Hey you, Read this! The Walking Dead Compendium One

A while back I was lucky enough to get to go to the New York Comic Convention. While I bought plenty of shirts and posters and things, I decided I should buy at least one comic or graphic novel, seeing as how it is Comic Con. I ended up buying the first The Walking Dead compendium, which contains issues 1-48. The plot follows Rick Grimes, a police officer who awakes one day to the classic zombie apocalypse.  It goes on to tell the story of Rick and his little group of people all trying to survive in this crazy new world, and all the challenges associated with it. And don't worry, if you've watched The Walking Dead television show on AMC, the two are substantially different. You might know some of the major plot points that occur, but the comics still tell a very different story, so it is still worth a read.

Here's their pitch:

"How many hours are in a day when you don't spend half of them watching television? When is the last time any of us REALLY worked to get something that we wanted? How long has it been since any of us really NEEDED something that we WANTED? The world we knew is gone. The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been replaced by a world of survival and responsibility. An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled- no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living."

What really makes this story different from other zombie stories is the focus on the characters and the conflicts caused by them in a world filled with zombies. While there has to be conflict between the living and the dead, the conflict between the living people is what makes this comic what it is. Should we risk sending people to try and get supplies? Do we risk leaving where we are in hopes of finding a better place to live? How do we deal with someone who has been bitten? What rules and laws still apply in this new world? The interplay between characters and their disagreements on these sorts of things and others is what separates this from other zombie apocalypse stories. Some of these characters I loved instantly, others I loved to watch their story and how they change, and others that I just hate because they deserve it or just because I think they make dumb decisions, but all very well written characters that make this story what it is.

Even if you're not big into the world of comics, there is no reason for you to not read The Walking Dead. You don't need to know anything before reading it, it explains everything that is going on very well and introduces everyone and everything very well. And not only is it beatifully written, its beatifully drawn as well. It's all done in black and white and looks very good (and very gross at times, what with dead people tearing apart living ones and being shot). It's also a long running series. I've read the first nine volumes and there's still plenty left to read. So If you want an awesome zombie story with plenty of story to read, definitely go pick up The Walking Dead. I guarantee that you'll love it.