Setting a World Record

This wasn't the first time I felt nude in public. 

I worked my way through college, and one of the most demeaning jobs I took was a mascot for a casino. I sweated in a giant duck costume like a deep sea diver, making my way through the casino to promote a new gaming machine. I couldn't see anything through the mask, so someone led me through the narrow aisles between ringing slot and poker machines. Old men pinched my tail feathers, convinced only a woman would take such a job. Anyone shorter than me got tripped over. At the end of the day, they thanked me politely for my time, paid me, and said I didn't need to return tomorrow. 

So it wasn't without experience that I donned another costume to appear in public. This experience was much better. 

I participated in the New Jersey Zombie Walk 2013 in Asbury Park. The Guinness Book of World Records was on hand to officially announce it the largest gathering of zombies in the world. 9,592 zombies stalked the boardwalk in gleaming artificial blood, flaking latex, and gore. The variety was stunning. 

I wore the suit that best approximates the Eaters in the video game of our Kickstarter. Their skin rotted off, they look like something out of the Bodies Exhibit. 

The response took me totally off guard. 

They loved it! Everyone wanted a picture with me. Other zombies stopped to take my picture. Old people said, "Oh my god!" Teenage girls tittered, thinking they'd just seen a naked man. A security guard almost stopped me for nudity. Well, I was nude. I had no skin. As I say in the book, "Beauty is only skin deep. That's why zombie's are so damn ugly!"

The paparazzi-style attention didn't appeal to me. As a writer, I'd rather be back in my dark hole. Still, there is something to say for attention. Right now, I'm trying to drum up attention for the Kickstarter campaign, so getting in front of the public is essential. 

If you missed it, you'll get a chance to see it yourself. Come to New York ComicCon. I'll be standing outside. Feel free to take my picture. 

I'll be the nude guy.