Zombies in a post apocalyptic
setting…ah…can’t get much better than this. The creator, Robert Kirkman,
explains in his introduction that it is not his intention to scare
readers as he wants to take a deeper approach and explore how people
would survive in a post apocalyptic America. He will accomplish this by
following one character, Rick Grimes, through his basic struggle for
survival and the battles with the walking dead. Essentially, he has
created the never ending zombie movie, which is all good in my book.
Rick Grimes is police officer in a small town; he is married and has son. The story begins with Rick and his partner in a shoot out with a criminal. Rick is shot and ends up in a coma. About 30 days later he wakes up in a hospital to a very changed America. He doesn’t realize it yet but the zombies now rule the country and Rick is just another meal. After escaping the coma ward, he meets up some other survivors and discovers that his wife and child likely escaped to Atlanta. The government herded the people into major population centers. As plans go, this is bad idea, especially when you are trying to stop a zombie outbreak.
Rick makes it to Atlanta cowboy style and nearly gets killed by a swarm of zombies. His is rescued by a teenage boy and taken to a small settlement of survivors just outside the city. And surprise, surprise, he finds that his wife and child are still alive. He also learns that his partner also survived and had been taking care of his wife. From this point forward the story really comes into it’s own as the small band of people are forced to deal with their predicament. There is also some drama as Rick’s partner has other intentions with regards to his wife. So, in addition to fighting the zombies, Rick is forced to deal with real life problems.
The art is in black and white but I have always liked this style. It allows more emotion and expression to come across the panels and it works very well with this story.
What I liked: Uh…zombies and more zombies. I also like Mr. Rickman’s goal of a continued exploration of a zombified post apocalyptic America. This has a potential to become a very addictive story.
I also enjoyed the set up with a small band of people that do not necessarily agree on social issues are forced to become unified if they want to survive. Basically it comes down to “Live together or die alone”.
What I didn’t like: The beginning of the story is very hurried as way too much action occurs and it had me worried the entire novel was going to move at this pace. Luckily when Rick gets to Atlanta the story slows down to more of a manageable pace and it is allowed to breathe.
Last word: Overall I really enjoyed the first volume of The Walking Dead and have already picked up the second volume. It is a good foundation in what looks to be a promising series.
Rick Grimes is police officer in a small town; he is married and has son. The story begins with Rick and his partner in a shoot out with a criminal. Rick is shot and ends up in a coma. About 30 days later he wakes up in a hospital to a very changed America. He doesn’t realize it yet but the zombies now rule the country and Rick is just another meal. After escaping the coma ward, he meets up some other survivors and discovers that his wife and child likely escaped to Atlanta. The government herded the people into major population centers. As plans go, this is bad idea, especially when you are trying to stop a zombie outbreak.
Rick makes it to Atlanta cowboy style and nearly gets killed by a swarm of zombies. His is rescued by a teenage boy and taken to a small settlement of survivors just outside the city. And surprise, surprise, he finds that his wife and child are still alive. He also learns that his partner also survived and had been taking care of his wife. From this point forward the story really comes into it’s own as the small band of people are forced to deal with their predicament. There is also some drama as Rick’s partner has other intentions with regards to his wife. So, in addition to fighting the zombies, Rick is forced to deal with real life problems.
The art is in black and white but I have always liked this style. It allows more emotion and expression to come across the panels and it works very well with this story.
What I liked: Uh…zombies and more zombies. I also like Mr. Rickman’s goal of a continued exploration of a zombified post apocalyptic America. This has a potential to become a very addictive story.
I also enjoyed the set up with a small band of people that do not necessarily agree on social issues are forced to become unified if they want to survive. Basically it comes down to “Live together or die alone”.
What I didn’t like: The beginning of the story is very hurried as way too much action occurs and it had me worried the entire novel was going to move at this pace. Luckily when Rick gets to Atlanta the story slows down to more of a manageable pace and it is allowed to breathe.
Last word: Overall I really enjoyed the first volume of The Walking Dead and have already picked up the second volume. It is a good foundation in what looks to be a promising series.
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