Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead
Image Comics (2005-2011)

As if I didn’t have enough trouble managing my excessive library loans, I came upon this series when I was looking for graphic novels that I thought might entertain Mister B.I.P., when we were Read-a-Thon-ing on Thanksgiving weekend, and after he got hooked, he got me hooked, and that resulted in another dozen items on my library card.

Interest in the series, like the epidemic that has infected millions and caused the dead to rise again and feed on the living, is highly contagious.

“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.”

Beyond the gore and violence (and he’s clear that he doesn’t consider himself “above the genre” which he clearly admires), “there’s always an undercurrent of social commentary and thoughtfulness”.

That part of the writer’s introduction drew me closer.

“This is a very character driven endeavor. How these characters get there is much more important than them getting there.”

That sealed the deal.

Curious about the order of the series?

Click image for the Challenge Site

1 Days Gone By (#1-6) (2005)
2 Miles Behind Us (#7-12) (2005)
3 Safety Behind Bars (#13-18) (2006)
4 The Heart’s Desire (#19-24) (2006)
5 The Best Defense (#25-30) (2006)
6 This Sorrowful Life (#31-36) (2007)
7 The Calm Before (#37-42) (2007)
8 Made to Suffer (#43-48) (2008)
9 There We Remain (#49-54) (2009)
10 What We Become (#55-60) (2009)
11 Fear the Hunters (#61-66) (2009)
12 Life Among Them (#67-72) (2010)
13 Too Far Gone (#xx-xx) (2010)
14 No Way Out (#xx-xx) (2011)

still underway…

One of the pairs of movies that we rewatched for this year’s October viewing was 2004’s “Dawn of the Dead” followed by “Shaun of the Dead”. In both cases I was reminded of something else that Robert Kirkman said in that introduction. “For me the worst part of every zombie movie is the end. I always want to know what happens next. Even when all the characters die at the end… I just want it to keep going.” That was true for me with these re-viewings, and I’m glad that Robert Kirkman has resolved to make The Walking Dead “the zombie movie that never ends”.

Have you read these? Are you planning to watch the TV spin-off that premieres on November 1st?