THE WALKING DEAD #21 REVIEW
Suggested For Mature Readers
Fans of the American drama/adventure television series Lost will find plenty to interest them in this disturbing horror series-cum-melodramatic soap opera. Kirkman utilizes the zombie-horror subgenre as a vehicle with which to tell a story about human nature, and the dynamic and highly charged emotional conflicts which can result from an ever-growing cast being trapped in an enclosed environment. This acts as a nice change of pace from the normal “hit the reader with as many mindless and pointless scenes of blood, guts and gore as possible” approach of some of the more ordinary and insipid examples of the genre that we see all-too-often in the medium today.
That’s not to say we don’t see these horror elements within the script, though–we do. This issue of The Walking Dead alone sees the desperate, horrific acts of an individual taking it upon himself to solve the problem of a zombie bite to the leg of one of his fellow survivors–via the use of an axe. Where this issue really shines, though, is in Kirkman’s sharp, intense dialogue, the excellent characterization of the many players within the script, and the way the characters evolve and develop at a realistic rate. Not only does this give the book a strong grounding in reality, it gives each character an individual voice of their own, which is particularly evident in the way Kirkman describes how the children–Sophia and Carl–overcome their fear of the zombies together.
Charlie Adlard’s crisp, black-and-white artwork with graytones is perfect for rendering the gruesome, ghastly nature of zombie life. Where it works at its most effective, though, is in depicting the characters in the emotional throes of shock, fear and anger. The facial expressions of the characters are realistic and expressive, and the subtle and overt displays of emotion are portrayed very well indeed. The artwork is detailed and suits the dark, chilling tone to the script.
The Walking Dead #21 is another example of why this series is one of the best money can buy, and certainly the best example of a horror book on the shelves at the moment.
Reviewer: James Groves, JamesandtheDragon@hotmail.com
Story Title: The Walking Dead
“Because they look so sad. Don’t they look sad to you?”
Creator, Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler, Inker: Charlie Adlard
Gray Tones: Cliff Rathburn
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Cover: Tony Moore
Publisher: Erik Larsen
Published by: Image Comics
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- THE WALKING DEAD #12 REVIEW
