The zombie phenomenon is unique in Western popular culture. From its origins in the voodoo beliefs of Haiti, it has become a key ingredient in today's cinema, popular literature and comics. With one simple premise that the dead rise again to feast on the living and turn them into zombies, the undead have inspired a huge variety of artists to explore ideas of survival, morality, fear, humour and horror. ZOMBIES! is the first book to take a wide look at the whole phenomenon, from low budget cult movies to long-running comics and best-selling humour novels. With stunning imagery, and an authoritative and entertaining text from one of the worlds most distinguished experts on the genre, plus a foreword by master of horror George A. Romero, this tome will appall and delight the reader in equal measure.
Jovanka Vuckovic is a Gemini award winning filmmaker, author and artist. Her first short film The Captured Bird (winner of four international Best Short Film awards) was executive produced Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim, Pan's Labyrinth) and was an official selection at over 50 festivals around the globe including the Worldwide Short Film Festival, Fantasia, Sitges, Fantastic Fest, Atlantic Film Festival and many more. It will have an unprecedented theatrical release in Canada at 25 Cineplex Odeon theatres across Canada in May of 2013.
Her second short film Self Portrait was created for and showcased at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. In 2013 she was selected by the Toronto International Film Festival as one of 25 filmmakers from around the globe to participate in its high profile Emerging Filmmakers Competition. Her third short film, The Guest, was created for the competition.
Vuckovic studied Physical Anthropology at McMaster University and spent five years as a digital effects artist at CBC Television, where she earned a Gemini Award for Best Visual Effects. She became a celebrated genre film expert during her tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Rue Morgue Magazine and twice was named one of the most important women in the history of horror alongside Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and Debra Hill (Halloween).
Vuckovic is the author of Zombies! An Illustrated History of the Undead (St. Martin's Press) and the upcoming Vuckovic's Horror Miscellany from Ilex Press. She appears frequently on television and in documentaries as a genre film expert including the Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition), Zombiemania and Universal's The Future of Fear. Vuckovic is is currently in development on her first documentary feature. She lives in Toronto with her husband Shane and daughter Violet.
