The Walking Dead Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

I was introduced to The Walking Dead through its most recent form: AMC’s t.v. show of the same name. My boyfriend, zombie-obsessed like most young men these days, sat me down to watch it with him.

The t.v. show was pretty interesting, while a lot of the content was nothing new in the world of zombies (same groaning, flesh-eating monsters) the take was a little more mature. I found out the show was based on a comic book and decided to check it out.

The Walking Dead Vol. 1 “Days Gone Bye” introduces the main characters, our hero being Officer Rick Grimes. Grimes was in a coma during the zombie-pocalypse and wakes up without knowing what has happened to the world. He learns quickly, however, and sets out towards Atlanta in hopes of finding his family there.

What he finds is a whole lot of zombies. He also finds a young man who helps him escape and takes him to his little camp of survivors. Among these survivors are his wife and son, and best friend, Shane. The rest is more or less about how they all came to be at the camp and a few power struggles between Shane and Rick.

The comic, while maintaining most of the same characters from the t.v. show, goes different directions in plot. The art is completely black and white, which cuts down on the natural gore that takes place. Obviously there is a lot of blood, but the absence of red tones the violence down a little, making it more palatable.

The dialogue, unlike a lot of Image comics, sounds mostly realistic and doesn’t fall into over-the-top campiness. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be ordering the rest (volumes 2-8).