Walking Dead: Compendium One Review | Lords of The Ninth Art

Story By
Robert Kirkman

Art By
    Charlie Adlard,
    Ryan Ottley,
    Tony Moore,
    Cliff Rathburn

Publisher
Image Comics

iFanboy’s Video Review
Story and Artwork
Highlight’s of This Collection
What’s Included
How Much Should You Expect to Pay?
What Others Are Saying

Walking Dead: Compendium One collects issues #1-48 of the acclaimed zombie epic. If you have had The Walking Dead on your going-to-read list now is a good time to bump it over to your read-now list. As of this writing, AMC has just aired the second episode of its TV adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s long running comic series.

Video Review from iFanboy’s Josh Flanagan: Oz References, Praises Adlard’s Art, Tiny Spoilers

The Walking Dead is a monthly black and white American comic book series published by Image Comics beginning in 2003. The comic was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, who was replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 onward, although Moore continued to do the covers until issue #24.

The story chronicles the travels of a group of people trying to survive in a world stricken by a zombie apocalypse. The series won the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series at the San Diego Comic Convention. AMC’s television series, The Walking Dead premiered on October 31, 2010.

The Walking Dead is centered on Rick Grimes, a small-town police officer from Cynthiana, Kentucky, his family, and a number of other survivors who have banded together in order to survive after the world is overrun with zombies. As the series progresses, the characters become more developed, and their personalities shift under the stress of a zombie apocalypse, most notably Rick’s.

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Story and Artwork

Remember Night of the Living Dead, George Romero’s classic 1968 black and white movie? What made that movie fun was the scary, flesh eating zombies, but what made it memorable were the character studies. The riveting (and sometimes funny) struggle of the living characters to evade death while having to deal with each other. Robert Kirkman starts at the baseline of Romero’s classic and heightens the horror and the drama with each succeeding story.

For those of you who are new to The Walking Dead, be advised that this series is in black and white. Some critics complain that the art is ordinary. When you read the stories, you should read the pictures as well as the words. The artwork of The Walking Dead may not have the most creative or stylized art, but the composition and style always support the needs of the drama, characters, and story. The black and white images actually helps maintain the detail the artist includes; the grays and contrast are used to create feelings and moods that keep the reader hooked. The best thing about the artwork, however, is even beyond this huge compendium into issue 74 of the series it is consistent. You meet scores of characters who fall in and out of the story, yet without giant S’s or spiders on their chests’ the artist manages to keep you aware of who’s who—even when the cast count goes higher than the average X-men story.

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Highlight’s of This Collection

The Governor, one of the series antagonists, was ranked as IGN’s 86th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time in 2009.
One day while scouting the surroundings after a mysterious helicopter crash, a small group of the protagonists end up in the weird world of a bizarre dictatorship which thrives behind the steel wall around a small town.
This new main storyline eventually leads up to the extremely unsettling ending to the last chapter of this first compendium. Hard-core fans say the price of this book is worth it for the mind blowing ending to Chapter 48 alone.

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“As a reader of comics for about 25 of the 35 years I have lived, I can say with some authority that this is the best series currently running.”
“You need to get this before the TV Series comes out in the fall.”
“A must read for not only zombie fans.”
“For sure get this, you won’t be let down!”
“The artwork perfectly suits the mood.”
“This is one of the best if not The best comic series I have ever read.”
“It’s an amazing achievement and a must have.”
“I really can’t say enough about The Walking Dead one of the most intelligent and well written series I’ve ever read.”

Where Can You Buy Walking Dead: Compendium One?

You can buy this paperback Walking Dead collection from Amazon. At the moment they include Free with Super Saver Shipping. Click here to view on Amazon.

Where Can You Read More Reviews for Walking Dead: Compendium One?

The best place for reviews from people who actually own Walking Dead: Compendium One is Amazon.

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