Zombie: 1 (noun, fiction) a corpse that has been reanimated, especially by means of a supernatural power or spell. 2 (cultural) a phenomenon in entertainment where rotting, living corpses have inspired countless games, movies, toys and even pornography (yeah you read that right).

First appearing in the English language in 1813, the word “zombie” was once copyrighted by Marvel as a comic title until the late 1990s, but its origin can be traced to the West African Kongo words “nzambi” meaning ‘god’ and “zumbi” meaning ‘fetish.’ Wherever it came from, it’s here to stay now.

In 1968, a then 28-year-old film maker, George Romero, took the idea of the undead or reanimated dead, and on a budget of a mere $114,000, directed “Night of the Living Dead,” a movie that tells the story of a group of survivors during a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. It grossed over $30 million worldwide making it one of the largest commercial successes in entertainment history. Leap forward almost 35 years, and the formula doesn’t appear to have changed much.

In 2003, Robert Kirkman wrote a comic called “The Walking Dead” even with the disapproval of the publishing company, Image, who believed that “zombies are cliché and over saturated.” The series quickly gained popularity for its gritty gore, complete disregard for established character’s well-being and focus on survival over causality, taking the zombie genre back to its original Romero roots. Today, only 12 years later, the first edition of “The Walking Dead” now sells for over $2,500, with the original art from a single page selling at auction for $20,000.

In 2010, AMC premiered “The Walking Dead” TV series to rave reviews and broken ratings records. The show keeps the gritty gore and several of the comic’s more jaw dropping character deaths but also ramps up the human interest bits by introducing characters that were not in the original comics. The series continues to break viewership records, and with the show’s return to AMC this Sunday, it shows no sign of stopping soon.

No brains about it. Class dismissed.