Not only am I a huge comic nerd, but I am also a huge action figure nerd (my girlfriend Hillary graciously allows me to adorn the top of our kitchen cupboards with various superheroes, action movie stars, and Futurama characters), and a huge horror movie nerd as well. Sometimes these two passions of mine collide with each other, and the result is pure bliss. For example, Emce Toys, the fine folks behind the recent re-creations of Mego-style (plastic figures with sculpted rubber heads and cloth outfits, for those of you who were born after the company folded in 1983) Star Trek and Planet of the Apes figures, made my day with their new Night of the Living Dead assortment. The first assortment features the Graveyard Zombie from the movie’s opening (played by Bill Hinzman), and Ben, the film’s tragic hero, as played by Duane Jones.

Not only are the facial sculpts frighteningly accurate--check the handy comparison below...

...but the packaging is both eye-catching and practical—these carded figures come in a resealable plastic sleeve for display purposes. And, with the retro-cool, era-appropriate painted artwork featuring the film’s leads, you’ll want to hang on to this packaging.

Possibly the coolest thing about these figures, though, is the fact that—unlike the aforementioned Star Trek and Planet of the Apes figures—Mego never made Night of the Living Dead toys! The ST and POTA assortment perfectly mimic the figures and packaging from the 1970s, but the NOTLD assortment is designed from scratch, as though there had been a toy line for this classic film back in its heyday. It’s almost as though these toys are relics from a parallel universe where Mego had made NOTLD toys. I love stuff like that! Kudos, Emce toys. I really hope this line continues—the back of the packages promises upcoming figures of Judith O’Dea as “Barbara”, the alternately hysterical/catatonic heroine of the movie, and Kyra Schon’s “Karen Cooper” who, we can only hope, will come with a bloody garden trowel accessory.