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54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Definitive Book of the Dead!, May 11, 2009
This review is from: The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 (Paperback)
Most of the folks here already know that The Walking Dead saga is a compilation of stories by Robert Kirkman that expand on the story that is well know to any zombie movie fan. The main story. The one started in earnest by George Romero in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead [and was later remade in 1990 (the version that I prefer) by Tom Savini (with Romero oversight)].
This Walking Dead "Compendium" is a compilation of Volumes 1 through 8 (or call it Books 1 through 4, or call it issues 1 through 48), and it continues the story of (former) Police Officer Rick Grimes and his band of normal-world-refugees across a world suddenly infected by a Walking Dead sickness..
The group finds a new home after a perilous Georgia countryside journey at the start of the story only to find out that zombies may be the least of their problem, and what is deemed a safe haven is only as safe the protection it offers against zombies. Yes...venturing out into The New World is dangerous. Outside the gates of the new home awaits unfathomable chaos and horror; hordes of the undead, along with other survivors in desperate situations that do the unthinkable to stay alive (or entertained).
As the story matures, it is much less about zombies and more about what happens to society, its morals, laws and standards when government is lost and the planet becomes mostly uninhabitable. There's real, heartfelt emotion in The Walking Dead series combined with believable scenarios.
I'm not a regular comic book reader, but I was drawn to The Walking Dead by the Book releases that bring the convenience of being able to get many chapters of the story without the month to month or volume to volume waiting. And I am now hooked. Now I subscribe to the issue releases.
Each chapter of The Walking Dead is like reading a screenplay with storyboards of a version of Night of the Living Dead that began simultaneously, but in a different part of the country. Sure...The Walking Dead is kind of a rip-off of a story (stories) already told, but the key is that it's done very very well. The zombies are true to the original Romero creation: slow and stupid as opposed to the Rage-infected people in 28 Weeks Later / 28 Days Later) or the fast zombies in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.
So anyone in need of a very well done zombie fix that you don't put into your DVD player should absolutely get down with The Walking Dead sickness. Add this one to your cart if you're new to The Walking Dead...you won't be disappointed at its length because the story never gets tired.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A great deal, no matter what I think of the story, June 8, 2009
This review is from: The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 (Paperback)
Everywhere I turn these days, I see zombies: in movies, novels, toys, video games, clothing, and far too many comics to count. I am absolutely sick and tired of them, so when I would read glowing reviews of Robert Kirkman's comic series THE WALKING DEAD, I would scoff and move on to something else. But the glowing reviews continued, becoming even more positive as the series progressed, and I began to have second thoughts. Then Image Comics announced THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOLUME 1, and I was sold on giving it a shot. This is a sturdy, high-quality softcover collection of the first 48 issues, printed on glossy paper. 1088 pages for $37 on Amazon is too good a deal to pass up, and this gamble more than paid for itself. Police officer Rick Grimes, shot in the line of duty, wakes up in a hospital bed. There are no responses to his calls for help. Eventually realizing that the building is vacant, he makes his way to the cafeteria for something to eat, at which point both he and the reader plunge into a horrifying realization of what has happened to the world during his recovery. From there, it's non-stop suspense, even during what could be considered the "slow points". Even though my overall opinion of the story is middling, I had a hard time putting this book down at night.
I am a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction - Earth Abides, Alas Babylon, A Canticle for Leibowitz, On The Beach, The Stand, The Road, and numerous other examples of this subgenre are displayed proudly on my bookshelf. I'm not concerned as much with the details of whatever disaster befalls the world as I am with how the survivors deal with it, and that's what I get from THE WALKING DEAD. While the story results from a zombie plague, that's not the main attraction, and I'd be perfectly content if we never received an explanation of how it happened. The survivors are what drive this story, constantly struggling, battling hopelessness, gaining and losing friends, and not knowing if they'll see the following day. When they finally realize their place in this transformed world, it's a bigger chill than any flesh-eating, walking corpse can provide.
Even with all those positives, I can't say that I completely enjoyed the story. The earliest chapters, where Rick slowly comes to the realization of what has happened, and his first encounters with survivors, are exceptional. The isolation and despair are palpable, and these chapters stand out for their realistic tone - in fact, I feel that the most effective chapters are the ones where the least happens. However, once the town of Woodbury and "The Governor" enter the picture, it began to read like Garth Ennis took over as writer. I don't doubt that humanity could sink to some frightening depths in a disaster such as this, but some of the later chapters were so over-the-top that they seemed like simple shock value.
Tony Moore provides art for the first 6 chapters, with Charlie Adlard taking over for the remainder of this collection. Both artists do great work on this series, with their own particular strengths. Moore's facial expressions speak volumes, and Adlard's work is grim & gritty. Both of these guys can draw some horrifying scenes of death and destruction.
So, this compendium is your perfect chance to experience THE WALKING DEAD for the first time, as it gives you a good-sized chunk of the story under one cover, rather than having to buy multiple trades. Come witness the end of the world... and the beginning of a new one.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the zombie horror comic I expected..., July 13, 2010
This review is from: The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 (Paperback)
I enjoyed this comic as a roller coaster ride, but it has a lot more to do with the horrors committed by the surviving humans--rather than the living dead that outnumber them. It felt more often like I was reading a soap opera type melodrama rather than a survival horror comic where the overwhelming problems are created by zombies. I did like the comic, but I like zombies more and they felt like a dramatic backdrop rather than the focus of the tale. Also, I would steer any readers away from this comic if they get very attached to main characters--without spoiling anything, but this IS a horror comic after all.
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