Thank you a thousand times, Madison, for a hilarious and beautiful event.

The number of participating zombies varies according to source-- I guessed 100, my friend Doug estimated 140, and the Isthmus reports approximately 200. (Sunday's WSJ listed us as 40 strong, which is a ludicrous underestimation.) I would have considered 20 zombies a success, so thanks to everyone for exceeding my expectations.

The range of makeup, costumes, vocal groaning enthusiasm, and clever protest signs was awe-inspiring. There was no way I could stay in character in the face of People for the Ethical Treatment of Zombies, Show Me Your Brains (complete with Mardi Gras beads), Brains 3:16, and Support Proposition I-8U. There were many more brilliant slogans: look through the photo galleries for examples.

Madison Metro and the MPD had expressed concern over our march; I'm happy to say that I didn't see one instance of a bus under zombie attack. The police did have to remove one or two zombies from the street when crossing against a traffic light, but it seemed respectfully done and none of us were arrested. It was a good group of zombies with which to protest.

One of the best moments had to be stumbling into the evangelicals with their signs and hymns. My main sick thrill, though, was seeing photographers perched on the stone dais in Library Mall and marching inexorably toward it for a takeover. thurisaz83 captured my enthusiasm here.

Certain weaknesses were made clear in practice; the next zombie walk will benefit from these lessons. More games. More speeches. More lurching. More noise. More fake blood.

Links (to be updated as more come in):

• Isthmus Daily Page coverage with three photo galleries. Thanks for your enthusiasm, Kristian! And looky here, more coverage! Huzzah!
• Dane101's coverage and photos, with exhaustive zombie knowledge, video, photos and links in a follow-up article.
• We've been Slashdotted, fulfilling a dream I've nurtured deep in my heart for years. Thanks to dandroid6000 and others for alerting me!
• angrybunnyman's pictures and videos. He worked tirelessly to stay ahead of the chomp and find all manner of strategic positions from which to shoot.
• My pictures.
• thurisaz83's photos
• bleaknimue's gallery.
• Dante's photos.
• teeka's photos.
• John's photos.
• noise_chick's photos. She was the second zombie I thought might get us killed (the first was the miner, whom the police removed from oncoming traffic). Dressed like a Badger fan, and yelling for Bucky as often as for brains, she rattled the giant screen upon which football fans watched the homecoming game. At that point I thought we might see an uprising. Peace ruled-- probably due to confusion. Man, Madison is so unprepared for zombie attack!
• Angie's photos.
• kraorh's pictures.
• Raster's pictures
• belial44's photos
• rasterweb threatened to videoblog the event, and he made good on his threat. Watch this space for his videos.
• Some recaps and links in the madisonwi community.
• Apparently we got a mention from the Zombie Squad.
• Did anyone catch Channel 27 or 15's coverage? Anyone have a recording?
• We were also covered before the event by The Wisconsin State Journal, The Capitol Times, the Isthmus, Dane101, 105.5 WMMM, and 89.9 WORT. Check Sunday's State Journal for more coverage and photos.
• Zombie Lurch, Zomploitation, and I were quoted in Resonance Magazine, 2006.
• Let me know if I've missed a press account.

Favorite pictures at the moment (This is incomplete; I'm not finished going through all of them):

• Zombies gather in front of the state capitol. The Lurch begins!
• One of two or three counter-protests. Another one. Sam's counter protest. (Anyone have better pictures of this sign?) Mad scientists for zombies! And I saw a Shaun of the Dead attacking various zombies with a cricket bat, but I haven't seen a good picture of him!
• We even had spontaneous demonstrations of approval! This woman met us on the corner of State and Johnson, supported our cause, and disappeared.
• We had a lot of kids marching, from babies to elementary school age!
• A good shot of approaching zombies. Another good one.
• I like my enthusiasm here.
• For Matt Fraction: Zombys luv Pancake.
• Zombies begin to invade the evangelicals' demonstration. Funny signs. It was beautiful.
• Storming Library Mall and climbing the dais.

Will there be a Zombie Lurch 2006? Possibly. But instead of coinciding with Halloween, imagine how much fun it would be to do this around Eater (I mean Easter)...