The Walking Dead, Book 3

WOW! I continue to be amazed by how great this series is. I imagined going slow reading this latest HC book 3. A chapter here, a chapter there… usually reserved for the duration of my train rides only (to and from work). After I got off the train and arrived home, I couldn’t stay away. I had to finish this story. So, I didn’t move from my couch until I was finished. All I can say is, whoever is debating reading this series, do yourself a favor and start now. My only reservation about reading the Hardcover editions is that it takes so long for the next ones to come out.

The third hardcover collection of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead finds former cop Rick Grimes and his crew of survivors having made their prison home zombie-free and completely settling in to their surroundings. Things are pretty much okay until they notice a helicoptor in the sky crashing in the distance. Soon enough, Rick, Michonne, and Glen are lead to a small, hidden community run by a sadistic madman calling himself the Governor. He has plans for Rick, Glen, and especially Michonne, as we witness what is perhaps the best to come from Kirkman on the series so far. What is contained here is by far the most violent and disturbing sequences to be seen in The Walking Dead so far, and only furthers the tried and true notion that in a zombie outbreak, the most terrifying aspects aren’t the zombies, but the survivors and what they have become in a new world. If you’ve been following the series, the third hardcover collection of The Walking Dead will not disappoint, and as usual, you’ll be salivating for more once you reach the last page of the book. All in all, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead only gets better and better, and the proof of that can be seen right here.

The story in this volume picks up with Rick Grimes and the rest of the survivors established in a prison and living reasonably well. As they continue working to improve their living situation, they see a helicopter in the air and then it crashes a few miles away. Rick, Michonne, and Glenn take a car to see if there are survivors in the crash. They find that someone else has beaten them to the crash site so they set off in search of whoever has been there. Thrilled to learn of more survivors, their hopes are soon dashed as they learn that the “Governor” of the walled community is a sadistic, psychotic who enjoys using torture and murder to get what he wants. Rick and the others are put through hell and face certain death if they can’t escape.

Book 3 reprints issues 25-36 of the ongoing comic book series. The same material can also be found reprinted in the paperback compilations The Walking Dead Vol. 5: The Best Defense and The Walking Dead, Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life. The trend of focusing more on conflict between humans that began with the last book is even more prevalent here. The Governor is truly demented and is at least as big a threat as the zombie hordes shuffling around. The scenes between he and Michonne are especially brutal, and some of it is pretty gory. Fortunately, the very worst of the physical damage is not depicted graphically although enough is that this is not for the squeamish. There aren’t many opportunities for laughter and smiles in this story, it’s a pretty intense portrayal of what can happen when people face extreme dangers.

The Walking Dead remains a great read. I’d highly recommend it not just to fans of the zombie genre but anyone looking for a superior story. This is by far the most intense book of the three hardback volumes to date. For those who haven’t tried the series, by all means begin by reading The Walking Dead Book 1 (Walking Dead) first. Those who enjoy the first two books will not be disappointed by this one.

If you are into the zombie genre, these stories are a must read. As the author states, this story will hopefully go on forever.

I can only recommend the three (for now) hardcover books, they are a superb finish to an already excellent story.

Most of the folks here already know that The Walking Dead saga is a compilation of stories by Robert Kirkman that expand on the story that is well know to any zombie movie fan. The main story. The one started in earnest by George Romero in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead [and was later remade in 1990 (the version that I prefer) by Tom Savini (with Romero oversight)].

Book 3 is the combination of The Walking Dead volumes 5 & 6 and it continues the story of Police Officer Rick Grimes and his band of normal-world-refugees across a world suddenly infected by a Walking Dead sickness..

In The Walking Dead Book 2, the group finds a new home after a perilous Georgia countryside journey in The Walking Dead Book 1. The home that they find in Book 2 was used to keep the bad locked in when the world was normal, but now in Book 3 this new home will hopefully keep the bad out. Because venturing out into The New World is dangerous. Outside the gates of the new home awaits unfathomable chaos and horror; hordes of the undead, along with other survivors in desperate situations that do the unthinkable to stay alive (or entertained).

Book 3 (mainly the second half) is much less about zombies and more about what happens to society, its morals, laws and standards when government is lost and the planet becomes mostly uninhabitable. There’s real, heartfelt emotion in The Walking Dead series combined with believable scenarios.

I’m not a regular comic book reader, but I was drawn to The Walking Dead by the Book releases that bring the convenience of being able to get many chapters of the story without the month to month or volume to volume waiting. And I am now hooked.

Each chapter of The Walking Dead is like reading a screenplay with storyboards of a version of Night of the Living Dead that began simultaneously, but in a different part of the country (much like George Romero’s planned 2008 US release of Diary of the Dead). Yes, The Walking Dead is kind of a rip-off of a story (stories) already told, but the key is that it’s done very very well. The zombies are true to the original Romero creation: slow and stupid as opposed to the Rage-infected people in 28 Weeks Later / 28 Days Later) or the fast zombies in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.

Volumes 1 – 7 of The Walking Dead are also all available individually. Volume 8 is listed on Amazon for an early 2008 release as of this writing.

So anyone in need of a very well done zombie fix that you don’t put into your DVD player should absolutely get down with The Walking Dead sickness. Add `em to your cart, but be sure to start with Book 1 and read the stories chronologically.

The Walking Dead graphic novel series is an outstanding story for fans of the “Romero” school of the zombie apocalypse. There are no sprinting zombies or special infected undead from “Left For Dead” here. These are rotting creatures that seek human flesh. This story is a drama/horror of a group of survivors and progressively gets darker and darker. I’ve been following it for 3 years now and am fully entertained every time. I prefer the first issues/volumes for when the outbreak first happens, but these later ones are great also. This is NOT a series for young children. A great buy!

The third hardcover installment of “The Walking Dead” (contains volumes 5 and 6), continues to chronicle the life of Rick Grimes, ex-cop, and a myriad of other characters that attempt to survive in the sprawling adventure written by Robert Kirkman. “The Walking Dead” makes an excellent addition to anyone’s zombie and/or comic collection.

About once a year or so I wander into “Aguilonia Comics” here in Troy, New York. Usually the owner and I swap insults about the current state of da comic’s biz and alike. Eventually I’ll ask him what he likes and recommends, last month he recommended “The Walking Dead” series. I bought a reprint of the first issue. And like Tyrone Biggles I was hooked and cooked in a heartbeat. I immediately came here and bought Books 1 – 3 of “The Walking Dead”. Well written and well illustrated this gritty series tells what life would be like in the Zombie Apocalypse. Plenty violent and profane it does not shy away from the problems and stresses that would face the few normal people left alive who are desperate to avoid being the blue plate special for the undead.

Like the best apocalyptic fiction you realize quickly what man becomes when thin veneer of “civilization” is stripped away. You look into the pages of this mirror and you wonder who or what you would become if placed under the same threats as these folks. In this world even the best of people will do down, dirty and desperate things… Riveting fiction. In Book 3 the inevitable happens when our group meets others as organized as themselves but far more ruthless. It soon becomes obvious that there are worse things than can happen to you in this world than being bitten or eaten by Zombies… much worse things.

Da Worfster

So I first discovered this through a friend of a friend. I watched the first season of the show on AMC and my friend’s friend told me it was based off this comic series so I bought the 1st and loved it then I just bought the rest. Great read and Great illustrations.

When I heard that AMC was going to produce a television series based on the zombie epic “The Walking Dead,” I was both concerned and delighted. A bona fide classic in undead lore, “The Walking Dead” graphic novels are brutal and surprising–not really what I would picture for a basic cable TV show (the first season is slated for 6 episodes, we’ll see if it goes beyond that). But AMC has produced terrific and prestigious shows like “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” so I’m pretty stoked to see what they do with this. Add Frank Darabont of “Shawshank Redemption” fame as the creative force behind the show, and we just might have a winner! In anticipation, I’ve gone back through the volumes of “The Walking Dead” to discover again the many pleasures that this series has to offer. Book Three collects the following two chapters.

“Chapter Five: The Best Defense” takes things in a new direction. Tracking a downed helicopter, Rick, Glenn and Michonne head off to look for survivors. What they discover instead is another encampment–a whole town fenced off and self sufficient! Perhaps less involving in the initial trek, the chapter picks up with the introduction of the town’s “Governor.” When our traveling trio discover that their new friend might not be an ally, it’s already too late. Most notable for its extreme violence and brutality, both Rick and Glenn suffer severely at the hands of this new madman. Most of the material back at the prison is relatively uninvolving making this a weaker entry in the series. But the danger that Rick in Michonne find themselves in has very real consequences that set up a new storyline for the future. Essential, but somewhat unpleasant.

“Chapter Six: This Sorrowful Life” picks up with Rick, Glenn and Michonne held captive as the ruthless “Governor” tries to extract the location of their camp. Finding unexpected allies in the doctor, his young assistant, and a perimeter guard Martinez–a plot to escape has been hatched. The escape is exciting, but the real action comes when Michonne seeks retribution against the “Governor.” In easily the series most disturbing sequences, let’s just say Michonne means business! “The Walking Dead” has continually blurred the lines between “good” and “bad” and amped up the moral question of what makes a hero–and within this installment we see one of our protagonists exact horrifying vengeance! Returning to the prison, the camp has been overrun and our heroes must again face a zombie hoard. But in the midst of this, a very human betrayal is discovered and Rick is once again faced with the choice of murder. An action packed volume!