The Walking Dead: Compendium One, by Robert Kirkman, Charles Adlard, Chris Rathburn
1088 pages
The Walking Dead: Compendium Two, by Robert Kirkman, Charles Adlard, Chris Rathburn
1068 pages
I began reading The Walking Dead comics a few years ago, when they were relatively new. Somewhere along the way, I fell behind and decided to wait for the trade paperbacks to come out. A couple of weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to find that SLPL has these hefty volumes available, and quickly put them on hold. Aside from the AMC show's explosive popularity, the comic can stand alone as one of the best to come out in quite awhile regardless of genre.
Both volumes compile issues 1-96, which is convenient because I do not have to request a long list of shorter trade paperbacks. This is a set of books that I would recommend only for adults and teens who have their parents' permission, as there is plenty of violence and language to go around. As far as the aesthetic of the comic goes, the stark black and white images mirror the desperate times these protagonists face every waking moment of every day. The writing is where the collection really takes off- we all have become familiar with zombie themes over the last few years, (kill them, or be lunch for the undead) yet this series pushes a narrative that is relatable to readers. The reader bears witness to a group of people who are constantly under duress. They are collectively forced to evolve into something harder than they believed possible while still hanging onto their own personal ideas of what it means to be a human being. I couldn't help but care that they were shedding their humanity with every choice they were faced with making along the way. It was hard to put down.
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