I have just completed reading all of the current volumes of The Walking Dead, and I have to say that this is the most compelling and interesting comic that is being written today. I was on a quest recently to find a comic to read other than the same old superhero stuff that I’m reading, and picked up this gem. There is a huge world of comics and graphic novels out there that are begging to be read by me, and this one was the first one that I decided to pick up.

From the first page of this book, I was already hooked to it and begging for more. The series is written by Robert Kirkman with art by Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn. The first book is the only one done by Tony Moore, and the art is incredible. It’s a completely black and white book which gives it a dark and dreary mood to start with. The premise is that the world has been overrun by Zombies (though they are rarely referred to as such), and picks up in a very “28 days later” style with a man waking up in the hospital and very confused. The man is named Rick and you get to know him real well throughout the series. He embarks on a quest to find his wife and son, and actually finds them pretty quick. That’s where the story really begins.

One thing that I loved about this series is the way the characters interact with each other. Robert Kirkman has breathed life into these people in a way that I rarely see in comics or even a lot of novels I’ve read. They are all distinctly different with their own problems, losses, and emotions. You begin to feel for these characters in a way that you don’t expect as you watch them struggle through the anarchy and danger of this new world. The zombies in the book are really just a backdrop to the real human drama that would likely take place if we were all forced out of our homes and into a world where there are no more laws, and people are forced to band together whether they like it or not.

One of the things about the series that I love is the art. I especially love Tony Moore’s work in the first volume. I hated to see him depart from the series, aside from doing most of the covers. His style is very cartoonish, but very real all at the same time. I took great notice in the details of his drawings, mostly in the way the zombies are decayed and just in every aspect of the characters expressions. There is one particular scene where one of the characters is bit in the arm by the zombie, and the wound is so gruesome that I cringed when I saw it, and it hurt me just to look at it. The most amazing thing is that he captures the moment in monochrome instead of color. Cliff Rathburn and Charlie Adlard do a great job as well, but there is something about Tony Moore’s style that I totally dig.

Anyway, to bring an end to this WAY too long blog post, I hope you guys get the opportunity to check out The Walking Dead and you enjoy it. It’s definitely R rated in every way, so keep it away from the kids :).

-Steve