Must Love Zombies

There is something very addictive in this ongoing, apparently non-stop series. What can it be? Its 10th paperback volume is out now, and still there is no apparent plot, the characters are kind of regular and the dialogue is kind of regular too. It’s too regular. Reminds you of real life. Except for the fact that it takes place in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.

In the last ten years or so, zombies have risen in popularity like nobody’s business. In movies, they’ve been the ultimate monsters. Perhaps because they represent the end of the world in a way, another popular subject these days. Although recently, it looks as if the always fashionable vampires (also known as “zombies for girls”) might be taking over. Still, once bitten, forever smitten. Zombie lovers will love The Walking Dead.

After a couple of volumes, you’ll realize Kirkman’s goal. Here is a zombie lover who hates the fact that all zombie movies tend to end at some point. So he writes a comic that never ends. That’s the hook. It just goes on and on and you are forced to watch the protagonists endure all the horrors a regular zombocaust survivor goes through. You’ll watch them age. You’ll watch them bleed. And you’ll love it. If you love zombies, that is. If you’re a vampire lover, go watch the mediocre shampoo commercial that is Twilight.
TWD is illustrated in glorious black & white by Tony Moore, who knows how to draw zombies. The zombies here are the walking kind (a la Romero) not the running kind (a la Boyle). Which zombies do you like better? Zombies, zombies, zombies.

Hey, they recently announced that there will be a TWD TV series. Hopefully, it will be in black & white as well. Well, Frank Darabont is producing, and he loves black & white (his special edition of The Mist was in black & white). After all, a zombie infested world is pretty black & white. Black & white, black & white, black & white.

Title: The Walking Dead

Author: Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore