The Walking Dead - Page 3

ISSUE #20

This issue wasn't what I was expecting, which I think was a good thing. The character who ends up getting bitten was one I had so little connection with as to render the scene where he does get bit inconsequential, but it made me happy that they left the other characters alone for a bit to just cope with all of the weirdness. Issue #21 is out this week too, or is it next week? Our new comic day isn't until tomorrow.

ISSUE #21

This turned out to be kind of a cool issue too. They progressed the overall story by having Rick try something new to save crazy guy's life. The characters are unravling bits and pieces about the plague or whatever happened to turn people into zombies, and I hope they continue doing this at a quicker pace. Although according to the letters column, they half-assed copped to not introducing other communities that survived (like the military bases, etc) until around issue 50, so I am not getting my hopes up just yet. I just hope-to-shit they don't make the new Samurai lady crazy and have her take it out on the rest of the people holed up in the prison. The scene where the two kids are looking at all of the zombies at the fenceline was very well done.

ISSUE #22:

They finally managed to have a character-driven issue that doesn't end up like an E.R. episode. Someone hurts themselevs badly, but does not die nor does anyone else die, which was refreshing. The scene where Rick confronts Tyreese was one of the best in the series thus far IMHO.

"Like Hell you didn't! You see these people. They're all ready to die!"

"All they need is an excuse!"

The artwork continues to be excellent. The plowing scene really hammers that home.

Anyone else reading this title still?

I bought the first book around August but never got around to reading the 2nd or 3rd.

I heard the artist changed and that sort of made me a little bummed since I was digging the artwork.

But since you've guys have kept up with it, should I get back on the wagon or am I better off owning the best of bunch?

I like that someone finaly voiced some question I could see myself having. The criminal poundering about the lives of the zombies. Who they used to be his whole converstation made this one of my favorite issues of the series

Issue #23

The fight went on too long, but not long enough to be an awesome homage to "They Live". I felt they tookup too much time with the fight and not enough time dealing with Alan dying. You'd think that their ploy to save him failing would have been worth writing more about. This issue was venturing back into "ER" lands of tragedy, but overall was worth reading. Thoughts?

I think Rick's speech about them being the Walking Dead proves that he's cracked. I hope they stave off anymore people dying cause I'd like to see more character development. Not that they've been skimping on that. Maybe get into Michonne's story.

haha oh yes.

but what is the sound effect for one hand clapping?

Or that the writer doesn't care how blatantly he steals from Romero.
I'm all for exploring a Romero-esque world of zombies, but find a different angle. Don't just regurgitate the same themes.

That's what turned me off on this series after about five issues or so. I've watched the DEAD movies, and yes, they're pretty great. But this series is just a regurgitation of all those ideas. I know it's hard to move out from under Romero's shadow when doing a zombie story, but come on, this is ridiculous.

I have sort of given up on zombie comics as a whole as of late. With Walking Dead, they haven't managed to break the curse of ER. I was hopeful around issue 22 that they were going to, but with the latest issue it seems that there is no escaping tragedy for the sake of tragedy. The story is going nowhere fast. And as ashamed as I am to admit it, I have not watched any of the Romero zombie flicks and I still feel like the comic is tired.

Speaking of nowhere fast, any of you catch Ellis' Black Gas 3-issue miniseries? The only innovation? Smoking pot retards the Zombification process!

Is that one of his Avatar books? Because those Avatar books he does are pretty uniformly awful.

It most certainly is! I brought it up because apparently it has already spawned a sequel series due out in September. The basic premise? A volcanic/seismic upheaval releases a black cloud of gas that turns people into zombie-like creatures. They move fast like normal humans blah blah blah.

Yeah, that sounds about right. Ellis is a really good writer, but the stuff he does for Avatar is, I think, a combination of catharsis and just cashing a check for him.

I bought a couple of Avatar books, Black Gas and the Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and they we´re all really underwhelming.
The art is often very good, but the scripts leave alot to wish for.
And why do they release all they´re books with 3, 4 different covers?
Only a complete idiot would buy them all.
I thought the gimmic cover era that plagues the 90s was over, but i guess i was wrong.

Avatar makes comics for retards and people too chicken to buy actual porn.

Subotai,
Just wondering what about this issue made you give it up.
I gave it up around 20 or something (its been awhile). I also quit reading Invincible, Robert Kirkman can't pace things or write dialogue to save his life.
Still have Rocketo from Image at least.

Invincible is actually the only Kirkman comic that I like. I don't know why, but it just appeals to me, and I normally don't care for his writing at all. It just feels like such a fun throwback to silver age Marvel, though the violence does get a bit gratuitous from time to time.

Issue #42: That's it, I'm done. I stopped picking up this book a few issues back, but kept reading it at the comic shop I work at to see if it would improve. It has not. After this one I won't even be cracking the cover anymore.

The return of "The Governor" on the last page is flat-out ridiculous. I have no clue how any of these characters have survived so long with their blatant stupidity. Why not take out "The Guv"- clearly a dangerous man- while the chance was there? Why return to the outskirts of the town he "governed"? Why blow up the National Guard post after leaving? Why stop at friggin Wal-Mart after having done so? Why so shocked when Glenn is shot and survives WHILE WEARING A FULL SUIT OF BODY ARMOR? Why fall back into complacency after such a brutal escape from "The Guv" and his crew? And why the heck is everyone so shocked when "The Guv" shows up with heavy artillery?

I'm afraid the answer is simple- the characters are portrayed as being preposterously stupid. Someone posted a thread on this a few months back at another board- and he was right. The folks in TWD must be just plain buck stupid. If that's what Kirkman is going for then he is some sort of genius, because their deficiencies are evident in the storytelling. If not, I can't imagine what's going through his head as he types scripts for issues as silly as this one.

I love zombies. Heck, I give worse zombie stories than this plenty of leeway in the logic department. But Mr. Kirkman isn't giving us anything. I'm not sympathetic to any of these characters- because none of them seem to have the brains to actually survive such an epidemic(save Mr. Jones and his son from the earlier issues).

This issue is it for me. Once I saw "The Guv"(another silly, mentally bereft character) doing his best "Major Bludd" impression on the final page, I knew my monthly comics reading would be diminished by one book- TWD.

So much potential, so little payoff. A damn shame.

Is there a comic book in the history of the world that has jumped the shark quicker than Walking Dead?

God help me, I think I sort of like the new direction this series is taking.

Well it has nowhere to go but up.

I stopped reading after volume 3 of the TPB. So exactly how bad it actually get after that?

Truth. I think I've been tricked into lowering my expectations with this comic (which I gave up on a long time ago, but couldn't resist browsing through the trades) so much so that anything new will hold my attention

A lot of missteps on Kirkman's part, including staying in the prison for way, way too long, and having our main cast make a lot of stupid plays. The introduction of an over the top human antagonist, The Governor (you have to spell it in all caps like that) who basically whittled down the main cast quite considerably.

And now, the introduction of an army asshole and a scientist who says he knows what caused the plague, has a way to stop, and must get to DC.

Kirkman's main problem has been his dialogue, which just got to pure exposition and having humans talk the way no human would talk. An even bigger one though was just plain boredom: we introduce a human threat, have our heroes escape that human threat, come back to their prison to regroup and prepare for the inevitable assault, and....

they play basketball.