Is the prevalence of zombies in popular culture related to the economic recession?

Approximately one year ago, one of my relatives was playing an online PC game that involved people with guns killing zombies. I asked him something along the lines of “what’s the deal with the zombies?” He said that he thought that the rise of zombies was related to the economic situation. He said that during the Great Depression, people took an interest in superheros (Superman, Batman, etc), and this time around people were becoming interested in zombies.

I think that the economy probably does have something to do with zombies. Not too long ago, a lot of people I knew were large fans of “The Walking Dead” and many played the game “Call of Duty: Zombies.”

I assume that the explanation would be that in times of struggle, people tend to take interest in things that involve saving the world.