Volume 1: Days Gone Bye
Whether you watched the first season of The Walking Dead TV show or not it is still essential that you but Volume 1 of the Graphic Novels/Comics. This is simply because there are quite a few changes that the TV Series made - some minor, some quite big - so don't go skipping to Volume 2.One thing that the two versions share is how this all begins. Rick Grimes, a police officer in America, gets shot while trying to arrest a certain law-breaker. The consequence of this is that he is put in a coma for a few weeks - and while he's in the coma, this whole zombie thing kicks off.
There are events that follow that are quite exciting, but it's not all action and there are plenty of character developments which unravel throughout the book - and this is something that continues throughout the series, and defenitely makes it stronger for it. Although it may make this review seem a little lacklustre, I am desperately trying not to give away too many plot details.
The writing of this book is generally pretty good, but as things...change...near the end of the book you will soon discover that this book isn't for the easily offended. There are a few F-Bombs near the end and other swear words remain a consistent feature of the series. So if you are offended by explicit words then this probably isn't the best series for you.
The art in the book is well drawn and interestingly left in black and white. This is probably something they did on purpose to maintain the grim atmosphere you may find in a zombie apocalypse. Despite the lack of colour it is still easy to see what time of day it is and the skin type of the characters due to the use of shading.
All in all, I think that Volume 1 of the Walking Dead is a good start to a great series, but if you do find it difficult to get on board with I hope you'll continue with it because as the Volumes go on we go deeper into the characters, and the plot becomes more intriguing and a lot darker.
Volume 2: Miles Behind Us
Volume 2 of The Walking Dead, introduces new characters, new places, and develops the character's further. It carries on directly from the shocking end of the first one and sees Rick and his band of survivors moving on from their camp to find another place to stay.
Robert Kirkman (writer) does a brilliant job of keeping the story fresh and the characters interesting. Not once in this book did I feel like this was a repeat of the first volume - mainly due to the challenges we see the characters face. We see the survivors facing moral issues, and (without giving anything away) the deaths of some people in the group change characters drastically.
The writing is a similiar style to the original although the use of swear words becomes more common - not in a distasteful way, in fact I think it makes the story far more believable. I have no doubt that we'd all drop some swear words once in a while if we were trying to survive a zombie apocalypse.
I think that Volume 2 of The Walking Dead is on a par with Volume 1, the story is stronger than the original and the writing and art (which by the way is still black and white, like Volume 1), is still top notch. Although I still think that the slightly later volumes (4, maybe 3 onwards) is when this series really comes into its own. But saying that the early volumes are still an excellent read.
This book is definitely a must buy because it is an improvement on the original and an essential part of the story. I urge you to keep reading this series because it is one that keeps getting better and better.
Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars
At the end of Volume 2 the group comes across a prison - a prison which they aim to take back from the zombies and live in. That's not so much a spoiler as it is a fact. It doesn't affect the plot of Volume 2 seeming as it happens pretty much on the last page. Adding to that the prison is on the front cover of Volume 3 so it's not very difficult to discover - but that's besides the point.
Volume 3 continues Robert Kirkman's winning technique of giving the team issues that they have to deal with, thereby developing the characters further. I know I said that about the previous two volumes, but that's because it's true. Anyway, this volume definitely beats the last two, and that's because this volume marks the start of what I think is a darker storyline. We get our first glimpse of what could have possibly caused this zombie infestation, plus the group finds out that it's not only the zombies that are killers....
On top of this the ending leaves you dying to know what's going to happen next...
Volume 4: The Heart's Desire
Volume 4 of The Walking Dead is even better than the already awesome Vol. 3. It picks up from Volume 3's cliffhanger ending, (if you haven't read Vol. 3 yet, you might want to do that before you read this!), that saw the old prison inmates getting payback on the rest of our survivors after Dexter was wrongly blamed for the murder of Herschel's daughters. Let's just say that it's in this volume that all hell breaks loose! We see friends turning against each other, and a struggle for power inside the prison. This is particularly while the group try to rebuild some kind of legal system to keep people from murdering again.
The darker storyline that began to show in Volume 3, gets darker and more hardcore. We see more violence, the language stays explicit and sexual themes become more common. This is something that stays with the series and gets stronger over the next volume, Don't get me wrong, it's a long way from becoming any type of porn! But it is a little mature.
If your uncomfortable with those types of themes, then you may not want to read this - but it really isn't that bad.
I think that Volume 4, despite it's more mature material is the best in the series as we see friends turn aginst each other in extreme ways, probably as a consequence to being stuck inside that prison for so long, and the stresses of trying to rebuild a society that they know will never be the same to the world they used to live in.
Volume 5: The Best Defense
Volume 5 is definitely the most disturbing so far. The aftermath of Rick's little breakdown seems to pass over pretty quickly, but that's almost unimportant. The reason being that there's a lot of stuff going on in this Volume. We have our first proper look at Michonne in action as she helps Rick and Glenn to a helicopter crash site, which leads to some tragicly disturbing experiences for the three.Yet again though I issue a warning to those who are offended by sex, as in this volume it comes in the form of rape. I'm not giving you any specifics but there is rape in there, so that's something to be aware of if you don't like that. Although it is mainly the writing - you don't actually see any privates - but that doesn't stop it from being there. But I don't think there's anything wrong with the sex: it simply makes you understand what a situation like this would do to some people and it just makes this series stronger.
As usual we have characters that continue to develop - particularly Carol in this volume - although I won't tell you what happens.
If I'm honest, I think this is the best one yet. Don't let the adult themes stop you from enjoying this book. The story continues to be brilliant, and this book will leave you aching for more - that's undeniable.
Kirkman's brilliant writing makes these comics better than any zombie film i've ever seen and this is another essential purchase.
Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life
Yuck. This series has seen a bit of gore in its lifetime but this is just too far. In volume 6 the zombies barely play a part. This is all about the group trying to escape from the governor and his twisted town. As usual I try not to give out plot details, but there are things in this volume that Michonne does that make me feel ill to think about. Seriously.I thought I had a strong stomach when it comes to comics but this is just too far - it's just gross and un-needed. On top of this I felt the story was weaker and the character developments grinded to a halt. I was disappointed with this volume, it's by no means a bad book, but when compared to the last few volumes it just wasn't as good.
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