The Walking Dead

Volume 1

Days Gone Bye

Image 2008

Created, Written, and Lettered by Robert Kirkman

Penciled, Inked and Grey Tones added by  Tony Moore

Additional Grey Tones Provided by  Cliff Rathburn

Image Comics 2008

Two blocks away from me is a little comic and cards shop that seems to retail mostly to the tabletop role-playing community.  They have a handful of comics, not a great selection but when stumbling upon something for the first time that happens to be in my own general neighborhood I tend not to be choosy.  After spending at least an hour debating the benefits of buying a new comic versus adding to my non-digital "Transmetropolitan" collection, I decided to go with a fairly low priced Zombie tale from Image comics.  What I got was well worth my money. 

I know, I know I said I wouldn't review a single issue.  And I really don't mean to this time.  I was just blown away.  Not in the same way of say Warren Ellis or Neil Gaiman, but blown away all the same.  With that being said, I issue a warning...

This is a review in progress.

And don't remind me, I know that my review of "No Heroes" is also a work in progress.  Don't worry, I won't forget.

The pages are what originally drew me to this unknown.  Heavy pages that feel as if they have been laminated in a form of new science fiction plastic that maybe the CIA has been developing.  Gritty black and white artwork that seems to epitomize everything that I have imagined in the ways of storytelling post-Zombie Apocalypse.

Tangent:  Now, as people who read such things as Max Brooks, we know the importance of vision in such a time.  I have my Zombie Survival Plan, do you?

And in speaking of Max Brooks, my tangent has become a full circle.  The art stylization reminds me of things such as "World War Z" and George Romero’s "Diary of the Dead." The viral video feel and sound that is captured best, in an artist sense, in the gray toned black and white imagery that illustrator Tony Moore offers us.  The imagery offers us a startling picture of the reality that could be without the dodgy question that plagues us in the Zombie film genre of, "Who are these people?!"

Unless of course you're watching a Troma movie and from that there is no salvation.  Though I will see you in hell. 

The graphic novel series begins with an introduction from the author, Robert Kirkman.  Formerly of a more comedic styling, he wishes us to give us an excellent tale that will "be the zombie movie that never ends." Or so he has promised.  I'm left to wonder if a threat like that is looming over my head like a sadistic Rainbow Brite then I might as well see if he can deliver.

The first few pages are slow to start but the beauty behind the non-traditional artwork used drags me under.  "The Walking Dead" seems to be doing its part in expanding the lines of traditional beauty in Comic art.  The glossy pages serve to bring out the subtle lines of definition. And while the introduction dialogue may be lacking, the expressions on the characters faces almost changes the game.  This first issue is nothing but a tale of explanation and discovery. 

**Possible Spoilers**

It's in this first installment that we meet the main character, Rick Grimes.  He's a small town cop who wakes up from a coma after being shot to find that the Zombie Apocalypse has come.  Needless to say, the world, as he knew it has changed forever.  Robert Kirkman smoothly transitions us into this post-apocalyptic scenario. 

Zombies have come to eat our brains.  They are the majority.  Human kind has been forced into small refuge camps to survive.  Naturally and without explanation he takes us to this base instinct we all have as human beings and he epitomizes the core essence.  There is no holding back in this issue; Kirkman familiarizes us quickly with both the world and the characters.  Giving us a reason to keep on reading quite quickly. 

About midway through the graphic novel, there is a series of panels that truly highlight this.  It's a crow picking off the flesh of a zombies face as it lays dead on a car hood with Rick Grimes walking past and trying not to take a look.  It serves as a hard reminder to cut against the campfire fire tales and staunch snippets of reality that our cast uses to delude them of the life that they face. 

This comic is filled with hard choices and impressive content that really brings a fresh look to this new generation of Zombie storytelling.  I say bravo thus far! I'm looking forward to reading more.