View source for Xombie (Web Animation)

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''Xombie'' is a Flash animation and comic book series by James Farr. A 6-year-old girl, Zoe, wakes up on a beach with no memory of how she got there. When she wanders into a cemetery, she discovers why the place is so deserted. Zombies begin rising up from the ground, and gather around her. As the zombies close in, a lone figure enters the scene, and proceeds to summarily OWN the gathering zombies...with a shovel. This lone figure is Dirge, a "variant", a zombie that retains cognitive functions, but no memory of who or what he once was. He decides to escort Zoe through miles of zombie-infested wasteland, accompanied by a zombie police-dog called Cerberus, to a nearby human settlement.

Along the way to the Acropolis, Zoe and Dirge gain new allies: Nephthys, another variant, dressed like a mummy and wielding a scythe with ninja-like ability, and Chimaera, a zombie Velociraptor from the Natural History Museum. They also learn more about the origin of the variants, and meet new enemies, the "Hands of God", [[Humanoid Abomination|Cthulhoid cyborgs/aliens]] that know a ''lot'' about Dirge.

The comic book continues the story, picking up 9 years after the events from the original animations. Disaster has struck the human settlement, and Dirge is the only one who can help. We gain a glimpse of the human settlement's culture, a rigid theocracy, ruled over by a half-mad, babbling priest named Ammon. We find out /much/ more about the zombies and the aliens here, as well as hints about Dirge's former past. {{spoiler|He is likely Zoe's father.}}

As of September, 2009, [[DreamWorks]] is [https://web.archive.org/web/20101115112252/http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_11528.html pursuing the rights to a live-action movie].

The videos are available from [https://web.archive.org/web/20140105043749/http://explodingpickle.org/ eXploding Pickle], a Flash animation site. See below for a numbered list.
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-1 Chapter 1]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-2 Chapter 2: Cadillacs & Cadavers]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-3 Chapter 3: Grinding Organs]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-4 Chapter 4: Relics & Reptiles]{{Dead link}}
#Chapter 5 is split into two parts:
##[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-51 Chapter 5.1: The Exhibit, Reel One]{{Dead link}}
##[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-52 Chapter 5.2: The Exhibit, Reel Two]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-6 Chapter 6: The Hands of God]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-7 Chapter 7: Thunder & Light]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-8 Chapter 8: Death Under Wraps]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-9 Chapter 9: Falling Forever]{{Dead link}}
#[http://explodingpickle.org/swfs/xombie-10 Chapter 10: Hallowed Grounds]{{Dead link}}

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{{tropelist}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: Mr. Gallows (arguably [[Faux Affably Evil]]).
* [[Alien Invasion]]: {{spoiler|It's hinted that the zombie virus, [[Meaningful Name|Nekrosis]], was created as a weapon by an alien race, probably for the purpose of taking over the world.}}
** Actually, [[Word of God]] states that those aren't aliens in the traditional extra terrestrial sense {{spoiler|It is directly stated in the comic that Nekrosis isn't actually a virus but part of a hive mind race of pathogens. The aliens themselves are super-evolved super-intelligent version of Nekrosis.}}
*  {{spoiler|[[Artificial Limbs]]}}:  {{spoiler|In Chapter 10 Dirge lost his left arm and had it replaced with one of the Hands of God's arms.}}
* [[Berserk Button]]: Dirge (Zoe), and Zoe (Dirge).
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Zoe (several times). First, she takes Dirge's shovel and re-kills a {{spoiler|Strong-man zombie from the [[Circus of Fear]]}} by {{spoiler|cutting the wires holding up a sky-ride car}}. Next, she {{spoiler|severely injures an alien monster with ''an exploding teddy bear''}}. Finally, in the comic, she {{spoiler|fakes out Mr. Gallows and then shoots him}}. You do ''not'' mess with this girl. 
* [[Bulletproof Vest]]: A modified variant appears in the comic (Dirge {{spoiler|installs a "titanium disulfide" skull plate, rendering him impervious to headshots, as Mr. Gallows demonstrates in the laboratory}}. "What's the matter, lose something important?" - ''Dirge''
** He also wears a big metal collar, eliminating the advantage of cutting off his head.
* [[Children Are Innocent]]: It started out, but soon averted with Zoe.
* [[Church Militant]]: Father Ammon is head of the religious in the human settlement, and is your standard, run-of-the-mill traditionalist fanatic that views all zombies as EVIL EVIL EVIL!
* [[Circus of Fear]]: In Chapter 3, Zoe & Dirge end up in a zombified circus.
* [[Daddy's Girl]]: Zoe and Dirge, to some extent (more so in the comic), although Dirge is more of a "surrogate father" ({{spoiler|at least, that's what they ''want'' you to think}}).
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Almost ''everyone'' gets at least one moment, even 6-year-old Zoe.
* [[Disappeared Dad]]: At the beginning of the comic, we discover that Zoe's dad has been dead for an as-yet unstated length of time.
* [[Dog Dies At the End]]: Subverted. {{spoiler|In Chapter 8 of the original animations, the last we see of Cerberus is him being de-limbed by several alien shurikens. But he's back to normal at the end of Chapter 10.}}
* [[Faking the Dead]]: {{spoiler|Zoe}} plays dead when {{spoiler|Mr. Gallows shoots her, thus triggering Dirge's [[Berserk Button]]. She then grabs the anti-zombie gun from the floor, throws Gallows' words right back at him, and shoots him.}}
** She earlier actually jokes with this trope. Where after a car crash, Dirge asks if she is alright. Her immediate reply is "''Arrg... Brains''"
* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Dirge uses a shovel as a weapon, and is more awesome with it than many other characters would be with any conventional weapon.
* [[Ms. Fanservice]]
* [[Necessarily Evil]]: {{spoiler|Mr. Gallows. He doesn't have any grudge against humans, he just doesn't want them to cure zombification, because he wants to keep living}}.
* [[Not Using the Z Word]]: The entire series is called "Xombie" after all. Ironically however, in the series they are never referred to as Xombies, just Talkers and Variants.
** Mostly because it's pronounced exactly the same and thus you'd have to waste time clarifying anyway.
* [[Our Zombies Are Different]]: Dirge, Nephthys, and {{spoiler|Gallows}}
* [[Outlaw]]: Mr. Gallows from the comic (also has elements of [[The Rustler]]).
* [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse]]: Zoe, to some extent.
* [[Sacrifice]]: Subverted ''twice''. {{spoiler|First, Nephthys is cut in half by boomerang alien shurikens, and then Dirge draws the fire of the automated defense systems in order to destroy one of the aliens.}}
* [[Shout-Out]]: If you look in the endless hoard of zombies, you can see [[Where's Waldo|Waldo]].
* [[The Virus]]: The Nekrosis Virus responsible for the [[Zombie Apocalypse]].
* [[This Is Sparta]]: {{spoiler|Zoe}} in the comic, when {{spoiler|she destroys an alien bloodhound ''with her blood'', shouting "LEAVE! US! ALONE!"}}
* [[What Could Have Been]]: Dirge's weapon was originally planned to be a helicopter blade.
* [[What Have I Become?]]: Dirge, and later {{spoiler|Zoe (partially)}}
* [[You Fail Biology Forever]]: Too much to list.
* [[You Fail Geology Forever]]: Dinosaurs were not found in the Ice Age, nor were they found frozen in mud to such a great point of preservation.
* [[Zombie Apocalypse]]

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Web Animation]]
[[Category:Fantasy Web Originals]]
[[Category:Zombie Stories]]
[[Category:Xombie]]
[[Category:Newgrounds]]