I like zombie stories, but I don't have the fondness for the zombie subgenre of horror that I do for, say, the superhero subgenre of science-fiction. Or at least, I thought I didn't. But then along comes The Walking Dead, leapfrogging past almost every other title on my regular reading list to land squarely in my top five monthly comics, and showing that horror can be slow and methodical, with deep characterization and smart plotting, rather than just relying on a creep factor or jump out of your seat scares. Although both of those elements can be found in the pages of this trade as well. Walking Dead surprised me. I suspected that it would be kind of fun, as the zombie genre, despite the inherent horror, is one that is often easily described as fun. Instead, I got one of the most amazing comics on the market today, one that continues to grow in sales and buzz with every issue (and as a reviewer watching many of his favorite books cancelled, boy do I need that to keep going) and one that gets a quick trade collection courtesy of some very smart marketing folks at Image.
Kirkman and Moore nail the survivalist feelings of living in a zombie world so well, or that they aren't so focused on the gore and horror that they can't put in a well-developed set of characters and an intriguing mystery premise about how the dead began to walk. Actually, mystery isn't exactly the right word, because, true to genre rules, I don't think Kirkman has any intention of revealing how the undead came to life, but rather exploring them as metaphor for a crumbling society and as a monster that spurs the human characters into examining their own lives and motivations.
It's interesting that Kirkman's story plays off of some of the zombie cliches. Someone waking up in a hotel bed and finding themselves in a vastly changed world is a cliche that has played out in all kinds of stories, and the humans gathering weapons and supplies is a zombie standard as well. For that matter, the hero finds his wife and son in a moment that should read as Hollywood sappy, and the love triangle that develops between our main character, his wife and his best friend should have been melodramatic and overwrought as well. However, Kirkman makes these moments work. Rick, the lead character, has his moments of doubt but generally provides a strength and optimism that would seem impossible in this kind of world, and there are times for the characters to kick back and have a little fun rather than just running from the zombie menace. While there's definitely a sense of danger, it's not an overwhelming, hopeless sense, and that makes the book much more approachable, even as it makes the reader wait for the next shoe to drop and reveal how dangerous things really are.
This may be a monster story, but the heart of the tale isn't about scares, it's about humans and society and change, and there's plenty of rich material to be found in that vein. Whether it's the love triangle at the center of the book that leads to tragedy at the end of the trade (that's no spoiler... anybody can see it coming), the tension between Rick and his wife that undercuts their relief at seeing one another or the variety of interesting characters who also live in the camp, these are real and interesting people, and that makes the horror of their situation all the more real. What I love about these characters is that I find it so easy to relate to them. Kirkman's hero isn't a gun-toting hero cop, he's a local cop who never fired his gun before he had to fire it into a zombie. His partner isn't a complete jerk, he's just a guy who had a thing for the hero's wife and saw his chance. And Glenn, the runner and supply seeker for the group, isn't an iron-willed tracker or anything like that, he's still got fear and uncertainty about going into the city even as he does it for the good of the community. Kirkman also undercuts expectations by throwing in a huge, text-heavy expository sequence where everyone gives their "name and origin," essentially, and it seems like a down moment, time for character introductions, leading into one of the scariest and most chaotic moments in the series.
That's right... while The Walking Dead is a zombie book held together in large part by it's strong human characters, Kirkman has not forgotten to include the proper amount of creepiness, scares and examinations of a post-zombie world. When Rick and Glenn go into Atlanta to hunt for guns and supplies, using a dicey bit of camouflage, it's truly creepy, and I love the way relative safety can turn to immense danger so quickly in this world. Whether it's a sudden rainstorm or a surprise attack, Kirkman gives the sense of what it must be like for these characters, never able to truly relax but having to struggle to do so in order to retain some of their basic humanity. And Kirkman also has a new spin on the notion of what to do with someone when they're bit by a zombie, a darkly funny and yet somewhat sweet payoff for one of the most tragic characters in the book.
Moore and Kirkman have worked together before on various projects, including Battle Pope and Brit, but The Walking Dead may be their strongest collaboration yet. Moore does a great job on the first splash page that shows us the zombie-infested corridors of the hospital, and the desperate struggle between Rick and the first zombie he encounters is fast-paced and brutal. His zombies, covered in sores and insects, feel as real and scary as anything you'll see in a Hollywood flick. The dead eyes, the shambling walk, the broken mockery of mankind are all suggested in his still frames. He also brings just the right sense of desperation and abandonment to the world of The Walking Dead, while keeping the lead characters real and human, so that we can emphathize with them despite the unreal situation they find themselves in. The desolation of the cities is brought to life clearly in just one splash page that shows an abandoned tank in the midst of zombies and corpses, hinting at the chaos that we never saw when the zombies first attacked.
The Walking Dead reminds me in some ways of critical sensation Y: The Last Man, as it's about a horror post-apocalypse scenario that has been done many times before, but it has a sense of humor and a sense of humanity that makes it seem fresh and definitely grabs the imagination. If you've been hearing the buzz on this book and been thinking, "Well, everybody loves it, but I'm not so big on zombies," then just remember this: Neither was I, and yet this book supercedes both Gotham Central and Fables as my Best of the Week this week.
