TPB Review: The Walking Dead Volume 1

The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone By - Collects The Walking Dead #1-6 By Kirkman / Moore

As a huge Robert Kirkman fan I have always felt like something of a fraud having never read arguably his most critically acclaimed work, The Walking Dead. For this reason when I noticed the first volume in Forbidden Planet for just £7.50 I didn't need to think about it for too long before purchasing it.

For those who don't know, the series features a premise almost identical to the film '28 Days Later', the protagonist of the series, small town police officer Rick, waking up alone in a hospital and slowly realising that the world is now populated by zombies. Eventually hooking up with a group of survivors the series then follows the groups attempts to survive.

Kirkman's strength, as usual is his brilliant characterisation and dialogue. The main draw of the series, rather than being the zombie action are the interactions between the brilliantly varied cast, all of whom are very believably written. While pacing is initially very slow it picks up a lot by the midway point and by the end I was hooked.

I was initially slightly put off by the black and white art, done by Tony Moore, but it suits the series very well. Moore's art, while being slightly cartoony is able to express the characters emotions brilliantly, and is always pleasing to look at it. It's a shame that this is the only story arc which he drew.

Overall I would highly reccomend this book, judging from the cheap price I managed to pick it up for it should be relatively inexpensive, and is a brilliant introduction to a series that is often described as Kirkman's best work. I look forward to volume 2!

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