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Back in April of this year I purchased an iPad, after seeing the various demos of comic book apps I was impressed. As a kid I was very much into a handful of comics, but as I got older I grew out of them. I continued to think comics were for kids, but with my fancy new iPad I decided to check out some comics recommended to me by some adult comic fans. “The Walking Dead” written by Robert Kirkman was one that was continually recommended, I grabbed the first few issues and was instantly hooked. The artwork was great, but I was shocked how excellent the writing was.
The story chronicles the travels of a group of people trying to survive in a world stricken by a zombie apocalypse. The group is led by Rick Grimes, who was a police officer in the old world. As their situation grows more and more grim, the group’s desperation to survive pushes them to do almost anything to stay alive. Although, there are zombies in The Walking Dead, the story is as much about zombies as Lost was a story about a strange island. Similar to Lost, the real stories lie in the survivors, their moral decisions, and how they must change and adapt to this new world. The biggest threat to the survivors safety aren’t the zombies, it’s the other human survivors. Resources are scarce and safe shelter is hard to find, desperation brings out the worst in some.
Ok, maybe you have no interest in reading a graphic novel, that’s fine — The Walking Dead has now been adapated into a television show with Frank Darabont (director for The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist) and Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss ) acting as executive producers and Darabont writing and directing. Not impressed by my name-dropping yet? The effects team includes veteran special effects makeup designer Greg Nicotero. The writing team includes writers from such shows as The Shield, Dexter, Breaking Bad, and composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica) is scoring the series. It will premiere on the AMC network on Halloween night (October 31, 2010) with a 90-minute premiere episode, during the network’s “Fearfest”.
I highly recommend the comics; I have many friends who don’t read comics in general but love The Walking Dead comics. Watch the premier tonight on AMC!
