The Walking Dead comic book series is one of the most well written and interesting piece of zombie literature out there. There are currently 10 mass market paperbacks out and it's still going strong. The story follows Rick, his family, and his band of random friends as they struggle to survive in a post-zombie apocalypse world. The characters are diverse in every way: in sex, race, age, and sanity.

As you probably know, many horror movies rely on the characters doing stupid things to move the plot ahead. This really isn't the case with The Walking Dead series. Of course the characters sometimes make fatal mistakes, but it isn't the main plot device. (I think it's wonderful that stupidity is swiftly punished in this world.) Problems in this world do not only stem from zombies. There are so many other things to worry about: food, shelter, raising children, inner group conflicts, and even other humans.

Sometimes, encountering other humans is much more dangerous than any zombie. Keep in mind that there is no longer any government, laws or regulations to follow. People can essentially do whatever they want without any repercussions. I think this is the scariest aspect of this world. Some people turn into complete monsters and do terrible things. Even the main characters have to struggle with their own humanity because they are surrounded by so much violence and gore.

No character is safe in this series. Anyone could die at any time for any reason. The deaths are unexpected and often pretty brutal. I like this unpredictability because it keeps my interest and makes me want to know more after I read each issue. The only problem with this series is that the mass market paperbacks don't come out as often as I would like. I would recommend this series to any zombie fan. If you don't usually read comic books, please give this one a try. You won't be disappointed. ( )

A welcome return to the classic moan, groan and slow zombies dragging their sorry putrefied half-rotten corpses around the land looking for food ... and that means YOU folks! This is a long on-going series of comics / graphic novels (call them what you like) and it shows, the pace is very slow concentrating more on getting to know the characters than the actual zombies themselves, not that this is a bad thing don't get me wrong; I imagine there are a lot of people who greatly enjoy this and don't want it to end (let's face it, a lot of times a film finishes and you sit there wondering; "but what happens next?", well Kirkman here shows us the full journey with all it's dillemas for the survivors) but for me it brought nothing new to the zombie genre. It starts much the same as the film 28 Days Later with our hero coming out of a coma to find the world dramatically changed and then follows his journey across America as he tries to find his family. Once he finds his family again they are part of a small band of survivors trying to live through the horror and discussing, in depth, their sorrows and woes, dealing with the burdens of losing every single person they ever knew but finding comfort the next minute in the arms of someone else.
I'm not sure how many volumes of The Walking Dead there are now, I have read two, I'm not in any hurry to read the next ones but that shouldn't be taken to be as damning as it sounds, I did enjoy the story I just had the feeling I'd read it somewhere before. The artwork, for me, was the same as well. It was competent rather than outstanding; none of the images will stay with me but I did like the fact that they were drawn in black and white which does make a change from the current trend to garishly colour every frame in a graphic novel.
I’d recommend it to fans of horror stories, of people who enjoy reading horror comics but for me it wasn’t a defining moment in either genre.
3 stars ( )

For all the hype this series got, I have almost no drive to read the second volume - the characters were predictable and boring, the plot was... predictable and boring, and unless more interesting story arcs start to come out of the woodwork, I doubt I'll continue after the second volume. Good art if somewhat uninspired. That's actually how I felt about the entire first volume - uninspired. The zombie genre is done to death, and this adds nothing interesting or original. ( )

There's something to be said about zombies. They are a very interesting pop culture phenomenon, from Plan 9 from Outer Space to Left 4 Dead, zombies have swarmed into our culture and multiplied, most likely by biting elements of the culture, and thus turning those elements into zombies. Why else would we have things like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?

Or The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead is like the NeverEnding Story, only instead of luck dragons and childlike empresses, we have zombies and humans trying not to be turned into zombies. It follows the story of a police officer, after waking up in the hospital (which seems to be a very common theme among zombie and zomboid films). He slowly makes his way to Atlanta, which is overrun with the undead. He finds his family, having left him in the hospital, and he and they and the rest of the survivors live (if living you could call it) on the outskirts of the town.

Beautifully drawn by Tony Moore, this comic features panel after panel of black and white images. Additionally, it is masterfully written by Kirkman, a fan of the classic (and in my opinion, only) zombie.

If you like books by authors like Brooks or films by Romero, you'll most certainly have a place for Walking Dead in your heart. Just make sure it doesn't get to your brains. ( )

People are scarier than Zombies. ( )