‘The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye’ – Kirkman, Moore (Image)
Except… Me being me, I shifted my collection (of the trades) just before I moved to the new place so this re-read is going to be heavily dependent on paydays. One book a month, you’ll barely notice the posts ;o) Anyway… With all that said, lets kick things off with ‘Days Gone Bye’… A warning first though, ‘The Walking Dead’ has been a thing for so long now that I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this, you’ve either read the comics or seen the show.
How many hours are in a day when you don’t spend half of them watching television? When is the last time any of us really worked to get something that we wanted? How long has it been since any of us really needed something that we wanted?
The world we knew is gone. The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been replaced by a world of survival and responsibilty. An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe causing the dead to arise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled. No government. No grocery stores. No mail delivery. No cable TV.
In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.
A lot of stuff makes me feel old these days but it definitely makes me feel old to realise that when I first discovered ‘The Walking Dead’, there were only three collected volumes and we were about five years away from watching Season 1 on the TV. The story has moved on a lot since then (for better or worse, depends how much of a fan you are) so it was definitely an intriguing prospect to go back and see how Volume 1 holds up under the weight of everything else that followed. I’ve always been a fan of the comics, so bear that in mind as you read, but I still think that it holds up very well indeed.
Kirkman and Moore aren’t necessarily doing anything new here at this point (man wakes up after the apocalypse has happened, fights to survive but also to understand what is going on) but they both play to their individual strengths and the result is a very tightly plotted opening tale that is still incredibly easy to get into and engage with. Characterization is key, at this early stage, and Kirkman shows himself to be more than adept at giving us not only a lead who you want to follow (who wouldn’t want to see a man find his family again?) but a supporting cast who are equally engaging and have struggles of their own. The changing dynamic between Rick and Shane is fascinating to watch as Rick assumes control of the group while Shane loses control and eventually, even control of himself.
You can see the eventual slide into ‘Soap Opera’ on the horizon but it’s not here yet. We’re all about how people react in the face of the Zombie Apocalypse (my favourite thing) and the danger that comes with it. You can be prepared or not, all it takes is one ‘zombie scratch’ and you’re done. Life in this new world is unfair and Kirkman doesn’t shy away from that. Perhaps more importantly though, neither does Moore who illustrates this new world with a keen eye on Kirkman’s habit of surprising us at the same time that he springs something on Rick. Jim too, the moment where you (and the rest of the group) realise what has happened to him is particularly powerful.
‘Days Gone Bye’ is very much about setting the scene but is already thinking beyond that and onto what must come next and I love the sense of urgency that comes off that. At the same time, it’s interesting to read the ending and realise that Kirkman must have been covering himself against an early cancellation of the series. ‘Days Gone Bye’ does leave a lot open for future volumes but is remarkably self contained at the same time. Not that I’m going to stop reading. It’s payday tomorrow and I’ll be after a copy of Volume 2...
Oh man, having to buy them all over again eh? That's too bad. Hope it doesn't break the bank.
ReplyDeleteYou would have thought that I'd have learned my lesson by now but, apparently not. Oh well, I like the challenge of doing things like this on the cheap, lets see how I do... ;o)
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