The Walking Dead Compendium, Volume One (Graphic Novel)
Robert Kirkman (Author)
Charlie Adlard (Illustrator)
Cliff Rathburn (Illustrator)
Tony Moore (Illustrator)
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication date: 5/6/2009
ISBN-13: 9781607060765
1088 Pages
If you’ve spent any length of time reading this book review blog you can’t help but notice that I’ve reviewed my fair share of post-apocalyptic and zombie novels over the years (i.e. Patrick Cronin's The Passage, Mira Grant's Feed, Z.A. Recht's Plague of the Dead and Thunder and Ashes, to name but a few.) The reason for this is because I believe the two compliment each other in many ways and, being devoted to both, I just can’t seem to get enough of either. It should come as no surprise then that I'm a fervent fan of the AMC TV series The Walking Dead. This particular review will contain elements of both the Graphic Novel and the AMC TV series but primarily focuses on the graphic novel and why I think it's better than the TV show, although the show gets a few well-deserved compliments, as well.
The Graphic Novel
1) The zombies in the graphic novel are infinitely more frightening to me than those in the TV show. And, not for the reasons you might think. The TV series depicts the zombies in all their gruesome glory and they are disgusting and hyper-ugly (and totally freakin’ awesome, BTW) but the illustrations in the graphic novels treat the zombies in a way the TV show can't. The graphic novel artists have created zombies that somehow seem slightly more human than zombie and there is an emotional severing that takes place when they are destroyed. And that freaks. the. daylights. out of me. The zombies on TV, on the other hand, are obviously monsters that have lost all humanity and putting a bullet (or any other metal object) into their heads feels justified and necessary, like putting down a rabid animal before it hurts someone. [The only real exception to this idea was the deeply emotional demise of a zombiefied Sophia a few episodes ago.] The artwork in the graphic novel is compelling and poignant and makes zombie killing feel more like murder than an act of mercy or compassion. It’s not just a chore that needs to be done and there is a perceived sympathy depicted in the body language and facial expressions of the characters after each zombie slaying. (All bets are off during a zombie mob attack, though.) You’ll see that the dichotomy of these opinions and feelings mirror those of two main characters; Herschel, who saw the zombies as people who might eventually be cured, and Rick, who knows better.
2) The deaths of a few of the main characters in the graphic novel feel more logical and better spaced than in the TV series. In one case it took much too long for a certain character to be red-shirted. Now, this might simply be a matter of having read the book first and may be influenced by the events of the graphic novel but I feel the TV show might have flowed better had they followed similar arcs. But again, that's clearly only my opinion.
NOTE: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT AHEAD - If you have not had a chance to view the second to last episode of Season 2 “Better Angels” (Air Date 3/11/12) please read no further. A major spoiler will be revealed in 10, 9, 8… Last chance… 7, 6, 5… Turn back now… 4, 3, 2… You’ve been warned.
3) The front cover of Compendium One is a brilliant and a significant depiction of the entire essence of the story. If you look closely enough you'll see mirror images of the same people both as humans (on the top) and as zombies (beneath.) So, this tells me that either everyone in the story becomes a zombie at some point or... everyone in the story is already infected and doomed to become a zombie when they die. With Shane dying at Rick’s hands and then coming back as a zombie without being bit it's a sure sign that everyone will soon find out that they carry the strain of the plague within them that will, after their death, turn them into zombies.
4) What the graphic novel does with dialogue is very clever. It’s short and concise and there are no wasted words. I suspect that’s because saving space in comics is key. There are many long scenes in the TV show where extended dialogue has to take place to tell the back story or to set up future events but the graphic novel does this with much less dialogue (thus the hefty 1088 pages and more art.) Chalk it up to the skills of the writer and illustrators for telling the story better through the use of more illustrated panels than wasted dialogue.
Now that I’ve discussed why the graphic novel is better here are a few elements where I think the TV show surpasses the graphic novel.
The AMC TV Series
1) The TV show has a nice flowing storyline with somewhat long, easy to follow scenes while the graphic novel jumps from perspectives and story-lines rather quickly, sometimes within a page or two. If you’re not paying attention it can trip you up a little and get confusing.
2) The make-up and special effects in the TV show are excellent and many of the zombies are so gruesome and the zombie killing scenes so gross that the 12 year old boy in me jumps with joy every time a zombie head gets splattered to mush or staved in by an axe. More brains, please…
3) Like the TV series Lost, the creators of The Walking Dead are not afraid to kill off a main character or two just to push the plot along or intensify the suspense elements of the show. For instance, while both Shane and Dale die in the graphic novels they do so under very different circumstances than the TV show. Watching the series then has provided surprise elements that I could not predict and are therefore surprising to me when they happen even though I’ve read the graphic novels. And, I like surprises.
4) Since the graphic novel is completely rendered in black and white it fails to take advantage of the shock and awe of full-color zombie head shots, dropped body parts, sloughing skin and dangling eyeballs. The TV show capitalizes on this with an occasional scene bursting (bad pun intended) with full-color gore, blood, guts, and, of course, more brains.
The Walking Dead Compendium, Volume One - Graphic Novel - should appeal to zombie lit lovers, Social Science Fiction fans, post-apocalyptic genre readers, drama enthusiasts, those who expect gore galore in their graphic novels, comic book devotees, horror fans, and 12 to 112 year-old boys and girls (but not the squeamish.)
Oh, and, for what it’s worth, stay out of the barn and the prison barber shop.
The Walking Dead – Compendium, Volume One – Graphic Novel
5 out of 5 stars
The Walking Dead – AMC TV Series
5 out of 5 Stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Additional Reading:
The Walking Dead (TV series) Wikipedia Page
Artist Sites:
*****
For your entertainment…
Inspired by the hit AMC TV show “The Walking Dead” and the Graphic Novel of the same name and sung to the tune “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads, The Alternative presents the following original parody.
“Zombie Killer”
I can't seem to find my favorite axe
There’s zombies everywhere and I
Can't relax
I can't sleep 'cause there’s zombies in this place
Always tryin’ to bite off my face
Zombie Killer
Brains, you say?
ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra raw brains
Can’t find a shotgun? Run run run away
Zombie Killer
Brains, you say?
ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra raw brains
Don’t have a blowtorch? Run run run away
You start a food run they get in the way
So many walkers you gotta’ make ‘em pay
They’re always following me and droppin’ their parts
Better to shoot ‘em than to chainsaw ‘em apart
Zombie Killer
Brains, you say?
ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra raw brains
Can’t find a tire iron? Run run run away
Zombie Killer
Brains, you say?
ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra raw brains
Don’t have a crossbow? Run run run away
I saw a zombie
Crawling in the grass
I got my shotgun
And shot him in the… head OK
Walkin’ hungry without any souls
I hate zombies when they're not full of holes
Zombie Killer
Brains, you say?
ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra raw brains
Can’t find a .45? Run run run away
Zombie Killer
Brains, you say?
ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra raw brains
Don’t have a bowie knife? Run run run away
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh....
I think I’ve been bit…
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
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