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The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye (The Walking Dead #1)

by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore (Illustrator)

4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 · rating details · 52,773 ratings · 1,546 reviews

An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. Rick Grimes finds himself one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a sho...more

Paperback, 144 pages

Published September 26th 2006 by Image Comics (first published May 26th 2004)

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May 22, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-graphic-novels, dead-heads, sf-apocalyptic-and-post-apocalyptic, 2000-2005, horror

4.0 stars. You can see by the ratings and the other reviews of this book that a lot of people think very highly of this series and it is certainly justified. This is the kind of excellence in both writing and art that make the graphic novel an incredibly power medium when it is done well. Here….it is done very well indeed. The writing and the art are superb and I don’t think you could ask for better.

Basically, the set up is very familiar. It is a zombie apocalypse, society has broken down and t...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Sparrow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sparrow by: Katie Coleman

Shelves: morally-superior, monsters, needs-a-sassy-gay-friend-real-bad, reviewed

Okay, is this where the random bolding phenomenon is coming from?? Have you all known this and not told me? Is it just so you can laugh behind my back? See? I can’t even randomly bold if I try. It always ends up being for emphasis.

This book is about don’t give kids guns. That’s pretty much it. But, sometimes, you know . . . zombie apocalypse . . . sounds like a good idea to give a kid a gun. And if you think that, you’re an idiot.

My dad used to keep a lot of guns in the house at one particularl...more

20 likes · like · see review

Dec 20, 2011 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-graphic-novel, horror, zombies

We are amidst a Zombie phenomena, well they have been around since that movie Night of the Living Dead, But did not have as much coverage, there is so many novels and movies now with a zombie theme.

Some neat artwork here representing a zombie gore feast of a struggle for a band of humans against the odds for survival.
This is as most people know the genisis of the tv-series of the same name. I have watched one episode with some reservations due to the gore level and wanted to read the graphic no...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Jon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-summer-reads, comics-graphicnovels, the-horror

I wanted to really like volume one of The Walking Dead. Most people do like it. They like it a lot. I didn't, which doesn't make anyone better or smarter than anyone else, we just have different tastes.

I appreciate Robert Kirkman wanting to write a social commentary and not just a horror story, but I don't know that he needs to state this in the introduction - all good zombie (and horror) stories are dealing with more than just the surface material, so Kirkman emphasizing his social commentary s...more I wanted to really like volume one of The Walking Dead. Most people do like it. They like it a lot. I didn't, which doesn't make anyone better or smarter than anyone else, we just have different tastes.

I appreciate Robert Kirkman wanting to write a social commentary and not just a horror story, but I don't know that he needs to state this in the introduction - all good zombie (and horror) stories are dealing with more than just the surface material, so Kirkman emphasizing his social commentary sounds more like him trying to convince everyone his stuff is smart and deserving of our attention and praise; why not let his graphic novel prove its merit on its own?

I didn't feel that the character development was that deep. The greatest transgressor here was Lori, who is very one-dimensional. She's the most incompetent woman in the whole story. To me, she is just the whining wife character who tries to frustrate Rick's chivalric heroism by not wanting him to go to the city, or she's the over-protective mother figure who doesn't want their son, Carl, to be taught how to shoot a gun (silly women, not letting their boys become men). She's helpless, submissive, and mostly just obnoxious.

I didn't feel that Kirkman explored some of the issues of survival very thoroughly. For example, gender issues and the division of labor is raised when some of the women are going to wash the clothes. But the issue is opened by Donna's shallow complaints about women doing the washing and men doing the hunting. Her argument is bland and Lori's response is equally so, she claims it "isn't about women's rights . . . it's about being realistic and doing what needs to be done." This is a convenient response to shut down Donna, who is very obviously constructed as a whining, judgmental character (we're not supposed to agree with her, but are supposed to discard her opinion as rapidly as Lori does). The problem is that if you're wanting to survive in the apocalypse (or if you just wanna be able to live in our regular supposedly non-apocalyptic life), everyone should be learning as many skills as possible. Kirkman has the opportunity to examine gender roles here, but chooses to reduce the issue to a series of bumper sticker statements that don't really say anything.

This becomes even more of a problem for me when later the women are taught how to shoot. After the argument over who washes and who hunts, it seems silly that women are expected to learn so-called "manly" skills like shooting a gun but men are allowed to remain ignorant to washing clothes. It's a man's world, zombies or no zombies. Obviously, women should learn how to shoot to protect themselves and to catch food, but domestic chores are also important for survival and the men should learn those too. Is this a small detail I'm picking at? Perhaps. But it happens so often in our culture and our stories that it really annoys the hell out of me. And I don't think this is the characters being ignorantly sexist, I think it's Kirkman being ignorantly sexist.

Another instance of cheap dramatics used to show Lori's helplessness and Kirkman's lame gender use is following the laundry washing when the women are attacked by a zombie and Dale beheads it with his axe. The zombie's head is still "alive" which logically means they have to shoot the head to kill it, even though Dale is holding his axe and we see many zombies dispatched with axes and hatchets (including right before this moment when Rick kills the zombie feeding on the deer with his hatchet). Using the gun to kill the head is a lame move, creating bland dramatics to get Rick and Shane to come running back to camp, where Lori cries on Rick's shoulder, completely beside herself with fear - "Oh, God, Rick . . . it was awful." This isn't interesting or exciting, it's an attempt to make a story exciting because the more action, the more cool the story, the more readers.

Gender studies issues aside, The Walking Dead just moves too quickly a lot of the time. A story focusing on the day-to-day challenge of surviving in a blighted landscape should dwell on the monotony of survival, at least some of the time. Kirkman wants the story to drag along and take its time, but it just felt rushed to me. It's like he wanted to have dead time where not much was happening, but then got bored with it and just rushed us on to the next zombie scene where we can be thrilled by Tony Moore's grisly art - mundane chores don't sell stories, but violence does.

Moore's art is pretty good, especially the zombies. But this is an emphasis again on grotesque body horror and violence. There are lots of close-ups of heads getting hacked at and shot. The gore abounds and while that isn't always a bad thing because we are reading a fantasy and zombie stories are a violent, nasty subject, I wonder if Moore was a bit too enamored with killing things.

As I said, I wanted to like this graphic novel, but in the end it was just okay. It coulda, shoulda been brilliant and there are nice moments and signs of real quality. But the effort to make it stellar proved too difficult, so Kirkman and co. chose the much easier, safer route of superficiality.(less)

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Jan 24, 2013 StoryTellerShannon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

I think some of the pleasure of reading this graphic novel was taken away from watching the first two seasons of the TV series. There obviously weren't that many surprises and I would say 75% of the graphic novel was like several of the episodes. Without giving spoilers I'd say certain parts of the TV series were better. Probably because they built on the comic which came first. Then again, some instances of the graphic novel were better than the series so I don't feel I'm biased towards one or...more I think some of the pleasure of reading this graphic novel was taken away from watching the first two seasons of the TV series. There obviously weren't that many surprises and I would say 75% of the graphic novel was like several of the episodes. Without giving spoilers I'd say certain parts of the TV series were better. Probably because they built on the comic which came first. Then again, some instances of the graphic novel were better than the series so I don't feel I'm biased towards one or the other.

Anyway, this tale focuses upon a police officer (Rick Grimes) who gets shot, goes into a coma at the hospital and awakens to discover a zombie apocalypse. He then makes his way to survivors and the rest of the tale is about survival sprinkled with moral decisions.

From Wiki: “The Walking Dead received the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series at San Diego Comic-Con International. The series was adapted into the AMC television series The Walking Dead, which premiered in 2010. The television program has inspired a Kirkman-approved full length novel prologuing the comic book's timeline. The series has been translated into numerous languages such as Danish, Portuguese, Spanish, Serbian, Polish, French, Turkish and Japanese.”

Written by Robert Kirkman with black and white panels by Tony Moore.

ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B minus to B; HORROR THEMES/FOCUSES: B; STORY/PLOTTING: B; WHEN READ: early September 2012; OVERALL GRADE: B.

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Aug 01, 2011 Anthony Chavez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel-manga

Kirkman does an amazing job with setting up this story. I can see why this series has gotten so much acclaim and had such success. I did however, watch the first season of the show before I knew it was a graphic novel. And once I started reading I finished this volume in a couple hours without putting it down.

The zombies! They are amazing, and he wrote them so well, you really feel for them, they aren't your crazed psycho zombies, or your fast constantly hunting zombies, no, they lounge around,...more

13 likes · like · see review

Aug 27, 2012 Buggy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: walkers, graphic-novel-comics, end-of-days, shelf-12, media-tie-in

Opening Line: “This is not good.”

This was pretty freaking awesome, my very first graphic novel and what an introduction. Like many others I picked this up because I’m obsessed with AMC’s The Walking Dead and wanted, well I just wanted more. I was also curious about the graphic novels, I’d heard they were good but I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting much, I mean they’re comics right, how engaging can they be?

However DAYS GONE BYE captured my attention from page one and managed to hold me hostage fo...more Opening Line: “This is not good.”

This was pretty freaking awesome, my very first graphic novel and what an introduction. Like many others I picked this up because I’m obsessed with AMC’s The Walking Dead and wanted, well I just wanted more. I was also curious about the graphic novels, I’d heard they were good but I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting much, I mean they’re comics right, how engaging can they be?

However DAYS GONE BYE captured my attention from page one and managed to hold me hostage for the entire hour it took to read, giving me a real sense of sense of anticipation, anxiety and fear. I think what makes this so good (besides all the awesome zombie ass kicking) is that Kirkman has managed to capture the human story so well, which I didn’t expect. I found myself really caring about the outcome of the characters even the ones I didn’t know because they hadn’t made it into the TV series.

On that note probably the most fun for me here (and purists will hate this) was comparing the graphic novel to the TV series. What they used, what they changed, how the characters look etc. The outcome of this book is very different to the end of season 1 and surprised the hell out of me. And while the dialougue can be kinda corny the black and white artwork is awesome; detailed, -you can see their breathe when it gets cold, realistic(?) What I mean is they don’t look like superheroes all muscles, tiny waists and huge boobs. The zombies are seriously disgusting and the kill shots (on both sides) are amazing. Yup this was a great read and very, very addictive. Looks like I’ll be splurging on The Walking Dead Compendium after all. Cheers

Volume 1 follows officer Rick Grimes from pre apocalypse shootout through waking up alone in the abandoned hospital. We then trail him as he meets bicycle girl! the flat end of Morgan & Dwayne’s shovel and starts to adjust to life in his new zombie filled world, before setting off to Atlanta in search of his wife and son. No tank scene there but he rides that ill-fated horse and gets rescued by Glenn who takes him to the encampment and other survivors.

Boom, spak, gasp, ahh, uungh, snap, whump, guk, glakk, shit, shit shit shit! Aaahh, thump, blam.
310JB4.5(less)

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Oct 05, 2008 An rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: survivalists - and people dead inside

Recommended to An by: un-friends, probably feasting on brains right now

A completely inappropriate birthday gift for someone with necrofobia - or pseudonecrofobia - or hemi-necrofobia - or pauci-animafobia.

Well written. Vividly, horrifically, (in my opinion poorly) illustrated with images that stalk and haunt my waking dreams.

I vote - NO.

I have tried to destroy, give away and recycle this book but it keeps showing up on my shelf. It will not die.

I store a copy of the Zombie Survival Guide next to it and it seems to keep it at bay. It does a good job of obscuring th...more

15 likes · like · see review

May 22, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: x-2004s, braiiiinssss, ahh-were-all-gonna-die, help-help-im-being-repressed, are-you-afraid-of-the-dark-yet, if-we-build-it-they-will-come, x-series-bk-1, graphic-novels

guess what? it has.

are you prepared?

i really, really, really liked this book - a lot. i'm not usually into graphic-novels, either. i can appreciate nice artwork, but not when it means that the writing takes a back seat because the author expects a free ride off their artistic abilities. no, sir.

but that wasn't even close to being an issue with this book. nuh-uh.

{the characters}

days gone bye has an excellent cast of characters, with personalities as diverse and complex as those of stephen king. n...more

7 likes · like · see review

Oct 11, 2012 Kaitlin rated it 1 of 5 stars

This was an extremely poorly written book. Now I know it's a graphic novel but come on Kirkman could have done so much better, proof of this is in his skillfully written introduction. He talks up the book like reading it will be a life changing experience, or equal to viewing a magnificent piece of art but I was greatly let down. I didn't have to even read the book the whole thing was so predictable. Not to mention the excessive cursing every other "speech bubble", similar to Drag Me To Hell thi...more

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Apr 28, 2009 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, graphic-novels-comics

Standard zombie fare elevated by some excellent character development. The black and white drawings give The Walking Dead a retro look, which had me recalling the original Romero Dead movie, but also a few other end of the world type flicks, such as the old Ray Milland movie, Panic in the Year Zero,, and The Last Man on Earth (Vincent Price version). Oh, there’s some blatant 28 Days Later borrowing as well (waking up from a coma – and Wow have things changed!), but it’s entirely secondary nuts...more

6 likes · like · see review

May 23, 2012 Regina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic

Update May 23, 2012 - The Walking Dead is now on the Badass Book Reviews' Best Badass Zombie Books List. Check it out!

1 like · like · see review

Mar 22, 2009 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels-comic-books

I absolutely loved this series! Once I started reading, I couldn't stop! Kirkman does an amazing job in setting up a realistic portrayal of what one might experience going through a zombie apocalypse across the earth. I appreciated the sound character development, the twists and turns of the plot, the glimmers of how religion and psychology might play in to people's attitudes, and the fact that the story does not end after each turn of events as you might expect it to. Kirkman even alludes to th...more

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Jul 24, 2008 Allison rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: zombie fans, horror fans

I was originally introduced to this series when I read reviews of Kirkman's work on Marvel Zombies. Then, Kirkman took a swing at the new Ultimate X-Men. Impressed with his work, and coming down from the excellent high of Max Brooks' World War Z , I picked up TWD.

Flabbergasted isn't the right word, but it'll do for now. Kirkman's The Walking Dead is a masterpiece, an obvious step from Romero's original work in the realm of non-supernatural zombie fiction. There are no heroes in this post-apocal...more

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Feb 15, 2008 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

i'm typically not a fan of the horror genre... but it would be unfair to call this a 'zombie book'... when the first issues were coming out, it was a big deal at the shop i was working at. i read the first issue, maybe the second, i can't even remember... but i kept thinking it wasn't for me and didn't give it much of a chance... it opens in a typical zombie-book fashion. main character wakes up in an abandoned hospital from a coma to discover that zombies rule the earth, etc. etc. this also cam...more

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Mar 23, 2009 Evan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

Spending the day with Stef has me on a zombie kick! ;)

I raced right through this in one sitting, flipping each page with a sense of dread. I've always been creeped out by zombies, so why I read this before going to bed is beyond me!

This volume sets everything up nicely for all the subsequent volumes to come. We're given a cast (which suffers some casualties by the end of the opening volume) and dueling ideologies on how to best tackle the zombie threat.

I just requested the next four volumes thro...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Samantha Glasser rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, graphic-novels

The Walking Dead is the story of the zombie apocalypse and the survivors who fight to stay alive. They band together and work to find food, shelter, and safety in a world overrun by dead people who feast on the flesh of the living. The social effects of such a cataclysmic event are on full display here which is what makes it so new and entertaining.

It is not as exciting, as frightening, or as real as the television show is, but I chalk that up to it being so short. The idea is spot-on, to show t...more

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May 13, 2008 J rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

I like zombie movies but all too often they're pretty crappy. Night Of The Living Dead remains my favorite and Robert Kirkman's series, The Walking Dead, reminds me of that film. Kirkman set out to tell a story about people and how they deal with adversity. I think that's what makes The Walking Dead so great. Rick Grimes (an awsome character) and his fellow survivors battle zombies, of course, but they end up struggling with each other and with themselves, as well. The character development is p...more

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Jan 04, 2009 kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Romero fans, horror geeks, Post-apocalyptic sf nerds, 28 Days Later apologists

Recommended to kevin by: Joshua Diaz

Shelves: sciencefiction

Another take in the growing canon of contemporary zombie fiction. The first book in The Walking Dead begins with the eerie loneliness of a sparsely populated rural town in Kentucky and slowly takes the reader through the process of gradual realization and urgent horror that Romero fans will surely recognize. Tony Moore frequently plays with the elasticity of time on his black and white pages as he stretches a fleeting moment into several distinct agonizing panels. The final act suggests further...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Paul McCain rated it 1 of 5 stars

A wonderful concept plagued by atrocious writing choices, adapted into a TV show that succeeds its originator in terms of drama, suspense, writing, and emotional weight. Heavy-handed, expository dialogue, non-expressive artwork, and underwritten characterizations rob the story of the tension that compels me to watch the show.

For comic book horror, try Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing for a start, then Gaiman's Sandman, then Delano's Hellblazer. For your zombie fix, go to the superior Walking Dead...more

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Oct 30, 2009 Chili Public rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adults-comics, adults-scary, adults-vampires-and-other-beasts

Let me start out by saying WOW. This is an intense piece of work. I read this a while ago, but it is still pretty vivid in my mind.
Before going any further, I should let you know a couple of things:

1. It is VERY violent
2. There is some sexual tension, that is eventually… released.

Knowing this, I probably definately wouldn’t suggest it to school libraries. I have the series in my teen collection, but it has a big OT (older teen) sticker on it, so that people don’t “accidentally” come upon it an...more Let me start out by saying WOW. This is an intense piece of work. I read this a while ago, but it is still pretty vivid in my mind.
Before going any further, I should let you know a couple of things:

1. It is VERY violent
2. There is some sexual tension, that is eventually… released.

Knowing this, I probably definately wouldn’t suggest it to school libraries. I have the series in my teen collection, but it has a big OT (older teen) sticker on it, so that people don’t “accidentally” come upon it and read it.
In all honesty, I think it is probably meant for adult collections. However, besides the sex and gore it still really holds up on its own.

A big reason that I knew that this series was going to be really good was due to the dedication on the first few pages. The author dedicates the book to George A. Romero, who is a god among horror purists (or I think that he should be). I won’t wax poetic about Mr. Romero for too long, but one of the reasons that his movies are so amazing, is because while there may be a lot of violence and gore, his movies also make you THINK. Not possible? I beg to differ.

I will use Romero’s original movie, Night of the Living Dead as an example. The movie was made in 1968, the year that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. There were obvious tensions in the air because of civil rights and equal rights for African Americans. So what does George Romero do? He casts Duane Jones, an African American as the lead. According to IMDB, “This was the first time a black actor was cast in a lead role of a major motion picture that did not specify the part had to be played by a black actor.” I would say that this is not small potatoes.

He also used the opportunity that flesh eating zombies gave him to show how society can break down quickly without order. It breaks down even more when you are running for your life from flesh eating zombies.

Take all of this into consideration when you read the review and when (because you really should) read this series.(less)

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Apr 28, 2013 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this as a challenge last January, having never read a graphic novel before, it was highly recommended and it went against all my instincts.
I hate horrors.
But i looked at the sample on amazon and read the prelude where Robert Kirkman talks about his intention for this series, and he won me over as he said he wanted to create a world which challenged human nature, which constantly made the characters re-evaluate and yet impressed upon the reader the horror of the situation.
That is actually...more

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Apr 15, 2013 John Lennon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, dystopian

Rick Grimes is a sheriff in a small Georgia town. He may have some marriage problems, but otherwise his life is pretty tame. The call comes in that there is a fugitive on the run toward his town. Rick and his partner, Shane go to head them off. However, the suspects are armed, and Rick is hit in the crossfire. Sent into a coma, Rick wakes up in a hospital, alone and disoriented. He leaves his room in search of help, but he only finds hordes of the living dead. Thrown into a post-apocalyptic worl...more Rick Grimes is a sheriff in a small Georgia town. He may have some marriage problems, but otherwise his life is pretty tame. The call comes in that there is a fugitive on the run toward his town. Rick and his partner, Shane go to head them off. However, the suspects are armed, and Rick is hit in the crossfire. Sent into a coma, Rick wakes up in a hospital, alone and disoriented. He leaves his room in search of help, but he only finds hordes of the living dead. Thrown into a post-apocalyptic world, Rick is left to find his wife, Lori, and his son, Carl. With the threat of the ravenous "walkers" all around him, he must fight for survival. This first issue of the critically acclaimed graphic novel series lays the ground work for Rick's endeavors to be reunited with his family and find a way out of the nightmare that he finds himself in at every waking moment. Aside from the threat of zombies, Rick and the other characters all must face very human trials, which makes this a story that everyone can relate to.

Personally, I absolutely love this series. I chose to read it this week because it is something I knew I would love to reread, and the student I am using for my book ladder is also an avid fan. She recently informed me that she picked up the first issue and read it cover to cover in one sitting. After rereading it, I came to the conclusion that I would not necessarily classify it as young adult literature. The themes are at time fairly graphic. However, the reader that I am focusing on is a mature, senior, so she was able to handle it. Furthermore, if we consider YA lit to be whatever young adults are reading, then this fits the category of YA lit! For me though, this is the masterpiece of the zombie sub-genre. By focusing on the human experience of such an unprecedented experience, Kirkman creates a truly unique and enjoyable reading experience. When I first read the Walking Dead, I read the entire first compendium (approximately 1088 pages) in the matter of three days. It was just that compelling. Upon the second reading of this issue, I found it no less of a enthralling tale.

As an educator, I could not see having this in my class due to the graphic content. I'm not even entirely sure that I would feel justified recommending it as a professional. With this being said, I believe that the Walking Dead has very unique literary merit. It also is a good way to segue into dystopian literature. Therefore, I think that there is merit if one is able to overcome the graphic nature of the series. The first issue does not have anything overtly offensive; therefore ,if it were used as a tool to look at dystopian literature, I believe that it would be effective. As mentioned at several points, there is some graphic material in these; however, I think that seniors in high school are easily mature enough for this series. For the most part, I think that there are novels in schools currently with questionable material as well. I am not suggesting that I support or condemn this exposure to graphic material, but I do not think it's a stretch for something like the Walking Dead to find it's way in.(less)

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Apr 12, 2013 Irene rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, graphic-novel, science-fiction

Since I've been watching the television show, I thought I should read the source material. I understand why people love this comic series now. The zombies are gross with many more flies than in the show. Disgustingly real, but effective. While there is violence, it's not the central draw of this story; something I wish the show could keep in mind.

I'm drawn in by the characters, who are much more likable than in the show. In particular, I liked how the graphic novel dealt with the Lori/Shane rel...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Jacob rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was out of the comic book reading hobby for several years, but I have to say that I was glad that i came back to reading comic books again. One of the first titles that hooked me this second time around was Kirkman's The Walking Dead for Image Comics. I have to say that its taken the current renaissance of zombie films and books and ran away with it.

Using the same slow, shambling zombies that Romero first made popular with Night of the Living Dead and its subsequent sequels, Kirkman continues...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Marsha Sioux rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is my second stab at this series of graphic novels, a few years ago I attempted to get into the series but lost my access to the copies I had (house fire) and was only ever able to get through Volume 1. I was recently gifted the entire collection (very lucky lady geek) and decided that it was time I get through them all (especially considering TWD television series has now ended its third season).

I'm not your average "late comer" - the typical I saw the movie/show and then I read the book...more This is my second stab at this series of graphic novels, a few years ago I attempted to get into the series but lost my access to the copies I had (house fire) and was only ever able to get through Volume 1. I was recently gifted the entire collection (very lucky lady geek) and decided that it was time I get through them all (especially considering TWD television series has now ended its third season).

I'm not your average "late comer" - the typical I saw the movie/show and then I read the book and have decided that the movie/show is so much better, blah blah blah. I like to believe that I am pretty objective when it comes to the separation between literature and film/series regardless of the order in which I experience them. With all of that being said I will now review the novel without comparing it to the television series (because, lets face it, that is extremely annoying).

Volume 1 starts off with a really "choppy" feel, I mean to say that the first several pages feel like they could have had a bit more added to really help immerse the reader in The Walking Dead universe. In all honesty, this volume feels pretty choppy the majority of the way through but it does progressively (and consistently) "get into its groove" the closer to the end it gets.

The choppiness of the storytelling aside, the characters presented in this novel are fleshed out really well, their stories are well developed over time, their development feels neither rushed nor restrained (the progression of their development feels "natural").

All in all this is an interesting and "fun" (as fun as the Zombie Apocalypse can be, anyway) read. These novels were written as a way of exploring the character's mental and physical struggles as they react to the changes in the world around them; an exploration of their survival and how that is changing them, their relationships with each other, and the way they react to their environment rather than an all out zombie killing diary. To me, there is no doubt that goal was accomplished. The zombies are just a part of the world they live in, the "true" story has nothing to do with zombies and everything to do with the survivors and their survival.(less)

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Mar 31, 2013 Jesse rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, zombies

Coming into this book having watched the majority of season one of The Walking Dead on AMC was a different experience than if I had never heard of the show, I'm sure. For me, I was glad I was already familiar with some of the characters. I usually hate all things zombie (with the exception of This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers), but the fact that this book is about the people who have survived and less about scaring the reader, makes it enjoyable for me. The artwork by Tony Moore works incre...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Brady rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books, reviewed, zombies

Zombie literature isn't so much about zombies, is it? It's about mankind after the breakdown of society, the brain's inability to regard death in anything but vague terms, what happens to people after trauma beyond anyone's ability to calculate or comprehend, about -

I jest. It's just zombies. Though Rob really had me going there with his introduction. I was ready to see a deep, bleak, visceral look at the human psyche, or whatever he said.

If anyone could have presented a testament to the deeper...more Zombie literature isn't so much about zombies, is it? It's about mankind after the breakdown of society, the brain's inability to regard death in anything but vague terms, what happens to people after trauma beyond anyone's ability to calculate or comprehend, about -

I jest. It's just zombies. Though Rob really had me going there with his introduction. I was ready to see a deep, bleak, visceral look at the human psyche, or whatever he said.

If anyone could have presented a testament to the deeper potential of the subgenre, it would have been Robert Kirkman, with his overt enthusiasm and cocky claim that zombies are "beyond horror" - and if anything will put the right images to Rob's brazen storyline, it's Tony Moore's stark black-and-white illustration that leaves nothing to the imagination and makes no room for the usual comic-book flourishes.

The book starts out beautifully, a real triumph for zombie fiction. Rick Grimes journeys across zombieland and gets a hold of sights not found in any other fiction I can think of. Tony Moore's apocalypse is complete - every house is a dilapidated mess, cities are towering junkyards, zombie hordes share space with genuine corpses - and sometimes it's hard to tell which is which, as a body on the side of the road covered in undergrowth or a rotten fellow lying in a pile of garbage seems to be perfectly R.I.P., until Rick comes too close and it leers and moans at him.

Rick keeps mostly silent, scavenging what he can, riding down a vacant interstate on a hopeless quest to recover his wife and son. We can see the zombie apocalypse has affected him: he's lost and confused and unsure of his purpose in the world of the living.

Remember when Rick took the bike from that zombie on the side of the road, and then came back later to shoot it in the face (the zombie, not the bike)? That was cool.

But (view spoiler)

Society's not gone, Robert Kirkman! In fact it's right where you left it! Maybe that's the message Rob is trying to make, that order and normality are more resilient than some of us think, but honestly I'd much rather read a book about a lone ranger in a heartless wasteland with a soul that grows more calloused by the day as his defenses to the filth and violence around him slowly break down. Zombie soap operas aren't really for me. I'm just that kind of guy.

Brilliantly illustrated, decently plotted, headed in a direction I would never have taken it in, Walking Dead is a book I'd recommend to anybody with a strong stomach. Not sure if I'll be too interested in the later volumes, though. If the trend continues, life will keep getting easier for Rick. I'll never worry for his safety or mental condition again.(less)

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Mar 07, 2013 Austin Borusiewicz rated it 5 of 5 stars

The way I originally picked this series to read is because my brother was reading them a while back before the show and he lent me a copy of the first volume and once I started reading it, I couldn't stop until I ran out of volumes to read. This is the start of the whole series. The main character Rick is a cop and he gets shot in the ribcage and goes into a coma. During that coma, a zombie infestation breaks out. He wakes up to this world that is overrun by zombies. He has no time to get recove...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Whitney Garrett rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: major-disappointments

This was so disappointing to read after watching the AMC show based on these comic books. The pacing was so fast, it didn't really give me time to care about any of the characters or what was happening, which is so different from the show! The show sucks you in and makes you invested, but this first volume of the comic did not.

Everything just happened way too fast. Two seasons of character development in the show was crammed into 144 pages here. It lacked the emotion of the show and seemed flat...more

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zombies: the walking dead!!!!!!	50	51	May 07, 2013 06:22am
I can't wait to find out what happens	8	55	Feb 20, 2013 07:22pm
Mages and Pages: Issues	2	7	Dec 19, 2012 12:40pm
Reading is my escape: ○The Walking Dead○	113	90	Nov 11, 2012 04:32pm
Mages and Pages: Up to 102	1	4	Oct 12, 2012 03:18pm
Walking Dead Video Game	6	51	Jun 28, 2012 01:31pm

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About Robert Kirkman

Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of...more

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Books by Robert Kirkman

The Walking Dead, Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us

The Walking Dead, Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars

The Walking Dead, Vol. 8: Made to Suffer

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Quotes from The Walking Dead, Vol....

“To me, the best zombie movies aren’t the splatter fests of gore and violence with goofy characters and tongue in cheek antics. Good zombie movies show us how messed up we are, they make us question our station in society… and our society’s station in the world. They show us gore and violence and all that cool stuff too… but there’s always an undercurrent of social commentary and thoughtfulness.” — 27 people liked it

“In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.” — 10 people liked it

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The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye (The Walking Dead #1)

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