Broken Frontier

Zombie films have become so popular they can be considered a sub-genre to horror. And unlike most horror movies that are primarily hack and slash, zombie films are often a metaphor for consumerism or society as a whole. So, when Robert Kirkman started writing Walking Dead did he hope to offer some social commentary to comics, or just make a fun book about zombies? I’ll let you be the judge.

The Walking Dead follows Rick Grimes, a police office who wakes up in a hospital after a coma to find the world has gone crazy. He leaves his bed and finds the whole hospital empty, well, except for a cafeteria full of zombies. Rick escapes but shortly after realizes this isn’t the world he used to know.
In the first story arc Rick slowly becomes accustomed to the new world and the new rules that come along with it. Rick’s main priority is to get to Atlanta where he believes his wife and child may have run once all the craziness started happening. What happens after that? Well, you’ll just have you read it yourself.

What separates this zombie tale from the others is that Kirkman focuses deeply on the emotions of the characters. He doesn’t gloss over the characterization to get right to the creepy stuff. He wants you to feel you’re watching a real person reacting to this totally bizarre situation. It’s not all about zombie’s popping out of nowhere and scaring you, it’s more about how people would really cope in a world filled with the living dead. Kirkman even admits in the letters column of the very first issue he didn’t set out to scare anyone, but if that happens, it’s just gravy.

But Kirkman isn’t the only star of this popular Image title. Charlie Adlard is an incredible artist that deserves lots of credit.

So if you’re looking for a book that’s a bit more on the scary side, with great art and fantastic writing, give Walking Dead a try. You won’t be disappointed.

- JP Dorigo