This morning’s sketch was one of the cooler corpses in the set, a 1950s zombie with a leather jacket, jeans, and that undeniable greaser vibe.
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There are a few of these zombies in the series. I’ve recently drawn a big heavyset one, one that looked like it had just crawled out of a grave. There’s a blonde bombshell still waiting to show up. On past shows, I’ve talked about where zombies come from, what makes them tick, and how they’ve changed in movies. But today’s sketch raised a new question: how long do you have to be dead before people notice?
In the 1970s, the 1950s felt far away. The political and social turmoil of the late 60s and 70s had people yearning for simpler times. Things were still going on then, you just didn’t know about it instantly around the world. You had American Graffiti, Happy Days, Grease, reminding us just how much the styles and culture had changed. It was obvious when someone was playing dress-up from 20 years ago. But today? That same 20-year gap lands you in 2005. And if a zombie walked in wearing 2005 clothes, would anyone notice? Probably not. We’re still wearing the exact same Crocs, khakis, T-shirts, and hoodies. I am, anyways.
We compared two ancient holidays: Samhain, where people dressed like the dead so they wouldn’t get dragged into the spirit world, and Día de los Muertos, where folks dress like the dead so the spirits feel welcome. And now? Now people wear ripped clothes, black makeup, and chains because goth is cool. We’ve been doing it since the ’80s, maybe earlier. It was fringe then, it’s on mainstream shelves at Walmart now. The dead eyes and shuffling haven’t changed much. The only difference is that today’s zombies are easy to mistake for teenagers with bad posture and a phone addiction.
Click here to watch the full Zombie episode of Sketching & Coffee, Live!
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