TNL Comic / Manga Club: The Walking Dead

[g0zen]

Okay, I couldn't help myself, especially when I found out Image comics had some of the first graphic novel online for free to read:

An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. Rick Grimes finds himself one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family, he must now sort through all the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living.

Taking a well-worn genre—flesh-eating zombies overrun the world and the unlucky surviving humans must deal with the gruesome aftermath—and approaching it from a purely character-driven point of view propels this series into the spotlight from out of nowhere. This collection of the first six issues of the ongoing series opens with police officer Rick Grimes awakening from a gunshot-induced coma. From here, he's immediately dragged into a world where dangerous revenants are shambling amok without any sort of an explanation. From the moment Grimes comes to, it's a harrowing battle to avoid hordes of decomposing zombies and a hope-against-all-odds search for his missing family. Grimes makes his way to Atlanta, the nearest large city where there may be other living people, and events take several unexpected turns upon his arrival, as he meets up with a rural encampment of survivors. Of course, as in recent hit movies 28 Days Later... and Dawn of the Dead, the last humans may turn out to be as much a danger as the zombies. Forceful scripting that gives the book a strong grounding in reality, crisp b&w artwork, a shocking final sequence and brisk, gory proceedings elevate this book from the trash heap of pedestrian horror comics.

Read a 29 pg. teaser from the Vol. 1 graphic novel here at Image Comics Online. Just click on The Walking Dead. Enjoy!

Thanks to Geohound for pointing out Image's preview section.

[avatar]

Oh shit. Kirkman's The Walking Dead is the absolute best zombie story of all time. I'm fucking serious. Their is so much crazy shit going down among the survivors that the zombies are a marginal threat throughout the books I have read.

best of all the most potential explosive stories have not been told yet.

[Deus13]

I didn't get into the series until after the first trade was out, but I quickly picked it and any second volume back issues I missed. This really is a great read and one of the few books I look forward to every month.

I am definately curious as to how the whole thing will play out, considering Kirkman said he has it planned for 75 issues. And he has the whole 'no one is safe' policy going, which includes Rick.

[Bacon McShig]

Regarding the first volume, I loved it. Tony Moore's artwork is amazing stuff.

Vol. 2 and beyond are a different story, unfortunately. The jarring step down in the artwork from changing artists really shattered the appeal for me. The dialogue seemed to get a bit stiffer, as well. The basic story is still good, I'll grant, but IMO it's not enough to carry the shifted weight of the book's worth that the art side dropped.

[animegirl]

I have the first three TPBs and they are awesome. It is bar none the best zombie story I have ever read. Is the fourth one out yet?

[Rtificial]

Ah man, that was a teaser. I'd like to see some more to where the story really kicks in cause the teaser was just an intro/sample. Starts off reminding me of 28 days later so I'd want to see how it does the whole zombie thing differently.

The art is nice also.

[Spider-Man]

Grabbing now, sir.

[Timber]

This looks really good. I'll try to read through it before the weekend is up.

[edit]

Damn it that wasn't the full book online, just a 24 page teaser. Well, it worked. I'm gonna look around for this and if I can't find it by Sunday I'll order it through amazon.

Is the fourth one out yet?

Amazon.com says yes

I may just buy all 4 at once, this looks really good.

[g0zen]

I didn't notice that was just 29 pages, oops. Still, it's a good teaser and should be enough to prompt those interested enough to buy / download / borrow it.

Yes, Vol. 4 is out and has been for some time. My thoughts on it are that it's great, but seemingly the weakest of the series so far. It spends most of the time just resolving the simmering conflicts introduced in Vol. 3 or creates new ones. Not too extraordinary happens.

Anyway, as to this one, yes it is the best and not, in my opinion, solely because of the artist. This first volume redefined how the zombie genre could be presented in my eyes. It took something that was becoming dull and formulaic and turned it on its head. Not by changing the zombies (like the Dawn of the Dead remake did or 28 Days Later and yes I'm aware those weren't true zombies) but by investing more into the characters and how living in this hellish world effects them.

The critique that the change in artist turns people off is valid, I can't change what some people find better art. However, to say that the writing has taken a downward turn since the first series I would strongly disagree with. I would say that the writing hit its high-point with Vol. 2 and has since leveled off.

[Bacon McShig]

However, to say that the writing has taken a downward turn since the first series I would strongly disagree with.

Who are you disagreeing with? I never said the writing got worse.