Everyday Goddess: Sure, there's zombies, but have you heard of XOMBIE???

I have a confession to make. I'm not a big zombie aficionado. Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, Bite Me, that's really as far as my live-action zombie knowledge and experience goes.

My best friends and business partners, on the other hand, are into zombies. Like *really* into zombies. (See Bite Me, listed above.)

Luckily, there's a supercool place where our passion for the undead comes together. It's kick-ass, it's animated, it's XOMBIE. The Xombie universe features an animated webseries, online comic, comic books, a novel, and a whole lot of Xombie goodness spinning around this guy, DIRGE:

Name: DIRGE

Etymology: Mournful lyric / leader

Status: Undead

Weapon of Choice: Shovel

A mortally challenged man with a mind of his own, Dirge struggles to cope with the annoyances of unlife, all the while keeping tabs on Zoe - the one person who makes him feel alive. Forever the pessimist, Dirge fights against his posthumous tendencies, determined to be a good person no matter the inconvenience.

Of course, there's a whole host of cool characters, including a human girl, ZOE; a now-back-among-the-moving Egyptian beauty, NEPHTHYS; and Dirge's trusty puppy xombie, CERBERUS. And many more.

Xombie: Dead on Arrival follows Dirge, a mortally challenged monster with muscle to spare. Armed with reason, and impervious to death, he will face unspeakable horror on his way to reunite a lost little girl with her family. Can he protect a single living soul from certain death? Can he outrun the nebulous forces behind the zombie plague? And if a monster truly saves a human life, is it really a monster after all?

You can watch all the Xombie flash cartoons here. I just rewatched them all this morning (yes, I get up at 5:30am on Monday morning before work and watch animated cartoons and then blog about them), and I am SO EXCITED for season 2. Which brings me to the issue at hand. Oh, yes, my friends, there is a Xombie Kickstarter campaign, and I would REALLY, REALLY appreciate it if you would check it out:

My producer friends Cindi Rice and John Frank Rosenblum from Epic Level Entertainment, and the most awesome Xombie-creator James Farr, know how to do web content right. Check out Epic Level TV on YouTube, and don't miss my personal fav show, Space Guys In Space, and much fun Earth Force 5, directed by yours truly. (James Farr, BTW, is the father behind the Portal bedroom.)

I have another confession. I made a big resolution this year that I didn't blog about. Yet. 'Cause here goes. I resolved to get paid to direct for the first time, this year. I filled in one eye of my Daruma I've been sitting on since I bought it in 2009 at a very special place to me, the Morikami Museum in Florida, and I vowed. This is the year. 2012.

So while my Xombie interest is strictly fan-based, I've got eggs in the Epic Level Entertainment basket. I'm invested in them for so many reasons. And not just 'cause they'll read my stuff.

They're my friends. They've got mad skills. They work with and nurture supercool talented people. And the worlds and stories they bring to life rock. Often, on the Interwebs. Which is a wild, wild west that I love very much.

So today, Xombie, Death Warmed Over. It's a big campaign, and Xombie is overdue for some love. My research shows, that projects that fund at the higher levels do so greatly due to numerous contributions at the lower levels. So if you want to support me, and/or Xombie looks supercool to you, even a $5 or $25 donation will - seriously - go a long way. The $50/$75/$100 levels get epically cooler, too. Donate there, and make me jealous.

'Cause when I look at Kickstarter campaigns, it's a lot like being at an art show for me. Few things please me as much as being able to support artists that I appreciate, and yet, I remain the broke-ass I've almost always been. I can't go to an art show and buy a painting, and I can't give James Farr the thousands that I would if I had it to give.

If *you've* got big bucks to give, Xombie, Death Warmed Over is a great project. James Farr and Epic Level Entertainment are total pros, and I've no doubt that Xombie Season Two will knock the socks off of the Interwebs. (Try to picture that for a beat.)

A bigger Kickstarter campaign is a marathon. At times, the goal seems hopelessly far away. But each hurdle gives the campaign more and more momentum and exposure, and the number begins to climb. And filmmakers are no stranger to what it feels like to stand at the base of a creative mountain and look up and believe you can get there. Right now, with 30 big fat days to go, the next hurdle for Xombie is that first $10K. Can you help today?

Xombie rocks, people. I want to see more. Interest peaked? Get involved, join the Xor-Gothuan Army, spread the word. The journey starts here. Chapter 1, The Dead Sea. It's under 5 minutes. Check it out, and get hooked. Or hit by shovel. Something like that.