The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye

What happens when the world we know is gone, possibly forever, and every day is a constant struggle for survival? Would we still fall in love, write poetry, decorate things, take time to read a book, or make plans for the future? How would a world gone mad affect the contemporary family unit or a religious organization? These are the types of things looked at in detail in "Days Gone Bye", the first volume in the Walking Dead series of graphic novels. Most contemporary media dealing with the subject of the apocalypse focuses on what occurs immediately before or after the great event that ends civilization (in this case, an infestation of zombies taking over the planet). The Walking Dead, however, is more of a long term project, focusing mostly on characterization. While there is certainly both action and horror present, these things are a vehicle to display the characters and how they react to the situations they find themselves in. The artwork is very good, and a welcome change in a genre that is mostly saturated with Japanese Anime style art. The main artist, Toni Moore, has gotten facial expression down to a science. It is readily apparent when any given character is sad, or joyful, or full of fear. An absolutely priceless facial expression is on the first page, in which an enraged (and probably drunk) escaped convict is screaming about never going back to prison. He has a very "I'm a crazy country bumpkin, don't mess with me or I'll chainsaw you" look about him. My one gripe is really about all graphic novels in general, although it definitely applies here. The use of emphasis on words is always completely off in comics. Either too many words, or the completely wrong words, are bolded (indicating emphasis on that word), which throws off the flow of the dialog. The story revolves around Rick, a police officer who awakens in a hospital after being shot on duty. The world has somehow become zombie infested, and he's all alone. This chapter of the saga is about Rick's search for his family, and his decisions on what to do next once he does actually find other living people. Several subplots pop up, mostly having to do with the backgrounds of the various minor characters, and hopefully they are explored further later on in the series, as these are all characters you can imagine actually being people you know and care about. If the first installment is any indication, this series is just going to keep getting better. Highly recommended to fans of zombie mayhem and standard drama fare.

I enjoyed reading it. I want to read the next volume. Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

This is a re-read for me. I’m more impressed by the art than I was even the first time I read it. While the narrative is well-known by now, it was at the time incredibly different than the majority of zombie fiction. As Kirkman says, it’s not about the Zombie Apocalypse, it’s about everything after.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and admiring the art. After having seen the TV show several times, I didn't know how I would feel about the comic without Darryl and some other differences I had been made aware of but between the freshness in the storyline and the art in each panel I have quickly fallen in love with volume 1 and look forward eagerly to volume 2.