The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire | Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, ...

The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire | Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, ... | The Walking Dead trudges on...

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The Walking Dead V...

	The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, ... Image Comics, 2005 - 136 pages average customer review:based on 25 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In Reference to early volumes

I love this comic and the dead quadrilogy Night, Dawn, Day, Land. Specifically because in all these versions of the zombie mythos you do not have to be bitten to become a zombie all you have to do is die, getting bitten only speeds up your inevitable death. When I see in films that people only become zombies when bitten I get a bit ticked off, in Romero's verse (which I prefer) all that is required is death. Anyway other than his films these comics are my favorite zombie stories.

The Walking Dead trudges on...

The Walking Dead is a bit of a road novel, in that it trudges on and on. In every road there comes a bridge, and that's pretty well what we've got here in volume 4. There's a lot of little action, and the addition of a new character or two, but in general this is all just getting set up in the next volume or so. It's a "set-up" set of stories, that seem to be mostly just shaking the scenery around.

It's harder to keep things moving, now that Kirkman has settled in to the prison location. Still, I kind of dig the irony of having them lock themselves in cells to find security. There's a lot of subtext in that one simple plot device.

The zombies are limited in menace. They're going to need to grow some brains and work more at outwitting the humans. Unfortunately, in his desire to keep things real in THE WALKING DEAD, Kirkman may be painting himself into a wee bit of a corner.

Still, it's a damn good read from an amazing series. I wasn't that crazy about The Empire Strikes Back, but I still think the old Star Wars trilogy beats most science fiction out there. Same think with The Walking Dead. The characters are intriguing, the character development realistic. The volume ends in a nice satisfactory turning point and the last splash panel is impressive.

I kind of wish he'd done a bit more with the idea of the convicts running things for a while. He disposes with that device a little too quickly for my liking.

So there you have it. I've got a few quibbles, but I'm still eagerly awaiting the next volume of the series. I'm certain that this was just a breathing spell.

Yours in horror,

Steve Vernon
(author of LONG HORN, BIG SHAGGY - A Tale of Wild West Terror And Reanimated Buffalo. Look for it in Amazon).

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The dead keep walking...

Even though this volume didnt have the same impact as the previous 3 volumes its still in keeping with the quality of the rest of the stories. Like the rest of the series I enjoyed this volume a lot. It certainly is better than a lot of the other material out there and Kirkman is great at telling these stories. The grey toned artwork is fabulous as always and the reader is left wanting more of the story. Great read!

Days of Our Walking Dead Lives

Life has become routine within the prison complex that Rick Grimes and company call home. Crops are being planted, new clothes made, and so on. Of course, in the world of "The Walking Dead," routine is anything but. Now that the zombies are (mostly) at bay, relational tensions are boiling over. A fresh arrival brings her own wackiness to the already dysfunctional mix, and you never know who will end up dead (or at least pissed off and alienated).

I'm a little underwhelmed by this, the fourth collection of the ongoing comic book series. One of the AICN comic pundits expressed dismay that "The Walking Dead" was becoming a soap opera. I guess I have to agree with that. Frankly, I wonder how far this story arc can go? I further echo the AICN writer's sentiment that something needs to happen soon. Now's probably the time to bring in some government action, or pull a "Land of the Dead" move and evolve the zombies' behavior. Whatever occurs, I think I've seen enough of Rick freaking out and yelling his head off every couple of pages. And overall, things are getting a bit too depressing. I don't expect everything to come up roses, but there's a bit too much hate and discontent going on. Maybe they should've picked a Club Med to hole up in.

One story angle that bugged me was the inclusion of yet another bad-arse woman with a katana. "Y: The Last Man" pulled that stunt as well, joining the ranks of "Sin City" and the "Kill Bill" movies. Enough with the Japanese-inspired ninja women already! Why can't a mysterious female stranger show up wielding a Chinese Tai Chi sword, or an English Morning Star? I'm glad the tough-gal zombie fighter in "Shaun of the Dead" had the originality to use a golf club as her weapon of choice.

At any rate, despite my complaints I still recommend "The Walking Dead." Maybe this arc is the calm before the storm. I'm hoping it's a setup for the greatness I've come to expect from Mr. Kirkman & company.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5

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