Why are zombies such a big hit?

What makes us human? is the strap line from the huge TV drama 'the walking dead.' It stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies.The drama started in 2010 and is now on its fifth series with an estimated $1 million spent per episode and has won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series. The writer, Robert Kirkman has said publicly that his goal in life was to be paid for doing something he loved to do, and in his case it is telling stories.

As an aside his first comic book was called Battle Pope which featured Jesus fighting demons released on the earth, an overpowered Lucifer and God who comes in at the end to save the world. The story finishes with the Pope and Jesus becoming room mates. This shows that Kirkman had strong biblical influences in his writing at the start. The usual themes are there, good versus evil with evil looking like its going to win, a supposedly distant God, good wins at the end. Much of Kirkman's life at the time of his first publication was epitomised by struggles with debt, dead end jobs, and pressure from family to grow up past comic books (ironic when it became a huge moneymaker).But why is the The Walking Dead so popular? Surely zombie stories have a short shelf life? Kirkman admits his comic book stories are dark and reflect his own inner fears. As a married man with two kids he has hopes for the future and he accepts he has no control over his circumstances.

Perhaps that's why the series is jam packed full of heroes, people who take control of their situation. Like Bob Marley said we are all looking for stories of redemption, and in The Walking Dead, the whole saga is about being driven to overcome impossible odds, joining forces with people you would normally avoid, watching out for each other, and believing that good can overcome evil. There is a deep seated belief that finally we can reach a promised land of some kind, a place of safety, a place where disease and death no longer have power over us and we can rest.

This is really the deep seated story of all humanity. The zombies are really just a bit of blood and gore to provide action and drama, and every good story needs a protagonist, a baddie, someone to fear who gets defeated. I find it fascinating that alongside zombies, the story of the bible is making a comeback on our tv screens. I suppose the bible is full of the walking dead (zombie jesus) and redemption is the big idea, fighting against sin, sickness and satan, with God winning in the end.