The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1

Product Information

I like the concept. I like the dark no-one-is-safe atmosphere. The art is fittingly bleak and gritty, if not particularly inspired.

Okay, I'm going to say this right up front, and everyone can get as huffy as they'd like: it's all true. I loved comparing the two. Some of my favorites here I don't like in the tv version For example I love Andrea in the comics but nearly despise her in the series-although I do like the actress). But bottom line, there is a lot that can be new.Why I said "yes": Show is great (which was also recommended from above mentioned friend) and pure realization that I need to step out of my comfort zone when it comes to entertainment. ((You mean I can't read dirty romance novels and period pieces for life?)) So the series is basically about about character development. And that's great! But if you do it badly, you end up with a cheap soap opera. And that's what The Walking Dead really is: a mediocre soap opera. With zombies. Even the zombies are kind of lame and serve primarily as an excuse to include mindless action scenes, which do little to break up the monotony of it all.

I found a lot of the differences interesting in the general plot of the story. Andrea was pretty awesome in the comics and while I didn't mind her in the show, I can see that her character was done a huge disservice. On the other hand, Carol was vastly improved on in the show. Michonne was still just as badass in both but I felt glad that she didn't have to go through the same trauma. The Governor was on a whole other level of evil in the comics than the show. He has always been my most hated 'villain' in the show because although we were shown people that technically did worse or more insane things, I found him incredibly creepy and unnerving because he's the kind of manipulative bastard that I can't stand. The show gave him some episodes that seemed like they were trying to almost redeem him which I hated so I was so glad that the comics showed him as truly vile throughout. Some of the characters from the show don't exist in the comics and vice versa and while I missed the presence of some of the characters (Read: Daryl and Merle) I wasn't fussed about the exclusion of others. On the other hand, I could understand why they'd left out some of the characters from the comics as they really just felt like spare parts and extra bodies with no real purpose besides getting killed off. Maggie remained in the show but Hershel's other kids (there were 5 others besides Maggie) were condensed into the character of Beth, who I admit I wasn't the biggest fan of but I think having just her instead of trying to squeeze all the others into it made a lot more sense for the show. But honestly... I just don't know what anyone's thinking. To me, that's scarier than any half-rotten ghoul trying to eat my flesh." Ammo is scarce, so that’s why that being able to shoot and doing it with precision becomes a vital skill where, Andrea, a young blonde woman, is showing to be the best shooter of the group.

Artists

Overall the book was great. There was a lot of sex, cursing, and actions that should test one's morals. Not enough about zombies, as the book was more about the characters and their relationships/struggles to stay alive for an uncertain future. The book was not linear, which I found to be an added bonus. I get bored easily when it comes to novels, so the frequent change in scenes were pleasant to my reading experience. But as far as reliance on tradition goes, you could do worse than Shakespeare. Yes, I said Shakespeare: 1)Conflict one. 2)Conflict two. 3)Violence, resolving one of the above, complicating the other. 4)Discourse on ethics 5)Repeat. So what is it that makes zombie stories so popular? Why do people love books like this one, or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or World War Z? Why do movies like Shaun of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead and even Resident Evil get people so excited? It certainly isn't because of the zombies, although it is always fun to see the special effects improve. Before recent wars and criminal adventures and subsequent psycho-medical research and publicity, PTSD was all but ignored by zombie comix.