10/29/2012

Wearing Zombie Merch And Loving Some Robert Kirkman

By Roger Thatcher


Saying that I am a zombie fanatic would be putting it lightly. I write zombie fiction, I read zombie comics, I watch zombie movies, I wear zombie t-shirts, and (now) I watch zombie television. I'm not one of those fans who will accept anything as long as it has a zombie in it, and I find myself being extremely critical of the genre I love. That being said, AMC's "The Walking Dead" is one of the greatest zombie stories ever told. I thought the same thing when it was just a popular comic book, and they have stay true to form by making it into an amazing show.

The comic book was originally created by a master wordsmith by the name of Robert Kirkman. His talents are so good, that he's actually responsible for bringing the Image publishing company back from the brink of death with his contributions. It's somewhat funny that it took the undead to breathe life back into Image. When working on the show, Kirkman has remained fully involved in the creation process. He's joined by Frank Darabont of "The Shawshank Redemption" acclaim, who is known for creating film full of very deep characters. One of my favorite zombie tees features these two awesome individuals drawn as zombies.

The acting crew behind this show has done an outstanding job so far. Andrew Lincoln heads a stellar cast in the role of Rick Grimes, a police officer who has woken up from a coma in the worst possible scenario you can imagine: a world of zombies. He does a wonderful job as Rick, who's signature fault is taking on the responsibility of leading and caring for a large group of survivors. You can see each death striking him as a deeply-felt wound. The boy who plays his son, Carl, is a young man by the name of Chandler Riggs and is doing a magnificent job dealing with very hard issues for someone so young. I love these characters so much.

What was most exciting for me, is that the show has completely changed many things from the television show. They have added lots of new characters, I suspect so that they can raise the mortality rate...despite the fact that Kirkman has repeatedly made it apparent that no one is safe in the comic. Many purists will be mad about how much the show and the comic are different, but I don't count myself amongst those ranks. I like the fact that this story is a bit changed, because there are going to be shocks for me down the road that I haven't been expecting.

As much as I loved the first and second season of the television adaptation of "The Walking Dead", the third season looks like it's going to be even more jaw-dropping than the first two. The characters have been fleshed out and there are some that you hate and some that you love, but they are all developed so much that you're able to definitely understand them and their motivations. I don't know where the show will be going and what twists they're going to take us down, but I can't wait to find out! I'll be perched on the edge of my seat, knuckles white, and ready to get my zombie on!




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment