Kirkman’s Zomberific Legacy

In the introduction of “The Walking Dead: Days Gone By,” creator and author Robert Kirkman tells readers that the best zombie tales have little to do with zombies.

Easy to say, but difficult to prove.

By the end of the trade however, Kirkman makes you a believer.

Continuing the legacy of George A. Romero, Kirkman crafts a deeply intelligent and dramatic tale that is easily in the same category anything Romero has ever produced.

As a result, this trade is one of the best series ever produced by Image comics.

Many times introductions to graphic novels are all for naught. Either a writer is tells us the obvious, that all this work and effort went into the book or a person of prominence, usually another writer or artist, affected by the work, says how special it is.

In this trade however, Kirkman lays out his vision and makes the read even more fulfilling.

Rick Grimes, a cop who ends up in a coma after being shot in the chest, to only awaken to a world covered in zombies is the main character of this tale. In spite of an absence of super human powers, he’s a definite hero and person of intrigue. Desperately looking for his family and later some kind of consistency in an all too consistent world, however, it’s easy to label Rick as an every man.

Nevertheless, his courage, love for his family, ability to solve problems and make the most of the bucket of lemons at his disposal make him something special.

Feeling like Stephen King’s “The Stand” at times, Kirkman and artist Tony Moore do a great job of showing the deplorable and desolate place the world has become. Between Kirkman’s ability at dialogue, the beauty through simple language notion and the range of emotions and action Moore is able to convey, “The Walking Dead” is anything but your typical zombie adventure.

The relationships between the characters feel as real as any work of literature and are the fuel for the tale. Often times they’ll remind you of the people in your life, or the stereotypical characters [who always end up the exact opposite] in Romero’s films.

However, then something special happens.

People die.

The drama caused by death is a serious one and every time you think the clan may end up okay, Kirkman induces some kind of situation that leads to bloodshed and even death.

This kind of formula works so well that you’ll often forget about the zombies and focus solely on the survival of the characters themselves. This forces the supernatural freaks that grace the cover of the book into a secondary role as catalysts and consequences.

Nevertheless, there is plenty of gore to be found within the pages of this trade and everything from insinuation of sex between young women and elderly men to children shooting firearms. It’s all for a purpose however and go that extra step in depicting a world that has gone mad and will never be the same.

In the end, it’s anything but a cheesy piece of writing that like many horror films is forgettable and cliché. Instead, it’s a piece of art that can stand firmly on its own two feet and is singularly capable of changing the way people think about comic books.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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