Where will you be when the Zombie apocalypse begins? That’s the kind of question each creator had to ask themselves in GWP’s first zombie inspired anthology! Call them what you will but we found some true zombie lovers for this installment of Worst Case which includes eight chilling tales of characters struggling to stay alive and avoid being zombie food. The only problem is that these pesky zombies are always hungry and in unlimited quantities!

We spoke with creator and publisher, Keith Murphey about Worst Case Scenario: Outbreak.

Horror News Network: What was it that influenced the creation of Worst Case Scenario: Outbreak?

Keith Murphey: We saw a slew of zombie books on the market in 2006-2009, some of which were very good and got us excited to do some type of horror-inspired projects. We considered doing a vampire, werewolf, and, of course, a zombie book. Hector Rodriguez (my creative partner) and myself love the horror genre. We decided several years ago that creepy stuff was what we wanted to create and be associated with. Hector had an idea to do a zombie story. I told him that it would be great if we could get several artists and writers we know together and create a zombie anthology. In the small press community, I'm somewhat known for doing anthologies. The project got shelved after I had some creative differences with my previous principal partner. After the dust settled, Hector became my new creative partner and reminded me of the project. It seemed like the perfect time to move forward with it, which was in the Spring of 2009.

Horror News Network: Zombies are in high demand right now. How will this book deliver something different than the other zombie books on the market today?

Keith Murphey: WCS was never just a zombie book for us. It was a brand book which launched into its first of many different horrific events; this being the beginning of a zombie outbreak. We told each writer to pitch us and idea of where they would be or what would they be doing when the beginning of a zombie apocalypse starts. For example, Hector wrote a tale around a regular day of going to his day job at the package store. Unfortunately Hector became really busy with some other projects and did not have time to do the art. Our GWP editor, Chris Buchner, took submissions for almost a month and a half and then we went through each submission and picked the ones that we felt were best for the book. The stories ended up being done in such a way that we were able to create a chronological timeline with them in the book: from the start of the outbreak to the aftermath. With 13 stories, we definitely got the zombie bug out of our systems on this one, but I'm thinking I'll be doing more with zombies in the future. Zombies seem to be getting more popular, which is great for us because it means this book should have a long shelf life. I mean, who doesn't want to become a zombie really?

Horror News Network: Can you give us a rundown of the stories and the creative teams featured in the anthology?

Keith Murphey: It starts in space, oddly enough! Something happens up there and it seeps into Earth’s atmosphere, ending up coming down as seemingly harmless rain which is what starts the initial outbreak. That was done by Chris Buchner and Carlos Granda. The rain opens on our first story called "Rained Out" written by Dino Caruso with art by PD Houston. It’s a great little romantic baseball-themed tale. We then switch gears to a prose story called "Poisoning the Well" by Melvin Eudy with art by Roger Harris. Imagine taking your family to Sea World and suddenly all the marine life is undead! We've got my personal favorite "Misfortune" written by Steve Kanaras with art by Matt Ryan. Great story of a fortune teller who tells the coming of the zombie apocalypse. Next we have "Learning to Walk Again" written by Jeff Prezenkowski with art by Carlos Weiser. This one’s a great tale about a snowboard champ that has it all, and after an accident is bound to a wheelchair. He later uses his skills to narrowly escape the hospital…or does he? Next is my story "How I Lost My Cherry" about two war buddies that get together in a gentlemen’s club and end up having to hold off the zombies from said location. Following is "One Way Street" written by Alex De-Gruchy and art by Mike Kennedy. It’s a classic bank robbery gone wrong with zombies! There is more prose with Liam Webb's "Hearts and Minds" with great spot illustrations by Lonnie DiNello. "And He Always Seemed Like Such a Nice Man" was also written by Alex De-Gruchy with art from Mike Kennedy, telling a chilling cautionary tale that you never really know who you live next to, delivering a two-for-one on the horror. We have "Bleeding Out" by Keith Goodeson and Carlos Granda. Another romantic spin on a girl who was blind and now can see. "No Place Like Home" was written by Andre Saunders with art by Albie Luciano. The story involves a nephew’s revenge against his abusive drug dealing uncle. Our final prose story was "A Girl and Her Dog" written by Valerie Finnigan with art by Matt Ryan. It’s a coming of age survival story. Ouf final story to close out the book is "The Beast" written by Niall Presnall-Kelleher and art by Steven Yarbrough.

Keith Murphey: Well, if everything had gone according to plan we would have been done in a year. But, unfortunately, several of the original artists had to back out for their own personal reasons while others ran into delays, which led to an extra six months in book production. With the help of the talented Free Lunch Comics crew we were able to get things back on track and completed.

Horror News Network: What can we expect in terms of blood and guts?

Keith Murphey: Well it’s a black and white book but its messy enough, we don't really hold back in this book. There are intestines, brains and blood, so it’s a human smorgasbord! We are a very straightforward and point blank publisher so not showing these things was never discussed.

Horror News Network: Where can our readers find out more about Worst Case Scenario: Outbreak?

Keith Murphey: We have regular posts at our Facebook page Guild Works Publications and in addition we have regular updates at our main site www.gwpbooks.com

Horror News Network: In closing, what would you like to say to our readers about Worst Case Scenario: Outbreak?

Keith Murphey: GWP delivers comics with GUTS! Worse Case Scenario: OUTBREAK is everything a good zombie book should be, and there is something in there for everyone!

Horror News Network: Thanks for your time, Keith. Best of luck with Worst Case Scenario: Outbreak! Comment on this interview on our forum.