Reading The Walking Dead Comics

For whatever reason, The Walking Dead has been filling my feed as of late. I only comment on the absurdity of it because the show has not been relevant to me for a number of years.

Don't get me wrong -- when the show first came out, I had jumped on the bandwagon like everybody else 😄 I have some very fond memories of watching the show with my Dad. My Dad and I have only ever bonded over two shows: The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad 😂

Anyway, I only ended up watching TWD until Season 7? Whichever season opened (⛔ SPOILERS!! ⛔) with Negan killing Glenn; that's where I stopped 😅 And it was of no personal motive, I wasn't overly attached to Glenn. I just couldn't stay tuned into the show anymore... As great as the show may be, I can still only watch a show about zombies so many times.

My husband and I were discussing the finale of TWD, how it recently ended, and my husband said that a lot of people were probably upset that the producers stuck to the comics. I asked why that was a bad thing; "Well, a lot of the main characters get killed off -- brutally, at that! haha..." I fail to see how that's a bad thing 😂

So I have decided to take up the comic books! Again, I may not be able to recall every detail from the show, but I look forward to discovering the differences between the two 🙂

Since so many people are already familiar with the series, I have decided to simply break it down by season. Keep in mind there are #197 comics, so trying to do each one individually would take forever 😵

(Please note that while although there will be spoilers, I will not be providing images of any major spoilers)

Volumes #1-11 pretty much covered Season 1. I am going to go over some minor differences first.

▪️ to start, Rick is shown getting shot in the chest, as opposed to the shoulder in the show. I just really enjoyed this detail because Rick awakening from the coma is almost like him coming back from the dead

(Source: https://readallcomics.com/the-walking-dead-001/)

▪️ secondly, our favorite "DON'T DEAD / OPEN INSIDE" meme isn't used until a few issues in, when the group finds a gated community. This is where I preferred the show's approach. Slowly revealing the "new world" as opposed to simply throwing Rick right into it, was better

▪️ Morgan doesn't freak out when he discovers Rick's wound? Just thought this was weird. It's the apocalypse; one would think Morgan would want to be more cautious?...

▪️ the group actually find Tyreese shortly after leaving Atlanta, and he has a teenage daughter

▪️ like I said earlier, the group come across an infected gated community, as opposed to the CDC in the show

(Source: https://readallcomics.com/the-walking-dead-008/)

▪️ Dale and Andrea have sex?! D8 Like, I knew they were close on the show, but ewwww!

Now for the major differences!

▪️ Carl immediately shoots Shane -- Shane is dead by like, Volume #5. He immediately has his meltdown over Rick "ruining everything," so Carl shoots him to protect his father.
I was never a big fan of Shane, but I still appreciated his character arc, his slow descent into madness. I also enjoyed the conflicting forces between Shane and Rick; there were even a few times when Shane had better judgement than Rick!

▪️ Because here was another difference where Shane shined through... In the comics, Herschel immediately admits to having walkers in the barn. In the show, it was a deadly secret that made its way through the group, eventually reaching Shane, and we all remember what happens after that! 😅 The barn scene is probably one of Shane's greatest moments. I really prefer keeping Shane around longer.

▪️ Sophia has not run off either. I don't know what will happen to her, but again, that reveal on the show of her being in the barn was one of the greatest scenes, Carol breaking down...

Also, the whole theory about, "I wonder how long ago the apocalypse started 🤔" is so silly. The comics give enough information that the reader can come to a logical conclusion.

I believe Rick was in a coma for a few months, and I believe the apocalypse had been going on for a month prior to his awakening.

He finds a horse on his second day. Horses can only survive 3-5 days without water, the family was dead, so they had probably killed themselves a few days before Rick showed up...
A lot of people were still holding onto hope, "the government," acting as if it was "going to pass." Shane had even jeopardized the group by prolonging their time in Atlanta, justifying it with, "The government is going to come rescue us and this is the best spot to be."

The apocalypse must have started fairly recently. I estimate that it had to have been going on for a month, if not two, before Rick woke up.

This was a moment that I really enjoyed from the comics as well, the realism of society's downfall. Because, let's be honest, even with the push of feminism today, if society were to collapse, we would take on more traditional roles.
Same as Lori, I've never shot a gun 😅 I don't even think I possess the strength to handle much, I'm only 120 lbs. And same as Lori, I do not trust men to handle housework 😂 I've been married to my husband for 5 years and he still shrinks the laundry!
But I recognize that housework is a cog in the machine to function. One can only wear dirty clothes for so long, especially during the apocalypse, when germs make you more susceptible to death!! There is nothing wrong with having roles, I acknowledged this a long time ago!

All in all, I'm really enjoying the comics! 😃👍 I enjoy having dual perspectives between the books and the show. It may just be paper and ink, but there is definitely a different feel to the comics.
Plus I love being able to "double-take" 😂 When something surprising happens, or if something didn't register in my brain, I just go "Huh?! 😱" and I can go back and observe!