The Walking Dead Book One Hardcover

The Comicologist — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:50:31 +0000

Put simply, the Walking Dead series, created by Robert Kirkman, is one of the most engrossing comic books series that I have had the pleasure of stumbling across. The Walking Dead Book One Hardcover collects the first 12 issues of the Walking Dead series, which introduces the main protagonist throughout the series, Rick Grimes, and the zombie infested world he finds himself inhabiting.

It begins like many a zombie film. Rick wakes up from a coma to find that the dead have risen. His wife and his son are no where to be seen. Rick is a Police Officer, so he is probably as well equipped to deal with a zombie situation as anyone. When he learns that survivors were encouraged to head to major cities for safety, he sets out for Atlanta, in the hope that he'll find his wife, Lori, and son, Carl, there. When he arrives in Atlanta he finds that it has been over run with undead, but soon fines a small party of survivors out the outskirts of the city. Lori and Carl are amongst them.

Rick learns that his former partner in the police force, Shane, escorted Lori and Carl to safety, and it's pretty clear to everyone, besides Rick, that something has gone on between Lori and Shane. As time passes, tension builds between Shane and Rick, with Rick wanting to move the survivors to a safer area, while Shane is determined to stay. This all builds to a confrontation that closes issue 6.

The second main story arc, beginning in issue 7 focuses on the survivors picking up camp and hitting the road. Along the way they are joined by a big tough guy, Tyreese, his daughter and his daughters boyfriend. When Carl is accidentally shot and wounded, the group stumble upon a farm, inhabited by another small group of survivors. Will Carl survive? What is the disturbing secret that farm owner Herschell keeps in his stable? Pick up the book and find out.

If I had to describe the Walking Dead series it would be a Dawn of the Dead soap opera. Kirkham has described the series as being written for those people that have seen the original Dawn of the Dead and wondered what happened to the survivors once they took off in the helicopter. It's an ongoing story of survival, and the first 12 issues at least, are perfect.

Overall I'd give this a resounding 10 out of 10.