Monster Mash

Ninjas, zombies, monsters, and vampires have infested the classics, and it seems the invasion has just begun. And it’s no use trying to make any sense or sensibility out of it. Just think of these as Jane Austen meets Quentin Tarantino meets Resident Evil. Thus we have the holy trinity of monster mash-ups.

If there was one to “blame” for the marriage of monsters and masterpieces, it would be Quirk Books editor Jason Rekulak who birth the concept of Quirk Classics, a popular pastiche series of literary works. The Web site states its mission as “to enhance novels with pop culture phenomena.” And it seems the current landscape is covered with the undead, half-dead, soon-to-be dead, or wished-they-were dead folks.

The 2009 launch of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith easily acquired a cult following. Apparently readers had an appetite for the timeless romance of marital arts expert Elizabeth Bennet and monster-hunter Mr. Darcy with the backdrop of an impending zombie showdown. It’s so popular in fact that Natalie Portman, Queen Amidala herself, is on board to produce and star as the lead heroine. But it won’t be Darth Vader she’ll face, but the invasion of the regulars at the brain buffet.

Other works have also crawled out from the literary and copyright crypts. Alice in Zombieland places the Lewis Carroll tale in the realms of the Dead Red Queen and her corps of rotting corps. It seems that many supposedly serene settings of the classics were mere veils for carnage and ruckus.

But everyone is always game for some kung fu fighting, Jane Austen style. When Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls hits stores on March 23, we’ll learn how Elizabeth Bennet honed her nunchucks and ninja skills. And of course, the rest is zombie history. Really, that was a no-brainer.