Comic discussion thread

[zombieparanoia]

Is anyone here reading the comics for the Walking Dead? I'm surprised there isn't already a comic thread going? or is there and it just died a lonely death because everyone really just watches the show?

I just started kind of randomly reading at about issue #90 about January of this year. I'm kind of split on it, it's got some strong parts in comparison to the show and some really not so strong parts in general and compared to the show.

I'd be interested in hearing anyone elses thoughts of how the show compares/contrasts with the comic series.

For one thing, I have to apologize for my criticisms of the TV show in regards to a lack of capable, competent decision making by Rick. I had no idea that that was actually how his character was supposed to be.

Because of the similarities and differences between the comic and TV story lines should we use spoiler tags? I guess if we're trying to be polite and not be dicks and ruining the story for other readers.

I usually don't mind knowing what happens ahead in a story unless it's a huge twist or something crucial. I remember seeing the third matrix movie in theater and this kid sitting in front of me turns to his friend and says "Neo totally dies at the end" so I leaned forward and said "If he does, so do you" So yeah, spoiler tags I guess.

[Rottedfreak]

The comic can go into areas the show cannot most notably what the Governor and Michonne did to each other was far worse then the TV series allowed. Another thing is the prison assault, in the TV series the body count was Hershel, the Governor and a bunch of non entities, in the comic it was nine characters snuffed out with a bunch of non entities, that issue was infamous it was a punch to the gut and the TV show realistically couldn't do that.
On the flip side the TV series actually does do some good stuff for example I haven't seen a story like the flu story arc at the beginning of season 4, most zombie fiction is abut surviving the apocalypse but that was certainly different. On the other hand you have to wonder why in both series not one thought "hey we should have a fallback point if things go tits up".

[zombieparanoia]

The comic can go into areas the show cannot most notably what the Governor and Michonne did to each other was far worse then the TV series allowed. Another thing is the prison assault, in the TV series the body count was Hershel, the Governor and a bunch of non entities, in the comic it was nine characters snuffed out with a bunch of non entities, that issue was infamous it was a punch to the gut and the TV show realistically couldn't do that.
On the flip side the TV series actually does do some good stuff for example I haven't seen a story like the flu story arc at the beginning of season 4, most zombie fiction is abut surviving the apocalypse but that was certainly different. On the other hand you have to wonder why in both series not one thought "hey we should have a fallback point if things go tits up".


Ok, good to know, so I should consider going further back in the series. Yeah, the prison assault was kind of a cannon fodder spectacular on the show. I agree on the peculiarity of the failure to plan b especially considering the fall of the farm happened so quickly, that they would at least (maybe daryl or michonne) set up a cache of supplies a reasonable distance from prison. In the show I thought they had some concerns about the back of the prison, where tyreeses group initially entered, which to my recollection were never addressed.

Does the comic continue to switch back and forth from "we have to do what it takes to survive" and "we have to do the right thing morally and ethically" throughout the series? That's one of the biggest issues I have with the issues I've read so far, particularly the most recent one. It's an issue I have with the show as well, the whole "I'll do whatever it takes to protect my son and the group, except kill really evil people who clearly are a threat until I've given them a few chances to kill me and everyone I love."

WTF, Rick lets Negan live using the old "Killing him would just bring us down to his level, we're better than that" Bullshit!


Something else about the comic and show I find odd, why is it that so few of the people who have survived this far into the zombie apocalypse have any technical skills? I've yet to see any engineers, trades or scientists, everything just seems to be jerry rigged all the time. The science teacher doofus and assumably the guy in a lab coat are the smartest people left? Mankind is really fucked.

[DeadManPosting]

About your "back and forth" question in both the comics and the show a prominent theme is self-preservation versus morality, Kirkman seems to wanna explore whether one's humanity is dependent solely on survival if the pursuits of higher ideals i.e. morality defines our humanity. So based on that I'm afraid that the back and forth decision making will be present in all facets of the Walking Dead Series. However, if you play the games the choices are up to you so you can sidestep that whole issue entirely.

[zombieparanoia]

Fair enough. I just personally tend to have a more consequentialist view of how life would be post zombie apocalypse. To me, the moralizing seems very out of place in a world where basically everything and everyone is trying to kill you.I get that it's characters are semi attached to the modern civilized world but I just think that would fall away a lot quicker to a much simpler "does it help me and my group survive? Yes. Then it's the right thing to do" Higher ideals only come after you're safe enough to have the option to be wrong and it's not going to be fatal virtually every time. "but what if we're wrong?" well, I'll live with being wrong.

I suppose this was summed up pretty well for me by a guy who I used to train martial arts with ( he was the teacher) I was new to martial arts and I asked about if there was a philosophical/spiritual side of the art I was learning. he said "Yeah, the dead guy doesn't get to go home to his family or to church on sunday"

That always stuck with me, that when faced with being morally at fault or dead, always choose morally at fault.

[Mr. Clean]

I bought "the walking dead compendium 1 and 2" for fairly cheap online(compared to the original price) and spent Thanksgiving through Christmas 2012 with my face buried in these things. I absolutely can't wait for the 3rd compendium to come out. I will no doubt reread 1 and 2 before I read 3. :)

The only bad part about going this route is you don't get the cover art but I believe you can buy an art book that only contains cover art if it bothers you that bad ;)

EDIT: Another bad part is you gotta wait pretty much 3 years for them to release another book but good things come to those who wait? :D:o:|

[DayoftheZ]

I own up to Volume 12 of the trade paperbacks and have read every other issue up to 127 via "other means". For me the comic lost its way a little bit after the governor arc, but I really enjoyed issue 127 and hope it will

Issue 127 discussion below don’t open unless you have read it.

The new life they have built could make for some interesting character building and also it will be good to see how Rick copes with a Walker invasion now.

I am concerned though where the threat comes from now because they seem to have the walkers covered, and amongst there three groups there are too many for a living threat to have a major impact.

[zombieparanoia]

Oh my god. The writing is so bad. I completely retract any criticisms I've had for the show writers, they look like frigging literary geniuses compared to the comic.


Spoilers for issue 129 Get effed in the A if you read this and then complain about spoilers:


So let me see if I have this right, they didn't kill negan and then time jump YEARS AHEAD, to a point within days of his escape, which he foreshadows within a few hours by saying "I'm just biding time" within 2 issues of the time jump? Fuck you kirkman, just fuck you right in the fucking ear. Fuck your stupid characters, fuck your deus ex machina, fuck your morality plays, but fuck your shitty storytelling most of all.

I am so glad I've never paid for a single issue of this comic.

[Rottedfreak]

Shocking bit about issue 129


Rick has a cane with a bauble and when walkers ambush him and Carl who are headed to Hilltop he and Carl take them out alone but when a patrol man rides up, he apologies and then Rick beats him down, demands his name and tells him he'll report him to the Kingdom.
On the one hand Rick and Carl could have been killed but this to me makes me think he's become another Negan to the other communities. I bet come issue 130 when he rides into Hilltop he'll be treated like a king or a Don and then oversee executions of criminals.

I wouldn't make too much of Negan and the new group, it's likely they'll treat him with skepticism.

[Trencher]

I agree that letting Negan live was a huge mistake by the writer, both the way it was done and the reasoning for it was bad imo.
But my problem with the series started before but also with Negan, I felt that the comic became more and more about Negan until it was almost the Negan show. And I actually stopped picking up the trades. I did not even notice before a long time had past.
When the comic firs came out I was in the store often to check if the new trade had come in but with the war story and Negan characterization dragging on and on I just got disinterested in the whole series. My focus turned to the TV series which I have thought were better anyway.

Negan was always a problem to me. He was too cool, too funny, too strong. He was like taken out of a zombie apocalypse power fantasy where the main character and his posse plows through the zombies and get all the chicks and loot. Negan had his own harem, his own army and even a cool leather jacket. The only thing he lacked was the ponytail and longcoat and he would be the stereotypical bad villain character. There were aspects of the war story I liked, I liked that the Saviour gang were better at shooting than the heroes and that taking them down were not as easy as taking down the Hunters. But that was pretty much it, when Glen was killed just to create a shocking moment it had the opposite effect of what it should have been it was more about introducing the "cool" new character than it was about Glenns death. The writing just was not as good as it had previously. Not as thought through. Not as dramatic. Not as scary.

I think the problem started with the Govenor. Lets face it, if you have a rape story you are going to get an increase in sales and that group of customers are going to be quite loud in their praise of the story and or villain that were in it.
As a result the Govenor was massively overhyped, he even got a book??!

Negan was an attempt to recreate the success of the Govenor imo, but this time Kirkman wanted to do it without leaning rape to drive up sales. (Maybe he wanted to remove some self doubt about the actual value of his previous work?). So Negan became stronger and more bad ass than the Govenor, combining the insane drive and charisma of the Govenor with the flippant attitude of Daryl towards killing with Shane (from the TV series). You can see that Kirkman really liked Negan not only did Negan get a LOT of screen time but the series also got made faster just so they could get the Negan arch to the customers as soon as possible. A considerable investment in time and man power.
But the problem was that Kirman like the character too much and when the long war arch was getting to its end Kirkman cooked up some lame reason to keep Negan in the comic still. It just does not work. The people who Negan and his Saviours have exploited would want revenge. A trial and or a hearing I could understand it could be a great stepping stone into creating a more civilized society but just putting him in prison is just silly. Also another problem with Negan is also similar to a problem I had with Kirkmans portrayal of the Governor and prison group conflict. Kirkman seem to think that war and dictatorships are just brought into being by one man. During the prison battle one woman shoots a baby and this makes her realize that "they all have been mislead by the governor and that war is wrong" just out of the blue. Very unrealistic imo. The prison battle in the TV series was done much better the troops actually were shown to be willing to kill other people and take their stuff but were also willing to flee head over heels if battle turned against them.
With Negan the same problem reared its head. As soon as Neegan is dead the Saviors gang are willing to give up all they have fought for, stop collecting free food and gets ready to toil in the field. Sorry people no way atleast not so fast. Dictators are placed in their positions by people who benefit from a dictatorial system being in place, and the Saviors were shown to both competent and highly motivated. They were brigands and they knew it. Their leader dying might make them retreat but they would not make them give up their evil ways.
Well I rambled on long enough. Just my thoughts on the series on how it is now and how it came to be that way.

[Rottedfreak]

The Whisperers have become a serious threat but I get the impression we're about to see a very short war because they are faceless and 'Alpha' isn't that big a deal like Negan or the Governor. I say keep watching Negan, I don't think Kirkman is done with him and the fair shake he got at the conclusion of All Out War was planned.

[Moon Knight]

I only read up until issue 144 but my guess is that Rick is gonna ask for Negan's help with the Whisperers.

[Rottedfreak]

Often we see 'best comic moments' well here's my top five worst.
1) Issue 70 Douglass meets Rick and blabs about a pre apocalypse news story about a drug addict who ate his sons eye. Completely out of place and pointless.
2) Issue 93 After Rick and the gang beat up a man called Jesus they scout the area for others but come up with nothing, it conclude with him saying they'll take Jesus communities stuff and leave them for dead.
3) Issue 82 After zombies breach Alexandria and take everything Rick is trapped in a house with a family and talks of leaving, when one person protests aying they have children there Rick says "the thing about other peoples children is that they are not our children." in the pretense he became dark after a few warm meals and cosy beds.
4) Issue 14 When clearing the prison rick and Tyreese open the door to the cafeteria and find four living people dressed as prisoners having meatloaf. How they accomplished this is unexplained since the power should be out, more to the point Rick brings his entire group in to break bread and then asks "wait, you are guards right?"
5) This is just downright lazy writing, in issue 78 and 103 both a gatherer and Negan say the exact same thing at Alexandria's gates: "Little pig, little pig let me in."