Review

"How did it all happen? What went wrong?" - Rick Grimes

Officer Rick Grimes is shot in the line of duty and wakes up sometime later in a hospital room. In time honoured horror fashion, no this didn't kick in with 28 Days Later, the hospital is void of people and Rick is left searching it's corridors for an answer. Unfortunately he stumbles upon the cafeteria from hell, there may be no one in the hospital, but for sure there's plenty of decomposing bodies and zombies!

Rick learns that the zombie apocalypse has gone down, but on the bright side of the axe he also finds his wife and son have survived in a camp outside Atlanta. With the ever increasing danger of zombies from without, and the dangers of others letting a few Roos loose in the top paddock within, Rick leads a gang of survivors across the deadlands of rural America hunting for some sort of sanctuary from the madness. Turns out that's going to be hard to find with the shambling dead not the only danger on the road to salvation.

Seems a few people have been enjoying our episode guide to season one of The Walking Dead and they have passed the hat around to purchase and send in book one of the source comic. Okay who am I to argue, we're dialling into Kirkman's source material right here, right now. Besides which it's going to be a long time between drinks waiting on season two of the television series! For Aussies, season one is finally finding a home on R4 DVD release March 15th, sucks to be us, leaving us wondering what the Distributor is thinking considering every man and his dog has imported the R1 release already! So thanks to those donating the book, and shame on those torrenting the television series.

Okay so Book One contains the first twelve issues of The Walking Dead comic, comprising the story arcs Days Gone Bye and Miles Behind Us. Not surprisingly the script differs markedly from the television show with some different characters and different outcomes for standard characters. To a certain degree Kirkman is a lot more gritty than his television counterparts and the zombie quota is much larger. While I applaud Kirkman's decision to make a never ending zombie saga, and he kicks things off in fine fashion here, I'm wondering if the idea is sustainable without diversions beyond Rick Grimes' survivors or indeed without other Writers becoming involved in the project. Even the great Romero is showing the strains of zombie addiction with his sixth Dead movie not winning many fans. Well that's a discussion for the future, so how does the book stack up you might be wondering.

I had a hoot with the whole thing to be honest, I really got my Walking Dead on and was jiving away to Kirkman's beat throughout the book. We get to meet Rick Grimes, learn all about current affairs as Rick does, and journey with him to Atlanta in search of his wife and son. Less time is spent in the City than portrayed in the television show, as Rick meets Glenn and is reunited with his loved ones and partner Shane. No spoilers yo, but the outcome here is slightly different to what you might be expecting. Anyway after a zombie attack Rick leads a group of survivors cross Country seeking somewhere safe to hunker down and wait out the situation. A gated community, Wiltshire Estates, offers false security, as does the infamous Hershel farm. Finally, as the book ends, the survivors happen upon a large prison complex. High walls, security, clean out the resident zombies and Bob's your uncle. The only issue I have is the book stopped right here, damn, am definitely going to need to get me book two asap!

Kirkman can certainly spin a good yarn, I admit to being hooked on The Walking Dead, and I read book one at break neck speed. There's enough difference from the television show to definitely keep people interested, and I have to say that Kirkman's script is superior to what Frank Darabont threw our way. Some readers might find certain panels a bit wordy, the exposé meter is on a high setting, but I merged myself in Rick Grimes world and rocked on to the plot. Like all good zombie outings there is a clear and present danger, but the actual interaction of the survivals holds the most interest. Sorry stranger spoiler danger precludes me from going into detail, but Rick's son Carl is certainly a far more interesting character in the book than the television series. Kirkman is pretty strong on the character development; you are certainly getting your coin's worth with this aspect.

The artwork is certainly not going to be to everyones taste, not sure how to describe it to be honest, "American Primitive"? We get shades of grey, there's some colour featured in the extras at the back of the book, and not much in the way of a standout quality. Got to say that there wasn't even a single panel that knocked me on my arse, pretty standard fare to be honest, though I'm giving it a passing mark due to the script being of superior quality. Don't go into The Walking Dead expecting great artwork and you'll be fine friends and neighbours.

Image Comics have put on quite the package for us and I'm giving their production team two thumbs up. The book arrives as a hardcover, A4 size, with excellent binding and superb paper quality. Along with the twelve comics contained in the book we also get all the covers, some sketches that may or may not be of interest to you, and a number of concepts that didn't make it into the final product. A pretty good volume for your collection would be my verdict on the overall package.

Due to The Walking Dead: Book One I'm now a committed fan of Robert Kirkman's zombie opus and can't wait for the second and subsequent volumes to hit my desk. The story is engaging, you want most of the characters to survive, and the plot drives forward at a significant pace that forces you to read right to the end. My only really issue was that the character Daryl Dixon was a product of the television series and not of Kirkman's original comics, though I am somewhat mollified by Tyreese who is already developing into an interesting inclusion in the comic. Full recommendation on the book, this one is going to work for zombie fans, comic aficionados, and about anyone who likes a good old fashion yarn that simply wants to tell a story.

For Downunder readers The Walking Dead: Book One is available from specialty bookstores, no doubt eBay, or via Amazon. With the high Aussie dollar Amazon presents real value for money. At time of writing there are seven books in The Walking Dead series and I'm stating right here, right now, that ScaryMinds will be over the lot of them. Robert Kirkman we salute you mate!

[Editor's Note: The book itself would make an effective defense in the case of a zombie outbreak, it's that big guys.]