Xombie 6 Is Online!

James Farr's Xombie Chapter 6 is online and live for all you xombie fanatics. He sent us a Q&A of answers and questions from fans about the series and we wanted to share it with you. You can watch Xombie Episode 6 right here,  So here is the FAQ so to speak.

Q. Bravo, James. Love the new episode. But why so short!!!!? This is like the shortest Xombie episode EVER! You're clearly getting lazy.

A. This might be the most common gripe I've received concerning Chapter 6. Macromedia Flash, as I've mentioned before, utilizes a frame cutoff of 16,000 frames. This is intended to prevent the creation of massively distended files, buffer overflows, computer crashes, and low resale value on your home. The bummer is, it also prevents a cartoon (like Xombie) from enjoying a lengthy runtime. Every little detail you see, from the animated explosions, zero-point-energy impacts, bubbling tanks of goo, rippling hair, writhing tentacles, settling dust, passing mountains and spinning tires all occupy their own individual movie clips, which are then combined to add depth to the action. Each of these movie clips counts against the frame cutoff. Therefore, the more details I use, the shorter the cartoon has to be. I also animate at 33 frames per second for added smoothness. So that doesn't help matters much.

The Reel 1 / Reel 2 business used for Chapter 5 was a real pain and wound up frustrating a lot of viewers. So, I opted to compile a shorter cartoon with a higher amount of detail. Hopefully viewers can forgive me the shortened runtime and enjoy the added depth. I'd rather watch 3 minutes of "wow" than 10 minutes of "meh." How about you?

Q. Umm. I hate to break this to you, James. But your robots were breathing. Robots don't have circulatory systems, lungs, or internal organs and therefore do not require oxygen. You ought to try thinking your stories through before you animate them.

A. Thank you for calling this to my attention. Unfortunately, I never said they were robots. Not only do they breathe, make tactical errors and grunt when they are hit, but they betray subtle (if detached) levels of emotion when they speak. Sound like robots to you?

Q. So raptors attack machines now? What does Chimaera eat? Metal??

A. She eats meat. She also attacks anything made of (or containing) meat.

Q. The Hands of God? Seriously, I have to say I'm pretty offended. Are you suggesting God is evil and sends out black biomechs to do his dirty work?

A. I've never asked Him. Incidentally, the word God as used in this context does not refer to the default, Christian God. (Jehovah / Yaweh / George Burns) Rather, it refers to whomever these characters render their devotion. Whomever they worship, work for, or both.

Q. Where. The. #$@!. Did. The. Hearse. Come. From? And how is it running again, exactly?

A. Naturally, it came from the circus. Which is also where we first caught sight of Nephthys, watching intently from the shadows. Her ability to salvage the hearse explains how she was able to arrive back at the Museum before Dirge and Zoe (Chapter 4).

Those wondering how Nephthys was able to get the hearse running once again, a feat unattainable even by Dirge himself, need only remember that Nephthys lives in a lab, surrounded by computers, information and technology. If she can keep a raptor running after 60 million years, she can fix a Cadillac. It should be noted, however, that the feature film follows a slightly different arc involving the hearse.

Q. I can see the same buildings over and over while Nephthys is driving. Why the cop out?

A. The original release date of July 1st, 2015 seemed a little far off. Anything in Xombie that ever got re-used, repeated, re-shaded or rotoscoped is either due to an acute lack of talent, or an equal lack of time. Or both.

Q. They're driving too fast. I can't read all the signs!! What do they say?

A. At last count, Chapter 6 contained approximately 45 visual or text-based gags. If I pointed them all out, what fun would it be?

Q. Bleeeah. I really wanted to see Dirge square off against the robots. Jip.

A. You will. Of course, it may or may not be animated by me.

Q. Why are none of the normal zombies female? Where are all the dead chicks?

A. They're all at the mall. The males, meanwhile, are out beating the streets, trying to put some brains on the table.

Q. What happened to the raptor!? Did it die? Did the robots kill it? Why didn't you show it!

A. In an effort to keep everything on one "reel" and not exceed Flash's rediculous frame cut-off, Chapter 6 was trimmed quite a bit. (Approximately 2 1/2 minutes of footage was cut, in fact) You may have to wait for the movie to see what ultimately becomes of Chimaera. Needless to say, she obviously couldn't handle three mysterious zero-point-energy-gun-toting bad guys at once.

Q. What are some hidden gags I should look for?

A. Be sure to keep an eye out during the freeway chase. Movie marquees, billboards, company logos and street signs all contain fun little references - which I'm sure one or more enterprising individuals will be able to pick out frame by frame. Be warned, however; some of them are pretty obscure. If you think you found one, be sure to post it over at XombieForum.com. All previous gags have been listed there as well.

Q. I think you must live in one, gigantic swirl, decorated with nothing but swirls, framed in bigger swirls, that you admire while swirling on your swirl. $#!& YOU LIKE SWIRLS, MAN. What's with that?

A. Thanks almost entirely to Mr. Tim Burton (among others), the swirl is almost universally accepted to be a sigil of weirdness. It exists within cartoons to indicate stylized creepiness, and for whatever reason, it accomplishes this wonderfully. Also yes. I do live in a gigantic swirl. And I work in a cinnamon bun factory.

Q. Is the this the last Xombie episode you will produce yourself?

A. I don't know.

Q. So I'm looking at all the chapters together, and I'm noticing a theme. It's not super obvious, but it's there. I'm starting to get the feeling that the robots, the (DELETED) and the (DELETED) all share something in common. Am I catching a sly literary reference to the work of (DELETED), and if so, are Dirge and friends eventually going to encounter (DELETED)?

A. Thank you for the email and your IP address. A group of elite ninjas have been dispatched to your home. For your puzzle solving skills you will receive a free Xombie t-shirt, a Nephthys can koozie, and a stealthy death when you least expect it.

Q. Okay James. You've done Xombie for the past 3 years. Don't get me wrong, I love the show!! But when can we expect a little something new? Got any follow-up series in the works?

A. Yes. Xombie will most likely continue as a feature film, whereas I will be offering up some new online series very soon. I have also been given the extreme honor of writing a trilogy of films for an A-List Studio out of Hollywood. Lots of cool stuff in the pipeline.

Q. Right before the raptor attacks the robo-soldier, he says a name. It sounds like he's saying "Mr. Friend." Is this a correct statement?

A. No. The actual dialogue spoken is "Goodbye, Mister Ehh..." at which point he is distracted by a rain of hot, scaley violence.

Q. Your plot is clearly sliding. The whole thing was just action, action, action.

A. An interesting phenomena encountered when producing a "serial" (or any story issued in brief increments)is the public's general inability to see the big picture. Every single episode cannot contain every single attribute of a feature-length film. Some are long on story, short on action. And vise versa. And furthermore, it is the tendency of everyone to complain either way. I cannot please everyone all the time, and unfortunately, "everyone" is on the internet.