The Walking Dead, Book 1 (Bk. 1) | Robert Kirkman

The Walking Dead, Book 1 (Bk. 1) | Robert Kirkman | A little cliche, but still has all the right elements to be great.

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The Walking Dead, ...

	The Walking Dead, Book 1 (Bk. 1) Robert Kirkman Image Comics, 2006 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 38 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Captivating!

I originally bought The Walking Dead series one by one... after the first three I found this hardcover and I snatched it up right away. One of the best graphic novels I have read and a great zombie tale... I can't wait to see what is coming around next! My copy has been through some rough days now that it has passed through my friends and family but they all love it!!

A little cliche, but still has all the right elements to be great.

What makes this graphic novel so great is its blend of reality and fiction. It tries to emulate how perfectly normal people would act in an extreme survival situation, while still presenting us with a highly unreasonable but entertaining story. The characters, which I will get into later, are lonely, afraid, brash, stubborn, hopeful, illogical and scarred. They come from normal backgrounds and are, understandably, having a difficult time coping with what has happened. As the story progresses, the men's beards grow thicker and some characters, notably Allen, lose a lot of weight. It focuses heavily on the relationships between the survivors while still providing us with expected moments of death, gore and horror.

One of the major selling points of this graphic novel is the fantastic artwork, provided by Tony Moore and Charlie Adler. I think Tony Moore did and absolutely incredible job while he was still on board. He was able to perfectly manifest whatever emotion a character was feeling. The artwork he provided was always polished and detailed. I was extremely disappointed when Moore ceased his interior artist duties, but at least he still draws the covers. I noticed a few changes when Charlie Adler took over as the main artist. The art grew far darker and somewhat less detailed. I felt as thought the faces of the characters went through a drastic change - and not exactly for the better. Carol, for instance, changed from an optimistic single mother to a saucy seductress. Still, he gets the job done in an efficient way.

While this plot of the graphic novel is a little cliche(zombies fixated on eating the living), it is the characters and all their complexities that make this story so special. We are introduced to the vividly real main cast early in the story. They include two small town cops who have natural leadership skills and often butt heads, a tough but concerned wife and mother, a lost soul who continually risks his life for the good of the group, a sassy single mother and her daughter, a stubborn, old fashioned woman and her gentle giant of a husband, an emotionally scarred mechanic, two young sisters and a kindly old man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. While some of these roles may sound cliche, the author does a superb job at giving them all their unique qualities that make us either fall in love with them or hate them.

The bonus features at the end of the book include a short story about Morgan and Duane, the initial character sketches of Adler, a few snippets from the sketchbook and the wicked coloured covers by Tony Moore.

Yes, the story line is nothing new. Yes, it is a little bit cliche. But who cares? It's a wildly fun read and thoroughly enjoyable. It has a great plot, incredible artwork and complex characters whom we miss when a certain few meet their demise

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I Love Zombies

I am happy that I entered the world of The Walking Dead. I heard that the first six volumes were good (this book has 1-12), so I figured I'd check it out. I was happy with the entire book, and they got me hooked enough to order the 2nd volume. I'll leave a rating for volume 12 once I get it (6 to 8 week wait).

Kirkman's Zombie Soap Opera begins!

The Walking Dead Book 1 is a wonderful hardcover collection containing the first two trade paperbacks in the series. Robert Kirman has created an interesting world and a host of even more interesting characters based on a premise that has been overused in the past (i.e. the world being overun by zombies). The art in the beginning of the book is definitely better than at the end, and once the artist changed when the second storyline came along it took a while for me to get used to it, but Kirkman's excellent writing soon won me over again. With the Walking Dead the strength of the writing really counts for a lot, and it should not really bother me that the book is in black and white, but it does. The characterization of Rick and his family is superbly done, and all the scenes are well-written and excellent. Even so, I would have given this book 5 stars if it appeared in color. Many would scream bloody murder, but I think that the only comic book in black & white worth 5 stars is Alan Moore's From Hell. The Walking Dead is entertaining, but would have looked even better in color, easily warranting the 5 stars I wish I could give. Still, I would definitely recommend it to anyone, even those who don't like the horror genre. It is so much more than just a horror comic. Read it, and find out for yourself.

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Decent

The Walking Dead book one is a compilation of the first comics in the series (read other reviews for more info). The story isn't original in the slightest. The whole thing is sort of a smattering of ideas already done before a million times. Survivor survives, survivor finds food and shelter, survivors eventually turn on each other, etc. The book pulls it off decently enough, but if you are looking for something new steer clear. There were a few plot nuggets that struck me as original, but it's entirely possible I just missed seeing the movies they based them from.

The art for the first half of the book was quite good. It had some very detailed images, and I enjoyed the style. Unfortunately, the second half must have been done with different artists/time contraints. Every frame takes a much less detailed approach, and sometimes the characters even look distorted. I feel it really took the book down a notch, because the detailed art was one of the few things the first half had going for it. The second half is passable by all means.. just dissapointing.

Overall, if you like zombies give it a try. Just don't expect it to knock your socks off. Personally, I'll still probably buy book #2 despite #1's shortcomings.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8

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