Walking Dead Compendium 2

Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2 by Robert Kirkman, 1068 pages

Zombies, cannibalism, and violence. This second part of the Walking Dead series has everything you would expect from in a post-apocalyptic world were food is running out. This book also focuses on the theme of what it means to be human, and humanity as a whole. We keep seeing glimpses of society trying to reemerge in the book, only to be quashed by some type of fighting, much like Steve said, not always with zombies. It is nice that the main character deaths have subsided a bit, it was hard to remember the back story as new characters died off as often as old. It was also hard to root for or care what happens to the characters in the book, as it was likely they would be dead soon.

This might have been part of Kirkman’s plan though. This disassociation with the characters slowly hardens the reader to their eventual death, much like being there would. With death likely around every corner you don’t want to get close to anyone as losing them will make it hurt so much more. Here we don’t get close or root for the characters because we know they will likely die.

This volume seems to end on a cliff hanger moment which makes it likely there will be a volume 3 with more characters that we can impassively watch die.   

The Walking Dead Compendium One

The Walking Dead Compendium One, by Robert Kirkman and others, 1088 pages

Before Tiger did his blog post on this book I was unaware of this series. But after reading his post and listening to him talk about it, I knew I had to read it eventually.

If you enjoy zombie movies or zombie fiction this compendium is a must read for you. The zombies follow the classic slow moving, attracted to noise and smell genre. They have none of the Hollywood tricks that to make them scarier like the ability to climb or run. But they don’t need them. Despite being a comic the imagery as style allow for the classic jump scare type moments you would expect.

The turnover on characters is rather fast though and just when you are starting to like a person or cheer for them to make it to the end they go and die, much like the Song of Ice and Fire series. I still enjoyed the compendium and must mirror what Tiger said “It was hard to put down”.  

I look forward to reading the second compendium to see how this all might end.

The Walking Dead: Compendium One and Compendium Two

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.