The Walking Dead #175

Bought at Double Midnight in Manchester NH over Christmas break.

Title: The Walking Dead
Issue: 175
Date: 2018
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler: Charlie Adlard
Inker: Stefano Gaudiano
Gray Tones: Cliff Rathburn
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Cover: Charlie Adlard, Dave Stewart
Editor: Sean Mackiewicz

Eugene, Michonne, and their group finally meet up with the community that Eugene has been in contact with by radio. But the welcome is not exactly a warm one.

It's been a long time since I've read any Walking Dead. I never bought very many individual issues, and always meant to follow it through the trade paperback volumes, of which I did read a few of the early ones.

I was impressed by how well the quality of the writing has held up over 175 issues. The tension and distrust as the two groups meet was palpable, and the questioning that Michonne and company had to go through before being allowed close to the Ohio community was logical even as it was infuriating.

This is the beginning of the "New World Order" storyline, showing a different kind of survivor community than the series has explored before, and it caps off the good dialogue and worldbuilding with a major plot twist that should make for some interesting drama.

If you're intimidated by the whole 175 issues thing, this is a reasonable jumping-on point.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Astounding Wolf-Man #1 (Free Comic Book Day Edition)

Another books from Free Comic Book Day 2007.

Title: The Astounding Wolf-Man
Date: May, 2005
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Jason Howard
Letterer: Rus Wooton

A man is badly injured while camping with his family. He is transferred to a hospital in New York where he lies in a coma for 30 days only to be miraculously healed. Thirty days after that, things get even stranger.

This is a simple, straightforward werewolf story following pretty traditional werewolf mythology, that turns out to be quite a lot of fun.

Instead of focusing on what makes his werewolf different from everyone else's, writer Robert Kirkman (you might have heard of him from another Image comic: The Walking Dead) is able to rely on the readers knowing the basics of the folklore while the story focuses on character development, and a good plot twist at the end to hook the reader.

This was a clever and enjoyable story with good pacing, sparingly-used gore (enough to keep the horror vibe), and characters that show a lot of potential.

A good start.

This book also contains previews for Brit, Spawn: Godslayer, and the Witchblade tie-in First Born: Conception. Of those Brit looked entertaining, while the Spawn preview went with printing four full pages of art per page of the preview, badly limiting the effectiveness of the art. First Born took the opposite approach with lovely full-page character introduction pinups.

Rating: 7/10

The Walking Dead: The Covers

Slight change of plans. Today was going to be another item from one of the recent cons, but someone bought this book from me and so I figured I'd read it and review it before I ship it off.

By the way, if you read and appreciate my comic reviews and are wondering if there was a way to support the effort, I would point you in the direction of my own comic book small press, my books for sale on half.com, my assorted geeky ebay auctions, or my books for trade on paperbackswap.com.

Title: The Walking Dead: The Covers
Date: 2010
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
Artist: Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
Colorist: Tony Moore, Cliff Rathburn
Cover: Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
Editor: Sina Grace

This hardcover edition collects the cover illustrations from the first fifty issues of The Walking Dead. Each cover gets a full-page treatment (just the art without the cover lettering), and on the facing page are notes from Robert Kirkman and from the artist along with sketches and alternate versions.

The artwork is great, and the book's format does an excellent job of showcasing it. The notes sometimes tend toward the technical side of the artwork, with some decent insights for artists into the processes involved. Tony Moore writes a lot more than Charlie Adlard does, but I thought there were some good anecdotes from both artists.

Rating: 8/10

The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us

Title: The Walking Dead
Issue: Volume 2: Miles Behind Us
Date: 2004
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler: Charlie Adlard
Inker: Charlie Adlard
Letterer: Robert Kirkman
Gray Tones: Cliff Rathburn
Cover: Tony Moore

The second trade paperback volume (reprinting issues 7-12 of the original comic series)of the zombie apocalypse comic saga features a group of survivors on the run, looking for some kind of sanctuary to settled down in.

A gated housing community nearly becomes a deathtrap, and the group moves on to finally locate a possible haven with another small group of survivors holed up in a farm. But the leader of the farm group has a very different view on how to deal with the walking dead.

There is a ton of good character development between the moments of danger and horror in this book. The series continues to be a story about people, rather than about the zombies. As the characters are pushed to the breaking point by and increasingly desperate situation, they make new friendships, alliances, and romances, and find their own ways to cope with the destruction around them.

Kirkman's writing is sharp, and the art team of Adlard and Rathburn capture the post-apocalyptic landscape in vivid detail.

Rating: 8/10