Walking Dead Vol. 8

It may seem strange to start a review of a book with Volume 8, but when it comes to The Walking Dead, quite often strange is normal.

I have been a fan of this Zombie epic since I bought Issue # 1 when it came out a few years ago. Robert Kirkman writes an incredible tale, and Charlie Adlard’s black and white art adds to not only the creepiness of Kirkman’s world, but also the starkness of it all.

But again, why start here with Volume 8? Because much like the previous volumes, nothing will ever be the same again in the world of The Walking Dead.

Collecting issues 43-48 of the Image Comics series, Made To Suffer follows the continuing struggles of former police office Rick, his wife Lori and their children as they, and a band of survivors try and make a life for themselves in a prison. The prison is the only secure facility in their world that is overrun by Zombies.

Not far away is the town of Woodbury, run by a sadistic man they call The Governor. Rick and his prison folk have had a few tussles with The Governor, so he launches and all out attack on their prison. Shots are fired, people killed, and at the risk of dishing out major spoilers, I’ll leave it at that. Trust me though when I say all hell breaks loose, and things will never be the same.

Normally, saying that “things will never be the same” in a comic book carries about as much weight as saying “he’ll stay dead this time.” That is one of the major differences in The Walking Dead. People who die, stay dead (figuratively speaking) and the consequences are very real for the survivors.

Kirkman weaves a tale that is equal parts horror story and study in human behaviours. The social interactions between the people left to rebuild humanity amongst rotting zombies is the heart of the story. This is not to knock the creep-factor of the book, as it is one of the few horror stories out there that can actually be taken seriously, but it’s the human factor that is really the draw.

Adlard’s black and white art is wonderfully simplistic, which is excellent because the story moves so fast, you don’t need to get bogged down in overly complicated panels. It’s key to controlling the flow of the story, and on top of that his rotting zombies look great when compared to their ragged human counterparts.

The Walking Dead is one of the best stories being told in comics today, and hopefully with Robert Kirkman’s new position at Image, it will be around for a long, long time.