The Walking Dead
At the time I am writing this, The Walking Dead (which will be referred to from here on out as TWD) is on issue #51. And it is killing me.
Let me give you the Wiki Intro on this:
The Walking Dead is an American monthly black and white comic published by Image Comics beginning in 2003. The comic was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore (replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 onward) and chronicles the travels of a group of people trying to survive in a world stricken by a zombie apocalypse.
If the words Zombie Apocalypse has failed to peak your interest then you might as well move on.
There is nothing for you to see here.
But, if you are like me, then you are good and hard and ready to go.
Let me just say that I am hooked.
The writing is phenomenal. The art is perfect. The story is gripping. That’s what you want to hear right? Well it’s all lies.
But, it’s all lies in a good way.
Let me start with the story. This comic hits every single Zombie cliché out there. Hell the comic even starts out with the main character waking up in a hospital only to find out the world has been taking over by Zombies ala 28 days later. From there it hits the ground running.
It’s about a group of people trying to survive the day-to-day trails of having everything they know turned completely upside by none other than the Walking Dead. It shows everything that they are doing to try to survive.
The only thing that sucks about this comic, yet is also very cool and realistic, is that you can’t get behind or have any favorite characters because you never know if they are going to survive to the next issue.
The Art.
For me this is a different art style than I normally read. It’s in Black and White. Normally I walk away form such comics, but thanks to comics such as 30 Days of Night and Powers I have learned to never just a story but it’s color. I know, I know, neither of the comics I have mentioned are in black and white but the art style is different than what I am used to. And it helped me to open my mind.
The use of black and white is important in this story because it shows you that on the surface life is black and white. Survive or Die. Simple. But like the comic itself, the complications to lead to these choices lie deep in the story. It’s an amazing use of symbolism in a simple story.
The writing is fairly impressive as well. Robert Kirkman nails it in every issue. He manages to show how much we strive for normalcy in a world where we do nothing but complain about it.
This comic is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. If you are looking for a safe story with happy endings then you need to put the comic down and find something else. This comic is gritty and bloody and downright fucked up. But it should be, right? I mean happiness and rainbows fly out the window once the dead rise. What you know as normal life and behavior no longer mean a damn thing when you are fighting for your life humanity. And TWD exemplifies all of that.
One of my favorite things to do is to cruise to Barnes and Noble and read graphic novels and have a coffee. I do this to discover comics that I have not heard of without wasting any money. Yeah I am a cheap bastard, fuck off.
I picked up #1 of TWD and fell hard. I couldn’t put it down. I quickly picked up the entire series and ran home and read them all in one sitting.
That’s how much I love this comic.
I recommend it for all of those fans of the Zombie Genre. It’s some good shit. Now if they only hurry up and come out with #52!!!!!
