Review Tuesday: THE WALKING DEAD [Comic] #1 - 132

This weekend THE WALKING DEAD makes its long-awaited return to television with new episodes. During the hiatus I read the entire comic book series.

THE WALKING DEAD

by Robert Kirkman

and Tony Moore

We follow the life of Rick Grimes and his group of survivors after the world descended into ruin after a zombie apocalypse.

Long before THE WALKING DEAD was the greatest show on television, it was a comic book franchise put out by IMAGE. I think I was more surprised to find out that IMAGE was still in business more than anything I read in the books, but I digress. 

Several friends suggested that if I liked the show I should give the books a shot, so I did. Earlier this year, when I went to Greece on vacation, I loaded up my Kindle Fire with everything I could find for THE WALKING DEAD, so that included #1 - 125, The Survivors Guides, and the specials for The Governor and Michonne. I found it all to be very original, compelling, and entertaining. The Survivors Guide was a bit dull because it's merely a synopsis of each of the cast of characters up to that point in the storyline. Those books were a waste on me. 

More importantly, you can see where they derived the material for the show. There are many key scenes and images that were pulled directly from the pages. A perfect example would be the scene from last season, the morning after the scene when Rick bit the throat out of a threat. He was seated on the pavement with his back against the tire of a car. They used the exact same type of car in the book and on screen. 

There are dozens of other scenes that grip you as you say, "that was exactly how they did it in the book!"

It's also fun to see the differences and the major departures. Last season's flu outbreak was never in the pages. Lori and Andrea weren't nearly as obnoxious. Hell, they were both delightful characters, and Andrea is STILL ALIVE and paired off with Rick. What?!

I gave up on comics, in general, about 20 years ago, but now there are a couple lines that are dragging me back in, TWD being one of them. The writing is good. The artwork isn't bad, but I have noticed what other people complain about. A lot of characters come and go and when you're dealing with a book that's only black & white, it's harder to make everyone look distinct. There are points when you feel like there are some people who look too much alike. 

The trouble with many zombie stories is that it only depicts what would happen at the initial outbreak. How would people survive that? Can anyone survive that? Being a long running series Kirkman and Moore get more into the nitty-gritty of how life might be under those circumstances. 

I may have included a couple spoilers in this review, but don't worry, I haven't even scratched the surface. If you like the show, read the books and get an inside track on what's coming up. While TERMINUS never existed in the books, where they are headed next IS. So you might want to get started on this. Plus, this month they are supposed to have TWO issues coming out!

Find everything Walking and/or Dead on AMAZON