Remembering George A. Romero by Jonathan Maberry
Steve Barton
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I was at a signing in San Diego for Nights of the Living Dead when the store manager interrupted to tell me that George A. Romero had passed. It was a surreal moment. I had just finished recounting the anecdote of how I first encounter Romero’s work.
I was ten years old and I’d snuck into a movie house to see the world premiere of Night of the Living Dead. Way back in October 1968. I’d just told the audience how my best friend was traumatized by the movie and fled midway through it, and how I’d stayed to see it twice. And kept coming back every day. In the forty-nine years since I’ve not only seen all of his movies many, many times, but have become deeply involved in what’s come to be known as ‘zombie pop culture’. My first thriller, Patient Zero was a zombie book. My novels Dead of Night and Fall of Night were dedicated to George. I’ve written comics in that genre–Marvel Zombies Return and Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher; as well as scores of short stories, a series of successful Young Adult novels, nonfiction books, essays and articles. I was an expert on the History Channel’s “Zombies: A Living History” and was on the commentary track for Night of the Living Dead Reanimated, and collaborated with George on the anthology that just launched from Griffin. It’s fair to said that at least a quarter of my professional writing career has focused on some aspect of zombies.
None of that would have happened had it not been for George Romero. Just as “The Walking Dead” would not have happened. Or World War Z, Warm Bodies, Resident Evil, “Z Nation,” Zombieland, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Girl With All the Gifts, and… well… the effect of Romero on pop culture cannot – truly cannot—be understated. There’s nowhere on earth you can go where zombies are unknown. There is no part of industry, culture, the arts, science, advertising, marketing and so on where zombies have not been used as a metaphor, a joke, a gimmick, a creative element. Except for, perhaps, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, there is no other fictional construct that is as pervasive. Or as much fun.
George was always surprised by that. He shook his head when people praised him, even laughed it off when they said he was as influential as he truly was. George was like that. Affable, humble, agreeable, fun, smart, kind and genuine. He was also my friend. During the process of editing Nights we grew close and had some laughs. He enjoyed inviting our contributors into his creepy playground to write stories about his monsters. He loved the stories, too. Every last one of them.
A massive career high for me was when he told me that he loved Dead of Night so much that he wanted me to wrote a story for Nights that officially connected that book with the movie that started it all, Night of the Living Dead. Since that book is also connected to my Joe Ledger thrillers, it means that huge chunks of what I’ve written to honor George are now part of the world he created. The adult I am and the ten year old I was when I first saw his landmark movie are cheering as much as we’re heartbroken.
Thanks for everything, George. No joke. Thanks for everything.
– Jonathan Maberry
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