This is easily one of the best zombie comics series I’ve ever read. I will even say that it is a high point for zombies in any medium, but that’s not to say that the zombies are the sole stars of this one – more like, zombies are the backdrop to life-in-general. This title manages to quickly establish some of the most realistic characters I’ve read in awhile engaging in believable situations that have ‘real-world’ consequences.

I’ll also add here that I tend to think that this title might have an advantage over the many movies that have covered similar ground, in general, simply by virtue of not having a two-hour time constraint. As opposed to, say, spending a terrifying, harrowing twenty-four hours deep in the midst of an undead seige, we are now immersed right beside our protagonists in the midst of prolonged horror that may last weeks or months or even years. Maybe it won’t end until we do.

This first book, compiling issues #1-6, begins with a simple premise: Rick Grimes, small-town police officer and family man, is wounded in the line of duty and falls into a coma. He awakens some time later, in the hospital and seemingly alone … until he meets the new populace, that is. Escaping the hospital, he sets out to find his family in a world that now belongs more to the dead than the living.

Kirkman’s writing is the bedrock of this title. He truly wants us to care about these characters, and we do. No one here exists simply as zombie-fodder, or whatever. These are real, fleshed-out people, and the overall quality of the story definitely reflects this.

A big surprise (for me at least) are the illustrations. Moore has really helps reminded me what can be done with black and white. I never once missed the color.

Miles Behind Us
We pick up with Rick Grimes and co. as they continue to look for a place to simply be, in a world in which Homo Sapiens are no longer the top of the food-chain.

Kirkman and co. continue to deliver the top-notch here, with some amazing “Oh. Shit.” moments that would make for the a seriously GREAT film, were someone capable to develop it. I mean, this could be shot-for-shot and it would kill. Again, the living are the focus here and the titular walking dead serve to represent the near-insurmountable odds the living must overcome, if they want to remain that way for any amount of time.

Adlard’s pencils & inks keep up just fine with the quality that Tony Moore established in the first arc.

In short:
If you are a fan of the walking dead – and just as importantly, the living who fear them – you should seek out and read The Walking Dead post haste. There are many, many MUCH worse zombie-related enterprises that you could waste your hard-earned dollars on, but why would you want to do that?

Kirkman’s story continues on, with issue #38 currently on-shelf and all previous issues collected via trade paperback and hardcover.

This book, originally released as a hardcover graphic novel and later as a softcover trade paperback, is sort of a fictionalized revisionist account of the man whom many people have referred to as one of the most important horror writers of the 20th century.

I’d say the most impressive thing about this book are Breccia’s lush paintings. Settings seem to bleed foreboding, as the shapes and colors of the everyday seemingly contort and coalesce into nightmarish other-worldly monstrosities.

Features a nice, complimentary introduction from director Guillermo Del Toro.

Enter:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Thankfully, this time the quality’s a little more spot-on. The writing team here, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, give you a bit more to work with beyond the same old same old.

These books definately tie-in with the NEW films’ continuity as opposed to Tobe’s (i.e. they explicitly reference the Hewitt clan, Leatherface only has 1 1/2 arms), but I can forgive that in this case.

The first story arc picks up shortly after the events of the remake, with the ‘outside world’ swiftly encroaching on the family’s domain – thing is, as always, the outside world has a few surprises in store for it.

Some new characters are introduced and manage to serve as more than fodder for the saw, at least initially, and events unfold in a well-paced cinematic fashion.

Wesley Craig’s art completes the package, with blanched Texas ’scapes and obligatory gore firmly in place.

Next Comes:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Cut

In this one-shot called Cut, written by Will Pfeifer & illustrated by Stefano Raffaele, we flash to present day and explore the lasting impact of the past’s events and find that the Hewitt’s traps still snare stupid kids. Again, the art and writing is well-represented, an obvious step up from complete formulaic dreck.

Overall, I would say that these books are much better than they could have been and serve to highlight why no concept should be treated as a total throw-away cash-grab. Even something like an adaptation of a remake can shine a little when people put some effort into it.

I can count my favorite vampire anything on one hand: in film – Shadow of the Vampire, in novel(la) – Salem’s Lot/Jerusalem’s Lot, in comics – Preacher (not about a vampire per se, it does prominently feature one or two, and oh does it address my problem with vampires in one issue) .

My problem with vampires in general is not so much with them, but with the context in which they are used, or maybe just with the creators who focus so much on the (wankery) romantic or (wankery) gothic elements that they almost seem to lose sight of these creatures as predators.

Thank you Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith, for giving me my vicious predatory vampires. Like man-sized undead pirrahnas, these vampires don’t have time for dickin’ around questioning the nature of their un-life … they need to fucking EAT.

And they’ve set their sights on the town of Barrow, Alaska. Where, as the title may suggest, it gets nice and dark.

The writing here, courtesy of Niles, is crisp & swiftly guides you through the story, but without ever feeling rushed.

The real treat (for me at least) was Templesmith’s art. It is a serious presence in the story, from the stark arctic landscapes to the gaping toothy maws. I’m not usually a sucker for art that is as highly-stylized as this is, but there’s definately something here that sets it apart.

The series continues with quite a few titles, among them Dark Days (a follow-up set in LA), Return to Barrow (pretty much what the title implies), & Bloodsucker Tales (assorted, unrelated stories), plus a few others.

This summer IDW is set to release 30 Days of Night: Red Snow (WWII), with Ben Templesmith taking on the ’sole-creator’ mantle.