Comic Book Fantasy Come Alive

Great television, regardless of the setting and premise, puts you right behind the shoulders of the characters on the screen and makes you feel every single beat of their heart; if you want to feel it or not.

The first episode of AMC’s new series “The Walking Dead,” based on the Robert Kirkman-penned comic book, series lived up to this credo perhaps more than any show currently on television.

There are times during the show where you feel the pain of these characters so intensely that it’s almost too much to bear. Andrew Lincoln’s portrayal of small-town sheriff Rick Grimes is a wonderful tribute to the comic book character, who goes through seemingly life-altering moments every breath. From the outburst he has when he finds out his family has left town after zombies have attacked, leaving him in the hospital to heal from a horrific gunshot, to his first encounters with the undead, his performance is emotionally charged and realistic throughout.

While the end result of the show is one that isn’t based completely on the comic, it’s so close that you won’t mind the small changes. Most of all, the George Romero-inspired visuals and timbre are still present, as the director of this episode [Frank Darabont, director of The Shawshank Redemption] helps give the show a cinematic element that no other show on television currently has. In terms of scope and appeal, “The Walking Dead” has proven that you don’t even need to be a fan of horror or even zombies to love the show. Of course, fans of the comic will think their wildest dreams have come true when they see the end product, but truth be told, this show is about so much more than the undead taking over the United States.

Underneath a hearty and thick layer of blood, gore and action is a fantastic drama. Grimes and the people he encounters have been displaced by this epidemic and are desperate for some type of support. The support however, isn’t coming and they must make do anyway they can. A test of humanity, the atrocities they’ll encounter along the way will shock you, while the connections these people make too will prove that humanity has a fighting chance against any obstacle.

Grimes is no different from any of us and because of that, his experience is based so heavily in reality that watching him explore what his country, friends and family have become is almost as good as you doing it yourself. As a result, “The Walking Dead” will ultimately go down as the best comic book-inspired television show to ever be released and will be remembered for a lot more than flesh-eating ghouls and delirious Georgians trying to stay alive in the face of imminent danger.

Watch out all you vampire lovers, there’s a new trend in town, and this one has a lot more staying power, thanks to fantastic acting and production values that the television medium hasn’t seen before.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 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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