Comic Book Review: The Walking Dead Vol 1 - Days Gone Bye...

The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye (June 2004)
Published by: Image Comics
Creator, Writer, Letterer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler, Inker, Gray Tones: Tony Moore
Additional Gray Tones: Cliff Rathburn
BLM Rating 6 / 10

I have always been of the opinion that I do not like zombie movies, or books,
or comic books. Least of all zombie comic books. Mindless shallow blood and gore with some heroic American finally killing them all to save all of us and we all heave a sigh of relief to go back to whatever we were doing before. Well, not "The Walking Dead". I think one of the great successes of this book is how it makes these fantastical creatures a) seem real b) evoke empathy and then put them in the background and focus on the surviving human characters instead. It shows how a small group of humans react to a mixture of constant fear, being-on-the-watch, grief, loss of hope, lack of freedom and deal with a completely changed world and society. We watch as people who seem just like us change under the force of such circumstances and take actions that would - although horrifying in a normal civil society - seem almost natural. And THAT is the main horror in this "horror" story, if I may call it that. The fact that there is a dark side in each one of us, if it has not showed - maybe we just have not been tested yet.

That being said, this book is not without flaws. The one that irked me most is Kirkman's portrayal of his female characters. In this post-apocalyptic world, the women do the laundry and men do the hunting and protecting. The one woman who says anything against it is the judgemental, plump, frumpy old one who the reader is not meant to like. She is put firmly back in place by the lead female. And then, there's the older man living with 2 young sisters in his campervan. When asked about it, and I quote here ".. to be honest, I'm an old man... my plumbing ain't what it used to be. It's just -- after losing my wife not two months ago... it's nice having them around. They keep the place clean... remind me of what it was like with her around" (emphasis in original) !!! Kirkman was 25 when this was published, and in dialogues like these, his immaturity shows.

Coming to the visual medium of expression itself, I learnt to pay much more attention to the art in a graphic novel since I read Fun Home. Although I do not think this stands up to Bechdel's level (Fun Home did take 7 years to create after all), it is still impressive work by Tony Moore. The art is entirely black & white (and gray) with no other colour. Moore's detailed pencilling and inking still manages to portray both the terror and sadness that the zombies evoke. The characters' expressions and gestures are spot on and support the written narrative well.

Overall, a good read but I am hoping for much more from this series moving forward.

Baju @ BLM