Customer Reviews

The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"What we become" continues to follow Rick as he and Abraham's group make their way north to Washington D.C. In the first couple pages we see that Rick is really beginning to crack from the traumatic events that took place in Vol.8. He doesn't sleep and he talks to his dead wife on a disconnected phone that he found in a abandoned house, but Rick isn't the only one. Feelings of unrest and suicide begin to fester in the group and an encounter between Rick and Abraham have them at each others throats. As the group takes up camp at a gas station Rick realizes that they are only a days drive from this hometown and he still has the keys to the police armory. Rick, his son Carl and Abraham set out to retrieve the supplies and we a glimpse into Abraham's past. During their talk, the two men find reconciliation and a common thread, both men have been changed by tragedy and they wonder if the terrible things they've seen and done have made them less human, but Rick has no regrets "We do what we have to do, It doesn't matter if we can live with ourselves as long as we LIVE". "What we become" is a very entertaining read. The survivors are on a intriguing quest but you begin to wonder if they can hold together long enough to see it to its end. Rick, whether he means well or not seems to be the catalyst for the group's descent. After breaking camp Andrea tells a brooding Dale that it's name to move on. "fine" dale snaps, "I'm anxious to see the NEXT way he's going to endanger us". As much as I hate to admit it, I am too.

ROBERT KIRKMAN can really write and has en excellent ear for truthful dialog . i'd like to read more graphic novels than i do but it can get kinda costly . from what i've read and seen though , this is by far my favorite book out there . i really like the illustrating too . the effort put into these characters and their triumphs and failings , how they articulate and process what's happening around them to themselves and to one another is very (non graphic) novel worthy in my opinion . i can't wait for the next installment in the brutal saga (each six months). the store i currently get these books from has them ALL in stock . that might suggest what an outstanding job these folks are doing . perhaps you could turn me on , because i can't think of another book half as compelling or well done as this one . that there is no color does not matter at all . great characters . great situations . great storytelling . THANKS ROB and friends .

Boy do I love the Walking Dead. My only complaint is that I have to wait so long between trade paperback releases. The story keeps moving along and the characters are certainly deep. I'm the sort of person who guesses plot twists in movies 10 minutes into watching them and the Walking Dead definitely keeps me guessing. That's one of my favorite aspects of the story, it doesn't treat the reader like an idiot.

The other thing that I love is that the characters act like real people not like a necessary devise used to scare you or for cheap thrills. For example, characters change their minds, are loyal followers and then finally get fed up with things and change direction. They do stupid things that are motivated by emotion and stress rather than stupid things motivated by an author attempting to leave you with a cliffhanger.

Kirkman understands the medium. I only hope that when Hollywood "discovers" him they don't ruin his creativity. His writing is simple and that's the key to his success. Although successful simple writing takes time which other media doesn't have the patience for. Image and the Walking Dead are good partners in this creativity by allowing the story to progress without rushing things along before their due time.

I plan to continue buying these books. I've been hooked since issue 1.

Each volume of The Walking Dead tends to run in one of two separate veins. The ultra violent and the thoughtful. Volume 8 served as both a ending and a beginning of sorts, providing us with a violent shakeup that changed things forever for Rick and the rest of the survivors. Volumes 9 and this Volume, while providing us with some moderate zombie violence, mostly gives us the chance to dig deeper into the characters and what makes them tick. Rick and a character introduced in the previous volume, Abraham, both are coping with all the brutal and ugly things they have been forced to do just to survive. Things that in the eyes of family and friends may be unforgivable or at least something they cannot accept. We get to witness Rick in action when three men decide to assault him and his boy and what vicious things he is willing to do to protect what is left of his family. Though there is tension between him and Abraham, they share their stories and come to understand one another much better-they will do whatever it takes to survive. The world is an ugly place and all the innocence and beauty in people has pretty much died, leaving the ugly behind...an ugly that is brutally necessary.
Into this mix steps Morgan, Rick's old friend that was hiding out in their hometown. Its interesting to see how Morgan, who cannot bring himself to kill someone who has turned into a zombie that he cares about, is feared because perhaps he has gone insane with grief while Rick himself is starting to be feared because he has refused to be consumed by his grief but instead has lashed out at anything in the world that would threaten him.

"The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become"
(Image Books, 2009)
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NOTE: Mild spoilers below
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Robert Kirkman's zombie epic, "The Walking Dead," continues to simmer in its mix of claustophobia and gore. In this volume our hero, Rick, revisits his home town and confronts the darker side of what zombie-killing has done to him psychologically... He also has a one-on-one session with his potential main antagonist, a giant-sized, high-testosterone military guy who's competing with Rick for dominance of their scrappy survivor gang. The zombies are still out there as well, but just when we start to think they don't pose much danger to our well-organized heros, the tide turns when Rick and his caravan run into a dreaded, unstoppable zombie *herd*. The "Walking Dead" series seemed to be coasting a bit in previous volumes -- here it's clear that it is picking up steam, and it seems sure that something big's about to blow in issues to come. Stay tuned... and pick this one up! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

Chapter Ten, What We Become feels like it is trying a bit too hard at times. Yep, you read it here from a die-hard fan of this series. Robert Kirkman is either toying with the readers (us), or, perhaps he is working hard to draw us into something much deeper than I can perceive. I'm not saying that the story isn't good...it's just not great.

With Rich teetering on the brink of madness, Dale growing more curmudgeonly, and Maggie spiraling into a dangerous state of hopeless depression, there just is not a real direction to this episode. It does bring back an obscure, bit-character from volume one...sort of. Also, a herd is allowed to demonstrate its devastating potential.

However, Rick's character is showing some rather large cracks, and his actions are often erratic. I understand the whole `self-doubt' thing, but I hope this "phone" arc in the story is done. It has never really meshed with the rest of his character.
As for Abraham Ford, we get a glimpse at his backstory, which was really the most noteworthy moment of this episode. As always, I can only give one man's opinion, but I feel that this chapter got a little bogged down. Nothing moved forward or backwards here and that is unusual for Kirkman. Perhaps he is setting us up in a big way.

I recommend this volume because of maintaining continuity. However, I would not be honest if I did not say What We Become (or The Road Ahead...that is a question I don't have an answer for) is not Kirkman's finest work.

What We Become does well to get the series moving again after Here We Remain, but things aren't perfectly back on track yet. The title is spot on, which many of the characters worrying about what they've started to become since the zombies rose, but occasionally the line between surviving and downright crazy is blurrier than it should be.

Rick and his phone are already getting on my nerves. I can see how it connects him to Michonne and allows for more understanding of her character, but Rick really needs to be less crazy to be a compelling main character. I never much liked Lori in life and I shouldn't have to continue to experience her spouting off about stuff in death. Maggie's selfish and obviously crazy behavior at least accomplished something. The altercation between Rick and Abraham that follows sets both men on the path towards understanding - eventually.

The Carl in danger plot twist is stunningly uncomfortable, revisiting the horrors of man theme in the most despicable manner. I'm having a hard time deciding whether to applaud Kirkman for going there or hating him for it. Definitely haunting.

Those following the series will enjoy finally knowing what happened to some early characters, although the outcome of their return isn't remotely clear yet. Neither is what's going to happen to the remaining group. People are pretty much off their rockers at this point, even the kids, and many seem to be regressing into whiny "I don't wanna" versions of their former selves.

The zombie gore and mayhem are ramped up in What We Become, giving the volume much needed action between deep conversation. The tenth volume isn't quite as good as some of the earlier ones, but at least the story seems to be moving again.

When I heard that AMC was going to produce a television series based on the zombie epic "The Walking Dead," I was both concerned and delighted. A bona fide classic in undead lore, "The Walking Dead" graphic novels are brutal and surprising--not really what I would picture for a basic cable TV show (the first season is slated for 6 episodes, we'll see if it goes beyond that). But AMC has produced terrific and prestigious shows like "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," so I'm pretty stoked to see what they do with this. Add Frank Darabont of "Shawshank Redemption" fame as the creative force behind the show, and we just might have a winner! In anticipation, I've gone back through the volumes of "The Walking Dead" to discover again the many pleasures that this series has to offer.

"Chapter Ten: What We Become" chronicles the caravan on the initial stages of the journey to Washington DC. While I'm not crazy about the new characters leading this expedition, Abraham does provide an alpha male challenge to Rick. Highlights of this chapter include an eerie dream sequence, a moment of weakness for Maggie, and an act of brutality that bind Rick, Carl and Abraham in a discussion about the animalistic nature of this new world. But perhaps the scariest thing in the series thus far is the "herd" of zombies that is introduced proving, once again, that the calm is always followed by the storm in "The Walking Dead." The sequence leaves our heroes on the run once more. Good, but not great--since the loss at the prison, the group still has some rebounding to do.

Walking Dead is a really good ongoing series about the consequences of a zombie outbreak. Instead of focusing on a zombie outbreak and seeing how the protagonists survive, in this comic we get to see what happens over a long period of time. The greatest aspect of Walking Dead is that anything can happen to the characters, the status quo changes all the time.

Now, let's talk about this volume in particular. We get to see a character we hadn't seen since Volume 1. The bad news is that now this character is depressed as his son became a zombie. In this volume we learn more about the consequences of using guns to kill zombies, by seeing a huge group of zombies become attracted to our heroes and we get to see more tension between the humans, in this case seeing Rick and Abraham square it off.

The comic continues to be good and while it moves slowly, it reads quickly and it is always a pleasure for me to read.
Great series.

This edition of the continuing life of survivors post zombie apocalypse is great. The story has it's ups and downs but is a worthwhile read.