Issues 49-96 Fiction (Soft Cover)
The Walking Dead has become a phenomenon. It went from a tiny virtually unknown comic to one of the most watched TV shows ever; spawning all the things related to that. I typically don't watch much horror because my wife will not watch it. Last year I was sick and stayed home and decided to give the first episode of the TV show a try. I was hooked and watched most of the first season in a few days. I think what makes it appealing is that though there is a constant threat of zombies attacking; the real story is how people relate to each other and deal with the situation.
::SPOILERS!::
The last compendium ended with the Governor attacking the prison and spreading the group apart. The characters give up and start living outside again. Rick has been injured and is not doing well. Carl and Rick stay in a house and while Rick is recuperating Carl protects him. Michonne finds them and they soon meet up with most of the original group. Soon after a group of three people Abraham, Eugene and Rosita come upon the group demanding use of their supplies. Eugene is a Dr. and has to get to Washington D.C. to help cure the plague that has infected humans. They travel to Washington and meet up with a group of people that live in a fenced in village. The rest of the book deal mostly with interactions of the people and how they deal with the growing threat of walkers and other people.
When I first started reading the comic the original artist, Tony Moore, was FANTASTIC and I really enjoyed his work. He was replaced by Charlie Adlard after the 6th comic. His work was very disappointing at first especially when compared to Moore. Towards the end of the first compendium you can see significant improvements. With the second compendium he improves even more. The style fits the series and is decent, though it still isn't as good as Moore.
The writing is well done. They focus on the characters and we get glimpses into their inner psychology. Comics are easy to read, but I found myself tearing through these. I am not sure the exact page count but I was reading more than a hundred pages a day.
I have been watching the TV series as well and there are MAJOR differences between the show and the comics. It seems that at the end of the Midseason Finale of season 4 we are at the beginning of issue 49. The prison is overrun and Rick is wounded. He and Carl walk away separated from the rest of the group. A lot of things are different though. Parts of the story that happen in the second compendium were already used in the show and some things haven't happened. A lot of the characters are mixed up, show up at different times, are added or omitted. A whole side story with the governor is added to the show that isn't in the books.
I would say that comparing the two is a bit unfair considering this was all done by a few guys before it gained popularity with the show. The show is so successful they essentially have access to the best writers in television. I really did NOT like how much time was spent regarding the Woodbury story on the TV show. I don't like the Governor character and it seemed like dealing with him went way longer than was enjoyable. That said the show is better over all.
3 Intellectual/Emotional - I care about the characters and hope they do well. They are living in a life and death situation. They are constantly forced to make hard decisions and sometimes they make the wrong ones. That usually means likable characters are killed off and to me that is appealing. No one is protected.
3 Style/Readability - It is easily read and I had a hard time putting it down. I don't know how I would like waiting a month to get to what happens next if I was reading the series month to month.
4 Long Term Impact - There is no doubt that The Walking Dead has already changed popular culture to a degree. Horror as a whole has always been a niche in entertainment. With its adaptation as a TV show it has changed what is acceptable for "mainstream" entertainment. It will certainly spawn more books, comics and tv shows that deal with horror based subjects.
10 out of 13. I have been enjoying them and I plan on reading further in the series when the next compendium comes out. I have heard that it gets a bit hard to handle soon after this compendium finishes so I will see where it goes from there. I think if the subject, horror and end of the world scenarios, doesn't turn you away this series is worth checking out. If nothing else check of the first 6 issues with the original artist, Tony Moore.
As always, Keep Turning Pages.
