Roughly 1000 pages (Graphic Novel) Fiction
Robert Kickman is the author. The artwork is originally created by Tony Moore. It is then taken over by Charlie Adlard. This compendium covers #1-#48 of the series. It also has a small Holiday special from 2005. I rarely get to watch horror of any sort since my wife refuses to watch anything that could be construed as such. Somehow I started watching the first season of the TV show on Netflix. I was interested, and as soon as the second season came out I watched them all in a few days. I now have been watching them as they come out on TV. I decided to give the comic a try.
The story follows Rick, a police officer, who wakes from a gun shot coma to find the world has been overrun with zombies. He eventually meets a group of people and they attempt to survive in this new life of walking dead. They attempt to find places of safety and typically are run out of a safe haven as soon as they can settle in. They meet other groups of survivors. Sometimes this is good and sometimes this is bad. What I found most interesting is that the book really isn't about blood and gore. That is a part of it at times, but what makes it worth while is the lives of the people involved. The new order that is in place forces people to act in ways they would never have thought about in the past. Survival forces mistrust of others before humanity can take hold.
I imagine most people interested in the comic series may already have seen the show. They are quite a few differences between the comic and the TV series. I won't fill this with spoilers. On the TV show Rick is very likable and you care about him a lot. In the book he is much more driven and angry. There are a number of characters in the book that are not in the show and vice versa. Michonne is very different. In the show she is a hard character that doesn't care about anyone. In the book she seems more "normal". The major plot points seems to happen in both, but there minor differences that make both worthwhile to experience on their own.
A note about the artwork. I come from an artistic background so the artwork in a comic is very important. Tony Moore did a fantastic job with the first "chapter" of the comic. So far as black and white artists goes he was the best I can imagine doing the work. Apparently, he was behind on finishing each month so was replaced by Adlard. To be honest this was a huge disappointment for me. Especially in the first few comics he did I felt the artwork was mediocre to poor. Whereas in Moore's artwork each character stood out and had great shading, Adlard was poorly drawn with blocky shading. I found it hard to tell the difference between some of the men. I am happy that this subsided somewhat as the series went on, but at this point I don't think he has caught up to Moore's work. Thankfully the story is good enough that it didn't keep me from continuing the series.
3 Emotional/Intellectual - What makes this series is the characters and how they deal with the new world. I do think that the show does a slightly better job of this in than the book.
3 Style/Readability - I found myself reading late into the night to find out what happens next. Since things are changed a lot from the TV show it was fresh throughout.
4 Long Term Impact - The Walking Dead has been around about 10 years and it is already a classic. I think it will be the new standard for comparison for anything zombie that follows.
10 out of 13. This mainly depending on taste. It is a horror comic and I think most anyone will know where they stand regarding the subject matter. If you think you'd be ok with a horror comic than I think this is well worth your time. If the subject turns you off. the quality of the book isn't going to change your opinion.
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