Back again and The Walking Dead

It occurred to me that I hadn't touched my blog in a while, I've been uploading college work straight onto EDI rather than on here, but now that I'm pretty much done (FUCK YEAHHH) I can now focus this blog solely on randomness like films, music, interests and what have you. So yeah, I'll restart things off with zombies, because despite them having been being milked dry over the past 50 years (mas o menos), they are still fucking awesome.

And in recent times one of the most unexpected surprises I've had in relation to zombies has to be The Walking Dead. As far as the TV show goes, I've only seen a few episodes of series 1, and if I'm honest I liked what I saw. Despite a slightly hammy feel to some of the characters, and some dialogue that I disagreed with, it kept my interest and managed to quench my thirst for gore and roaming dead people on the screen. But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here about the original Walking Dead that started the TV series, the on going monthly comic by Robert Kirkman.

I'm a big fan of comics. I was raised on 2000 AD, Alan Moore and Neat Stuff, something that gave me a taste for the medium from a young age. While I may not be a hardcore comic fan, I'm terrible when it comes to Marvel and DC for example, I like to think that when it comes to graphic novels I've read a few. Unfortunately, when it comes to zombies in the medium, they rarely ever hit the mark. Tokyo Zombie was brilliant, despite being weird as fuck, but other than I can't really think of any that stand out to me as great example of the genre in comics, which meant there was a gaping hole in the market.

I only found out the tv show was based on a comic when I looked up the tv series, and when I started to have a look at the comic I was pleasantly surprised to find that it made the screen adaptation pale in comparison. I'm up to issue 52 now, to date there are more than 100, and the best way I can think to describe it is as a soap opera, with zombies. And despite me usually not having the time of day for soaps, its fucking awesome. The group of survivors in the comic is bigger and as far as I can tell more fleshed out than the series, with the politics and relationships in the group getting explored in greater detail, the black and white artwork is a lot nicer on the eyes for me personally than the filmed for tv feel the show has and finally and most importantly, it covers a hell of a lot more ground. While I reckon if the tv show continues to be as successful as it is at the moment it could very well expand and end up following the plot of the comics a bit closer than it has been, but for the moment, the story in the comic is a hell of a lot more engaging.

With a nice mix of roaming the country trying to find safe places to live, building up anywhere they decide would be a good place to make a new home, and the inevitable departure again after it all goes to shit, it comes together nicely, helped in no small part by a constant stream of new and interesting characters. It’s worth noting that, in a feat I admire and respect Kirkman for, he is not afraid to kill off characters, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or how big a part they were playing in the story. Try not to get too attached, that’s all I can say.    

Despite having a clichéd white, middle-class and almost middle aged policeman as the main character, or rather the most prominent main character, It’s the wide variety of other characters that proves to be one of the strongest parts of the comic. Whether its encountering inmates still alive in an abandoned prison, a farm belonging to a god fearing hillbilly and his family, or a whole town/community of other survivors who have been corrupted by the horrors they've seen, it consistently manages to find new and interesting people to throw into the mix, then turn into zombie food.

The story takes a turn for something much darker than most people were expecting when Michonne gets captured by the Governor, I won't go into detail but I'll stress that it’s not a kids comic at all, and its set in a nasty world where bad shit happens. And it’s true, just because zombies start eating people it doesn't mean that all the nasty people in the world will go away, if anything they'll be left free to their own devices. It’s a pretty brutal book and isn't afraid to show it.

Finally, the artwork is wonderful. Whether it’s the awesome covers, a few of which I saw won some awards and rightfully so, or the detailed black and white panels, carefully balancing realism with comic effect, it all comes together as a whole brilliantly, very rarely leaving you puzzled as to what you're seeing or what emotion a character is trying to portray.

So, I think I'll write something else once I reach issue 100 to give my feedback on how it continues, but for now I thoroughly recommend this on going comic which finally does justice to the zombie genre. It’s got great characters, a nice inventive story full of twists and turns, lovely artwork and a creator who genuinely cares about the material, even if he can come off slightly big headed on the letters page. Kirkman claims he has enough story in his head to reach issue 300, if he can keep up the quality like he has managed so far then I hope he manages it.