This week on the Major Spoilers Podcast, the crew will take a look at the first 12 issues of The Walking Dead, as collected in The Walking Dead, Book 1 hardcover edition.
The Walking Dead is centered on Rick Grimes, a small-town police officer from Cynthiana, Kentucky, his family, and a number of other survivors who have banded together in order to survive after the world is overrun with zombies. As the series progresses, the characters become more developed, and their personalities shift under the stress of a zombie apocalypse.
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5 Comments
Awesome this is one of my favorite comics out there. It is easily the best zombie story I have every seen and is just so well paced. I just finished the third hard cover book and damn I hope you guys review the rest of the series too!
“The Walking Dead” is one of those comics that arrived at *just* the right time. It was one of the first zombie-themed comics to arrive after the resurgence of the genre in film and is certainly the only one I can think of that’s gone the distance (we’re up to issue high-70s something-something).
I think this longevity can be attributed to the fact that this never set out to be a 6-issue mini full of zombie chop-socky that got picked up as an ongoing, but was, as it says on the cover “a continuing story of horror survival”. This book is about the PEOPLE. Not the zombies. In fact, we can go months and months without seeing ANY sign of the zombie blight. If you want instant, violenct gratification, this isn’t the book for you.
Kirkman constructs a very precarious world, where the survivor’s boxing in by the mindless zombies is dramatically offset by the infighting, brutality and cunning of the remaining few humans and their struggle to keep both human-kind AND their humanity alive in extraordinary circumstances.
It’s a slow-burn, character-driven book that I just adore.
I’ve never read any of The Walking Dead, but I’ve been wanting to. Maybe when Mid-Ohio con pulls back around, I’ll go buy a bunch of back issues and start there. It’s one of the only zombie titles that in concept has ever really sounded great to me, at least as a title I’d want to invest in. Books and movies all about the zombies are fine in short smaller doses (games are awesome, who doesn’t like shooting zombies?). It’s probably the same reason why despite all it’s typical tropes (Rodrigo), I love 28 Days Later. It had some cool zombie action, but it really felt more focused on the survivors of Zombigeddon. 28 Weeks Later was garbage, but the first one was great.
I absolutely adore this series. I love the story, I love the characters (however long they may last), and I love the over all tone that Kirkman is able bring to this oft-explored dystopian idea. The long periods of talking may put some people off, but I find that they add to the depth tone of the characters and story than anything else.
Even though this would grow to be one of my favorite on-going series, there are a few things with this HC that were a bit off-putting my first time through. First, and most obviously, is the change in artists following issue 7. Adlard would eventually fill out the art work quite capably, but his early issues in this Hardcover just look a bit too…off when compared to Tony Moore’s remarkable pencils. Secondly, even though Kirkman is a REALLY talented writer and story teller, this initial arc shows that he’s definitely not one to stray from cliche’s (the opening with the main character waking up in a hospital to a zombie invasion is practically lifted from 28 Days Later), or certain slightly repetitious story arcs (the main character being thrust into a strange situation, having a best friend/family member to show them the ropes, only for that confidant to be revealed to have a hidden agenda and need to be killed by the main character is exploring similar territory that Invincible traversed).
Still, those minor foibles are no reason to not stick with this comic. It definitely deserves to be read from the beginning until you’re all caught up with the latest issue. Stay with it and let it take you down a haunting maze of complex characters, intense drama, and zombies. SO many zombies…
This is one of two or three titles that brought me back to comics after a 10-15 year hiatus. To me it is part of that new genre of comics which develops the characters in spite of the setting (super-hero fiction). The zombies are in the background while the story focuses on the characters. Well-written and dome of the “shocker” moments will really blow your mind. Glad this is getting a turn at the MSP.