Halloween is kind of a big deal here at SUPPLY.com. Each year, our employees go all out on their costumes and display them proudly at work. This past Friday, our very own Dana Towns showed up dressed as her favorite character from everyone’s favorite zombie comic book turned TV show. However, we later discovered that Dana’s scarily accurate costume unveiling was a dress rehearsal. The following day, she attended Walker Stalker Con where she became a bit of a celebrity herself. I recently sat down with our very own Michonne to learn more.

Halloween @ SUPPLY.com

How Dana’s Infectious Obsession Began

Although Dana is now a superfan of the hit AMC series, she wasn’t always into the zombie apocalypse. When she first heard about the show, she initially scoffed at its premise. “My little brother and sister started watching The Walking Dead and I was completely against it,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘How can you make a TV show about zombies? There should just be one movie and that’s it.’ They said, ‘Dana, you just have to watch it.’”

During her second year of college, she noticed the first season on Netflix and decided she would see what all the hype was about. “I said to myself, ‘Okay, I’m just going to watch one episode and be done with it.’ I ended up watching the entire season immediately,” continues Towns. “After that first episode, I became obsessed and watched each and every Sunday at 9:00pm. Not long after I started watching, I connected with my now best friend due to our shared obsession with the show. We would go over to her house, order pizza, wings, and beer and watch the show every Sunday. After, we’d watch Talking Dead and chat about the show.”

What is Walker Stalker?

Created by two fans, Eric Nordhoff and James Frazier, Walker Stalker Con is a three day event that takes place at the Georgia World Congress Center. Featuring panels and concerts by the show’s cast and creators, the Atlanta-based convention came into being due to Nordhoff and Fraizer’s love of The Walking Dead. Although not something that AMC or the show’s creators initially endorsed, they invited the entire cast and crew and built the first convention solely off donations.

“From there, it skyrocketed and each year it keeps getting bigger and bigger. The majority of the cast, even people who have been killed off, come to the conference,” explains Towns. “At the panels, they give fans the opportunity to ask questions to the members of the cast and crew. Last year, Emily Kinney, who plays Beth, did a concert and this year, the Harp Twins did covers of songs from the show. They have vendors selling Walking Dead related items. I bought a Michonne cup and a doll that I keep at my desk (as seen above). There’s also a place where people can get tattoos done while at the conference as well as a zombie apocalypse experience that’s pretty realistic.”

“This was my second year at Walker Stalker and it seems like they get better with every year. This year was definitely my favorite, mainly because I got to meet Danai Gurira, the actress who plays Michonne, the character I was dressed as,” she continues. “I went with the intention of having the best costume I possibly could and she noticed my costume and made it a point to get a picture with me. A bunch of people wanted to take pictures with me and a few people even thought I was her. I’m not traditionally into cosplay, but it was fun to see everyone dressed up as their favorite characters.”

Dana’s Costume

“I relate the most to Michonne. What makes her interesting to me is the fact that she started the show off with her friends and family and now she’s by herself. She’s experienced a loss, but she uses that loss to her advantage,” expresses Towns. “She’s now the toughest female character on the show and is a total badass. She doesn’t trust anyone.”

Dana’s costume was so realistic that team members at SUPPLY.com and fellow fans at Walker Stalker were amazed at the likeness. “It’s funny because a lot of the clothes that she wears are clothes that I wear myself. I have the same vest she wears and the same purple tank top,” she says. “I made it a point to get my hair done like hers a month before in preparation for the costume. In retrospect, it didn’t take that long to prepare, but I was thinking about it for a few months leading up to it. I’m already thinking about next year’s costume, though.”

Laurie Holden/Andrea (left), Dana Towns (center), Danai Gurira/Michonne (right)

Dana, featured on the WSB-TV Website

Zombie Fans at SUPPLY.com

Dana isn’t the only Walking Dead fan in the office. “It’s spreading kind of like the virus in the show, haha,” she jokes. “Roxanne is a huge fan, as are Seth, Will R, Hazaa, and Chris B. Because we’ve all been talking about it, Jessica Finley and Katie Thomas have now gotten into it. I’ve been at SUPPLY.com for little over a year and the people as well as the environment are the reasons why I like working here.”

“At almost any other company, if you talk about the Walking Dead or go to zombie conventions, people would say, ‘You’re weird,’ or ‘Don’t talk about that here,’ adds Towns. “It really made me feel good when people walked up to me at our Halloween celebration and said, ‘I don’t watch the show, but I looked up Michonne and you look just like her!’ Harrison said, ‘Make sure you take pictures at the conference and let us know.’ People here are really supportive and it makes it nice to come into work every day. I really want to try and encourage people who are interested in it to come with me next year.”

You may say we’re dreamers, but we’re not the only ones. I hope someday you’ll join us, and apply now at SUPPLY.com! Calling all dreamers to check out our careers page or send an email to work@supply.com. And find out more about some other SUPPLY.com dreamers on our profiles page.