Broken Frontier

Robert Kirkman is to most the guy who made us love zombies all over again. How? By writing a story that was so not about zombies! Instead, he chose to write about survivors of the Apocalypse, living in a world so grim most would just faint by the thought of it all.

Zombies are merely the backdrop of the canvas, because The Walking Dead is all about its living, breathing characters. Kirkman took a loving father, homeless refugees, nomads, families and created a story that shows our inner good but at the same time details how deep we can fall... Since its start six years ago, the cast has changed considerably, with zombies and dark-spirited humans literally cutting them in half. But through it all, one thing has never stopped shining: deep, basic human emotion. It’s this humane aspect that makes The Walking Dead the best book on the shelf.

Kirkman isn’t the only one deserving of big props. His artistic cohorts, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn never let up, and kept the killer pages coming during a year in which the series shipped as frequently as ever. Together, they’re the unsung heroes of the series as their deft handles of shades and grays make people forget they’re reading a black and white book.

Our band of survivors are now on their way to Washington, DC, hoping to find a permanent way out of this mess. If or when they get there, they won’t find true solace (that option was thrown out the window a long time ago), but they may find a real solution to the zombie threat. Whatever Kirkman, Adlard and Rathburn have in store, it will be good!