Wednesday, July 7, 2010

the Walking Dead (part 1/2)



     So I (Chuck) am house sitting this week, and being by myself sometimes brings along boredom. I was trying to think of something to post on here, and I finally came up with it. The Walking Dead. This post will just be a bunch of info on the Walking Dead comic, and the soon-to-be Walking Dead television series on AMC. Since there still isn't a WHOLE LOT out about the show, there will obviously be much more written about the comic. Let's start with a bit about the comic.






     The Walking Dead is a black and white comic booked penned by Robert Kirkman. The series follows the main character, Rick Grimes, a small town cop, as he helps guide a throng of survivors to safety during the zombie apocalypse. The series takes place at various different locations, in and/or Atlanta, Georgia. The first issue was released in October 2003, and have not ceased. To date, there are 73 issues of the Walking Dead. The series is authored by Robert Kirkman, and illustrated by Charlie Adlard (issues 1-6) and Tony Moore (issues 7 onward).




WALKING DEAD COVER 16

     I had known about the Walking Dead for a while, but I was never really much into reading comic books. The only interaction I'd ever had with comics before the Walking Dead, were my 4 issue Shaun of the Dead comics and both series of  Freddy vs Jason vs Ash. I'd wanted to check out this series, but didn't really want to shell out the money to buy all the issues. Let me just say that after reading them, I am definitely going to buy them.
     I read all 73 issues in only 5 days. I had downloaded the issues via torrents, and read them all on my computer. I had such a difficult time deciding where to end each night. I'd say to myself, "One more issue, then I gotta go to bed." Well 90% of the time, when I got to the end of that particular issue, I'd have to continue to the next one. The cliff hangers are ridiculous, I never wanted to close it out. There are a million different plot twists that keep the reader guessing and can never be predicted. There are very important characters killed off in certain parts without any warning. I grew to like the characters so much, that when this particular character was killed a tear came to my eye. That's just good writing.
     And the art is incredible! At first, I shuddered at the idea of a black and white zombie comic. I didn't think you could do it justice being only black and white. Boy was I wrong. The color (or lack thereof) adds to the 'environment' of the comic. And the zombies are really good. Its not like there is just one or two zombies used and replicated over and over, there are possibly thousands of different looking undead shambling throughout these pages. Despite it being in black and white, the gore in this comic is pretty good too. I found the entire thing very visually appealing.

Links:

Official Website
Wikipedia Page

the Walking Dead (part 2/2)



     Well zombie fans, it looks like the wait for a well put together zombie tv series is nearly over. Earlier this year, it was announced that AMC would do a television adaptation of Robert Kirkman's the Walking Dead. So far, AMC has ordered a six episode first season. At the helm of the pilot episode will be Frank Darabont, as he will have the duties of producer, writer, and director. After the pilot episode, Darabont will be more of a showrunner, with talks of the directing duties going to Michelle Maxwell MacLaren (Breaking Bad).The special effects/make up will be done than none other than Greg Nicotero. Nicotero learned a lot of what he knows from famous zombie effects guy Tom Savini. Nicotero and his company KNB Efx Group have worked on a plethora of zombie films, including Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), and Diary of the Dead (2007). He has plenty of experience doing this sort of thing, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what he can get away with on AMC. The show is scheduled to premiere this October on AMC. Check out Bloody-Disgusting's section for a multitude of articles on the Walking Dead. Below are some stills from early prodcution of the show.


Walking Dead


Links:

Official Website
Official Weblog
Articles on the show @ Bloody Disgusting
IMDB