The Walking Dead
Review by Ryan Buckly
Story by Robert Kirman Art by Tony Moore

Zombies. Nuff' said right?

Over the past 10-15 years these shambling mounds of unlife have invaded pop culture in a big way, and they don't seem to be going anywhere, any time soon. Varying ways of telling the “zombie apocalypse” story have come and gone in these past years, through every sort of media imaginable. From books, to movies, to video games, to movies about books and video games…and now, we have comics.

But what I'm writing about is NOT just a comic people! This is an epic, this is the friggin zombie Illiad here. This, is how it SHOULD be!

Robert Kirkman, who is most famously known for his work on the Marvel Zombies and Invincible series, is a local boy…from right here in our humble state of Kentucky. This guy has single handedly done what I've wished would happen to a zombie story for so long…he isn't ending it. In the afterword Kirkman says what I've been thinking ever since I've been a kid. He says his biggest complaint with zombie movies is that they end. “I mean, sure, no one wants to watch a 24-hour long zombie flick” (well, maybe me but only if they press pause for bathroom breaks) but still…every time you are left with so many questions. What happens after they got on the helicopter? Did the government re-form itself or did the world plunge into an anarchistic dark age? Kirkman has made it a point to not leave these lingering questions for his readers, instead he has made his own “never-ending zombie movie” in graphic novel form. So far it has run over 60 issues and is still going strong, and now with so much support from the fan base a television series on AMC is already in the works (JOY!). This my friends, is the beginning of a new generation of zombie lovers.

The story starts right here in Kentucky, in Cynthiana to be more specific, and focuses around the sheriff of the small town Rick Grimes. In a very “28 Days Later” fashion Rick awakes in a local hospital to find the world is a mess, there are no people, only strange creatures shuffling about the town. Lawns aren't mowed, cars are crashed in the streets, everywhere is chaos sans the people. Rick decides to embark upon a quest to find his son and his wife, which leads him and many other characters on a wild journey through this brave new world of no electricity, no cable, and most importantly no toilet!

The writing is genius, and you really grown to know and either love or hate all of the characters as you progress through the story, and you will find your heart rate elevated during some of the more climactic scenes in this series. The style of the comic is black in white, which works beautifully for what Kirkman is trying to accomplish here. Creating a world, more importantly a REAL world where zombies are not necessarily the villains, but more so an element of the world now, think natural disaster. As you read on you find that its really human nature that becomes the real nemesis.

Available in either single issue, trade paperback (covering 6 issues), or Hardcover collections (covering 12 issues and my personal favorite), this is a must have for a fan of zombies, or comics for that matter. Trust me, you do not have to be a DIE HARD zombie fan to enjoy this read, it's easy to pick it up and be able to plunge right in for anyone. I encourage even those of you who have never read a comic in your life to pick this one up and give it a shot…it may shock you. In terms of how I would rate this one, well, you guessed it 10 out of 10, for the artwork, originality, story line, and most importantly (well, to me anyway) for being a Kentuckian.

Until next time, BRAAAAAAAINS!!!