The Walking Dead, Volume 01: Days Gone Bye

Read: November 2015

I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead TV series but until recently I wasnt interested in reading the graphic novels that the series is based on. I changed my mind about reading them basically because all the fans of comics know (roughly) what is going to happen next in the show and I dont like the idea that I'm missing out especially in terms of the comic book fans knowing the details of Glenn's death!

So I decided to download Days Gone Bye just to see how I felt about it. Initally I felt like I viewed it as an addition to the TV series rather than a story in its own right. I liked that the first couple of episodes of season one follow really closely to the structure of the comic book but I got more detail about the show more characters, such as how Rick and Lori first met and what the characters did for a living before the apocalypse. It was also good to revisit characters I had almost forgotten about like Jim and Amy.

Differences:
- We never meet Carol's husband.
- Darryl doesnt exist.
- There is a family in the comics; Allen and Donna and their twin boys, that are replaced in the TV series by Morales, his wife Eliza and their daughter and son. I'm not sure why this was changed in the show as Donna has a lot of interaction with Rick, Shane, Lori and Dale, whereas the Morales' family never really did a lot and went their seperate ways from the main group in season 1 when they decided to head to the CDC.
- Shane dies at the end of the comic, before they even leave their original campsite

As soon as I finished Vol 1: Days Gone Bye, I went straight back to amazon to download Vol 2. I didnt expect to have that reaction. I thought I would enjoy Days Gone Bye as an addition to the TV series and leave it at that but even though I know what happens next I still feel compelled to carry on and read the rest of the comic books.

I really, really enjoyed these stories.

Rating: 5/5 stars, one of the best reads of 2015. show less

This book was so obnoxious. The women spend the whole novel doing wash and acting like a bunch of wimps. The only strong female character who protests their treatment comes across like a whiny bitch. At one point one of the male characters wonders how her husband can even "put up with her." All the male characters are super macho and spend their time hunting. Too many stereotypes for me in one novel. If this is what the zombie apocalypse is going to be like I pray that I am one of the first victims! I'd rather shuffle around eating brains than live with these people.

Dear Zombie Readers,

If you are reading this review, I’m assuming you aren’t living under a rock (if you are living under a rock, can you please explain how you are receiving internet service? Might come in handy for the zombie apocalypse :D), and have watched or at least heard of The Walking Dead TV drama. If you have watched the show and have a hankering to read The Walking Dead comics there are a few things you should keep in mind . . .
1.The comics came first, so don’t get angry when you realize the curtains don’t match the drapes, so to speak.

As far as I can tell, none of the important events from the television show unfold accurately. Which is a bummer, because some of the events they changed were much more awesome in the show more comic. Except that . . .
2.Daryl doesn’t exist.

*sob* this makes me so sad, because while I couldn’t ever finish the series (too much drama, too little of the campy horror humor that I love so much), I did love me some Daryl. On the plus side, his asshat brother doesn’t exist, either. You win some, you lose some.
3.Zombies exist in the Walking Dead comics!

Unlike in the show and every other zombie apocalypse novel/movie I’ve ever read/watched, Kirkman isn’t afraid of the “z” word. . . I just wish the same goes for the show, because it’s a tad aggravating when the z word is the elephant in the room. Like zombie flicks aren’t weird enough that you have an enormous elephant into the room but to NEVER ACKNOWLEDGE IT!!!

It’s rather rude.

Poor elephant just want’s some attention.
4.You may cry when the horsie dies.

Remember that horse that somehow survives not being fed or “walker” bait while Rick was comatose to come to Rick’s rescue when he can’t find fuel? It was so freaking sad. And gruesome. Which I completely enjoy in horror . . . when it’s happening to people. Animals, not so much.

One awesome thing about this comic is how much attention Moore paid to every little exquisite detail. He is obviously an amazing artist, however, if you can’t handle gore, don’t read this novel. Because when it comes to all the gory details (yeah, I went there), he obviously spent some extra time on.

Which makes me question why Kirkman spends the introduction discounting The Walking Dead as horror, but that’s not important, so let’s move on.
5.If you thought The Walking Dead show was sad, you haven’t seen nothin’ yet.

I can’t explain why, but it is just so much sadder to read about the hopefulness and faith the characters’ have that the government will someday save them all with a cure and the zombies will just one day shake off the infection and return to their homes without a scratch.

I wish I had that kind of faith in our government. Heck, I’d probably blame the government before I put my faith in them to save the day.

❥ ❥ ❥

If I had to pick between The Walking Dead television show and The Walking Dead comics, I’ll probably always pick the comic. I learned more about the characters from one comic than I ever did in three seasons. I finally had answers about Rick, Lori, and Carl that were never answered. Hell, I finally got the full story on Jim, who didn’t even make it to the CDC! I also enjoyed not having as much drama, but that is sure to change in later volumes. *crosses fingers that it doesn’t* I didn’t even hate the loaded cliffhanger at the end, because it was freaking awesome! *hint*

Are you intrigued yet? I hope so! If anything, read the comics if you’re curious to see how they hold up to the show. If you don’t watch the show, but you’re a fan of horror and zombies, pick up a copy of The Walking Dead Vol.1: Days Gone Bye and see how you like it!

Zombie crazed and loving it,
☠One Evil Curvy Blogger

Read more reviews @ http://onecurvyblogger.com show less

Officer Rick Grimes wakes up from his gunshot-induced coma to find the city overrun by zombies, so he must hit the ground running to find his wife and son, along with his best friend, who turns out to have been affected more than others by the current state of affairs. Very good beginning to what could potentially be a brilliant series. In his foreword, Kirkman talks about how he means to write a character-driven story (my personal favorite) about surviving catastrophe and he's absolutely successful in that; there are no obvious heroes or villains, only some people who step up to the task and some who do not and there's no telling which will be which. Moore's black-and-white art is also worth noting - it's sparse, but some characters' show more expressions are stunning (especially eyes seem to be Moore's forte). In color, this may have been prettier, but probably too gory which would have detracted from the actual story. show less

A striking and powerful graphic novel. Kirkman is clear in his introduction that he wants to write about characters changing in response to extreme situations, and at the same time critique our culture. He wants us to question 'our station' in society, and the station of our society itself. With urban & suburban backdrops that look like a Walmart and a Target smashed head first into each other at high speed, this first novel follows Officer Rick Grimes who wakes from a coma to find the world has fallen apart. As he searches for his wife and son, and struggles to help a camp of survivors stay safe, volume 1 sets the stage for an epic tale intended to follow Rick over the next years as he finds his way forward through the dark.

Being completely enamored of zombie stories, it's not at all surprising that I love this series.

Rick Grimes, small-town cop, wakes from a coma to discover the world as he knew it gone, and surrounded by zombies. His wife and son are gone - to Atlanta, he comes to believe - and he decides to try and survive and find his family.

When Rick finds them (a bit unbelievable, yes, but go with it), he joins the motley group of survivors they've been staying with, and tensions quickly arise when Rick feels they should move farther away from the city of Atlanta and Shane, Rick's cop friend who's been serving as the unofficial leader of the group, disagrees.

This is a story about survival, pure and simple. Yes, they're trying to survive among show more zombies, but they still must face incredibly difficult choices. What are you willing to do to survive? How far will you go to protect those you love? How can very different people work together to survive.

Compelling and very dark, I recommend this one heartily! show less

Three weeks after Rick got shot, he wakes up from a coma to complete chaos. There are no living people in the hospital where he had been – but there are plenty of the living dead. Unsure of exactly what happened in the past three weeks since he was shot, Rick goes out in search of his wife and son, in hopes that they escaped the zombie apocalypse, or that they are at least holed up somewhere safe.

After reuniting with his family in a small camp of survivors, Rick and the others struggle to cope with life – how to keep themselves safe, how to learn to depend on people they don’t know, and how to mostly stay alive.

The Review
The story in Days Gone Bye reminded me quite a bit of Max Brooks’ World War Z in the way it explored how the show more zombie apocalypse affected those trying to survive as opposed to focusing specifically on the zombies and our fight with the zombies. I love stories like that – and not just the zombie-centric ones – that takes a group of people, totally removes the safety aspect from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and explores how the characters cope… how some of them can’t deal with it, and their lives come crashing down on them, and how others find a way to survive.

It was that exploration of true humanity in the middle of chaos that made this story so enjoyable. Even seeing the petty jealousness of humanity, even seeing how selfish and self-centered people can be, there’s a hope that humanity will survive and that everything in the world is not evil.

The Bottom Line
Highly recommended for zombie fans. Highly recommended for Max Brooks fans. This was highly enjoyable, and I am definitely planning on reading more books in this series. show less