You don't get any cooler than Khary Randolph. On top of countless comics, Khary did character designs for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2000s version), The Boondocks, Hellboy and the new Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon that began in September. He designed the characters. Friggin designed them. He's been very influential in animation in the 2000s, and I'm extremely happy to have a zombie from him.
There are three categories of zombie that I've found myself pursuing. There are zombies drawn by people famous for drawing zombies, there are zombies doodled by people famous in the zombie community (although not necessarily illustrators as a profession) and then there are artists that I adore so much that I need a sketch even though their resume is zombie-free.
Jacen Burrows (before I even get into this, check out that splash page for his site; awesome) is a household name in zombie comics, and if the name isn't familiar, you've probably seen his work. He's done tons of amazing covers including Black Gas, Escape of the Niving Dead and various Night of the Living Dead books (with author George A. Romaro).
Oh, this makes me grin a big grin. This zombie is from Archie Comics artist Dan Parent. Dan has also done work with Felix the Cat Productions, Mattel (Barbie), Disney, the list goes on. It's not often that I get such an iconic artists' sketch, but now that I have this one, I have a dozen others I want. Zombie Betty, Zombie Veronica, Zombie Jughead... God, I need the whole gang!
Max Brooks is one of the most influential figures in modern zombie fiction. Max wrote the Zombie Survival Guide in 2003 and followed up with World War Z in 2006. WWZ is phenominal, and the dozens of other recent zombie novels over on Amazon all owe their success to WWZ for paving the way. WWZ is currently being made into a film, and part of me doesn't want it to happen. There is no way to top the novel, and I feel like I'm just going to be disappointed. Of course the other part of me, the larger part, can't wait.
Joe Dodd is a killer artist that has had his hands in various G.I. Joe and Marvel comics, and most recently he illustrated a fabulous book called Tales From Wonderland: The Mad Hatter, an origin story for the Tales From Wonderland version of the Mad Hatter. Theres some twisted stuff in this book, and you need to check it out, if for no other reason than.. zombie wall.
Jeremy Bastian is an incredible artist. He creates these monstrosities and these structures and these creatures that all inhabit this realm, and you know that if you were to crack open Jeremy's skull and peek inside, all of these creations would be in there waving back at you. 
The guys at Unshaven Comics are marketing savants. Their sales pitch for their latest book when I met them (probably expired by now) was "Buy our book and we'll draw you as a zombie in our next." Woah-- They could have sold me anything. 
Paul Allen Ballard is a freelance illustrator who does all sorts of awesome stuff including sketch cards, collectible card game art, Star Wars promotional stuff, and the thing that really grabbed my attention, the covers for the comic book Zombies of Mass Destruction. They could each be a movie poster. I would hang each of those covers on my wall, especially number 3. Zombies of Mass Destruction is written by the creator of the Underworld movie franchise, and has itself been acquired for movie rights. It's about zombies being used as WMDs, which I personally think is a fantastic idea.
Jason Yungbluth is a writer for Mad Magazine, and creator of the comics Deep Fried and Weapon Brown. Deep Fried is an ensemble of Sunday comics gone mad, both in web and paper comic formats. The craziest of these is Weapon Brown, a post-apocalyptic Charlie Brown that you really have to see firsthand.
Jason Moody is the artist for a comic called Scarlet Veronica. It comes out in the fall, and it looks like it's going to be pretty fierce. It's about this zombie girl who... fights evil? I can't say that for certain. I do know that she's definitely undead, and the previews are looking pretty slick. Check out this trailer and the preview pages.
Ken Haeser sketched this zombie for me. Ken is the artist for The Living Corpse, about a zombie who breaks free of the insatiable desire for brains, and begins fighting for good. There are only a handful of issues out, but it's already being made into a major motion picture by Shoreline Entertainment. I am definitely looking forward to it.
I still cannot believe that David Petersen provided me with this sketch. Just look at the thing; the tattered mouse ear, the limp arm. Even at 21x the height of a little zombie like this, I'd be terrified of seeing this guy shambling across the forest floor towards me.
Christopher Mitten is the artist responsible for Wasteland. Wasteland is incredible. It's vast, it's epic, and there are sand-eaters. Sand-eaters are like zombies, except they're probably alive and they have really sharp teeth. Read the first, double-sized issue for free.
Paul Ziomek and Peter Ziomek make up Over the Top, and are part of 7000 BC, an independent comics group based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They create an awesome brand of home-grown comics; the kind of soulful narrative that you'll be hard-pressed to find in a majority of comics on the shelf these days.
Katie Cook is an amazing illustrator who has a penchant for the cute/funny. It was through Katie that the phenomenon of sketch cards came to my attention. I had no idea that other people were collecting/creating small illustrations on blank cards. That's pretty awesome. Star Wars sketch cards? Sign me up.
God. If Chris had sketched this, looked at it, and said to me, "I'm sorry, this is just too good. I'm going to keep it, because you don't deserve it," I would have understood. He would have been right too. I almost feel guilty asking for sketches from artists like Chris. It's a waste of their time, but I am forever grateful. Just look at that guy up there.
Tom Brazelton, of Theater Hopper fame, sketched this zombified... well, I think that's himself. Eerie.
Franco Aureliani is the creator/writer/artist of the Weirdsville comic, co-creator/writer for Patrick the Wolf Boy, and writer for the new Tiny Titans comic, aw yeah! Tiny Titans had a free issue back on Free Comic Book Day 2008, and the popularity of that title has recently sky-rocketed. It's well deserved; That comic is just too funny, and these guys worked their bottoms off on it.
Chris Giarrusso just made me the happiest boy on the planet. Chris writes and draws Mini Marvels, a comic about pint-sized versions of all of our favorite super-heroes. I remember being in middle-school and scanning through comic-books at the shop just to read the Mini Marvels at the end (please forgive me Chris, I was young and unemployed).
John Avon is a fantasy/sci-fi artist from the other side of the pond. I am forever grateful that he took the time to doodle up this zombie for me. For one, he was insanely busy. John doesn't cross the Atlantic often; When he does, he's met with endless lines of ungrateful kids who I really don't think appreciate his work.
Derek Ring... I just don't have the words. This sketch makes me so happy I could poop. Thanks so much for it.
Thomas Baxa is a god of dark fantasy. He creates all sorts of nightmarish images for Magic: The Gathering, World of Warcraft CCG, Dungeons & Dragons, et cetera. He's pretty much the go-to guy for demons, zombies, horrors, ghouls, et cetera. I've always thought of him as the gold standard for evil with Rebbeca Guay on the other end of the spectrum with her angels, fairies, et cetera.
Mark Tedin is a fantasy/gaming artist who started painting for Magic: the Gathering back when Magic: the Gathering released their first set of cards. I honestly remember, in middle-school, being creeped out by cards like Goblin Hero and Abomination. I thought that the artist that produced this kind of stuff must have been possessed by Satan himself. Nowadays I think the same thing, but it's a good thing rather than a bad one. You have to see his work in person to see how amazingly vivid it is. The cards don't do him justice.
Rob Alexander is an awesome fantasy artist, easily my favorite for fantasy landscapes, and I was stoked that he agreed to do a zombie for me, considering I've never seen him tackle a zombie before. Now someone please buy me the original artwork for the card Overgrown Tomb (Wizards of the Coast's title), City of the Dead (Rob's title), so that my zombies will have somewhere to hang out.
Nate Bellegarde is a comic-book artist with such books on his résumé as Hector Plasm: De Mortuis, Loaded Bible: Jesus Vs. Vampires and more recently, Invincible Presents: Atom Eve. Nate makes fictional characters on printed paper move. Really. For an example of what I'm talking about, pick up a copy of Hector Plasm. It's magnificent.
Robert Kirkman is the creator/writer for The Walking Dead, the best comic book. Seriously, if you haven't read it, you might die in the next couple of hours, unless you go to the nearest comic shop and pick this book up. It will change your life (if you're as stupid about zombies as I am). He is also responsible for Battle Pope, Invincible and Marvel Zombies which are all great titles. Sometimes he sketches zombies.
Kenn Minter of Near Mint Press doodled up this zombie for me back in April. I really like how Kenn adapted this zombie to his style. Kenn not only draws but writes as well. Check out Kenn's tongue-in-cheek super-hero comic The Experts and his autobiographical comic I'm Not From Here. This guy oozes wit, coated in charm.
