scared and they like that thrill.

"Something very deep inside of us wants that fight or flight once in a while and our daily lives don't necessarily give it to us."

Those near the Canyon Theatre Guild witnessed the zombies unleash their own performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" Dance.

Many of the wannabe zombies lined up for hours before the march in front of Brave New World to have their gory makeup done by The Studio Makeup Academy - free of charge - and enjoy a pre-walk smoothie, courtesy of Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees and Smoothies.

Earlier in the day, Brave New World hosted a book signing by local horror writer Kevin VanHook, author of "Superman & Batman vs. Vampires & Werewolves."

Atom! initially pitched the Main Street Zombie March as a way to promote the Heritage Haunt at William S. Hart Park. When Heritage Haunt and city officials liked and approved of the idea, the event snowballed and attracted hundreds of residents through online sites, according to the comic store's Web site.

"You don't see this everyday," a grey-faced and blood-wearing Zuckman said. "I'm just here to have fun and scare people that don't understand what's going on."

One of those unsuspecting spectators was Gabriel Guerrero who happened to be out on Main Street when he was surrounded by hosts of zombies.

"I didn't expect it," Guerrero said through a Spanish translator. "I was on this street earlier and I didn't say anything and all of sudden these zombies started coming up."

After the undead marched through downtown Newhall and back up to William S. Hart Park, many headed back to Brave New World for the "Zombie Prom."

"We knew it was going to be fun ... and we knew we'd be able to raise a lot of food for food pantry," Atom! said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From a field of thousands, twelve nominees and six finalists were chosen. Brave New World Comics, in Santa Clarita, CA, then emerged as the 2008 recipient of the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award. The award, presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International: San Diego, is given to an individual retailer who has done an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in their own community and within the industry at large. Each year, Comic-Con honors one extraordinary retailer, from stores around the globe with the award, named for comics pioneer Will Eisner, the visionary creator of The Spirit who is widely-regarded as the “Founding Father of the Graphic Novel”. Eisner felt it was vital to acknowledge the important role that comic book retailers play in the comics industry, as well as how they nurture the relationship between the creators and their readers.

Nominated stores are judged by a panel of comic book creators, press, distributors, publishers, and past recipients of the award. These judges pore over written materials and a 5-minute video, while also considering each nominees work within the comic book industry and how they interact with their community. The award is then presented at the Will Eisner Awards Gala, likened to the “Academy Awards of Comics”. On hand to see the award presented this year were celebrities and comic fans, including Samuel L. Jackson, stars from ‘Reno 911’, comics luminary Frank Miller (creator of Sin City and 300 and director of Sin City and the upcoming film The Spirit) and a who’s who of comics and entertainment.

Brave New World, located in Los Angeles’ Santa Clarita Valley, was in good company. With stores from California (Manhattan Beach’s ‘Comics Bug’), Florida (Lauder Hill’s ‘Tate’s Comics’), New York (Brooklyn’s ‘ROCKETSHIP Comics’), Maine (Portland’s ‘Casablanca Comics’), and North Carolina (‘Chapel Hill Comics’ in Chapel Hill) the field of nominees was as diverse as the geography it spanned. “Having had the pleasure to visit Brave New World, I was delighted to be present when they received this recognition. I have visited many stores, but very few are as deserving as Atom! & Portlyn Freeman are,” said Chris Powell, President Pro Tem of ComicsPRO, the comic industry’s retailer trade organization. “I’ve been impressed time and again with the wonderful work that they and their team at Brave New World do within the community, whether it’s working with area schools and libraries, teaching unique art classes in their store’s gallery and studio space, or hosting events that are fun for their entire neighborhood, they are always on the cutting edge of community-involved comics retailing.”

“It truly is an honor to have been nominated,” says Brave New World’s Portlyn, “but to be recognized for all of our hard work is extraordinary. We spend so much time promoting this medium within our community, and focusing on our customers, who have really become family over the years, that it’s surprising to find out that the industry as a whole is paying such close attention.” She went on to say, “The other five finalists really impressed us. In fact, it would have been no shock for any of them to receive the award. It’s exciting to see the face of comics retailing changing the way it is.”

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Atom! and Portlyn can be reached directly at 661.259.4745, or via mail@bravenewworldcomics.com

For additional information regarding the award and judging procedures, please contact Joe Ferrara, Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award administrator: 831.426.0158 or at joe@atlantisfantasyworld.com

To view the video that was submitted to the judges, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddCJMuaaG5w&channel=Bthree21