walking dead

Both The Walking Dead television show and the comic book series are incredibly popular, sharing similarities but so different in story and character arc that they constitute separate universes. Less well known (relatively) is the series of novels, written initially by Robert Kirkman with Jay Bonansinga, and later taken over by Bonansinga as the sole writer. These novels, set in the comic universe, explore the rise of the Governor in more depth, and then follow events in Woodbury after he is gone. What ways do the novels expand the world of the comics, in terms of character and plot development, and how does the post-governor Woodbury relate to other types of societies seen in the series?

With the swing of a bat, the Walking Dead was easily the most popular show on television. However, with increasingly more characters to adapt into the story, the loss of fan favorite characters, and rehashing of similar story lines, how much longer can the show continue to receive this unprecedented popularity? Within this season, the shows ratings have already drastically declined from the season premiere. Why has the show lost its fervor? Can the directors/writers take steps to salvage the series, or will it be too little too late?

This topic would explore why The Walking Dead became so successful as both a comic book series and a television series, and how its story has suffered such a drastic decline in actual plot development since the Prison Arc. A major cause that would require further research might be the fact that the story has no end because the virus overtaking the world cannot end, and thus, the horde of zombies will never die; so the question to ask is, can a story continue to be interesting if the main conflict cannot be resolved? Of course you have an onslaught of new villains every few seasons, but by and far they are not different characters by any means.

Some weeks ago, there was an episode of the Walking Dead that appeared to serve as a commentary on real world events. It was a story of one group of people, reduced to an almost primitive cult-like state, driven to attack another segment of society that endeavored to hold on to current notions of civilized existence. This group that faced attack was comprised of survivors living in a kind of gated community somewhat untouched by the horrific realities of the outside world.

This one episode could easily be seen as a commentary on our fears of the other, about the encroachment of medieval fundamentalism and our relationship to modernity (as a sometimes violent counterforce). The attackers in this episode had a religious zeal for delivering death as way of providing an answer for the "civilians" ills. Those that survived the onslaught wielded modern weaponry (in contrast to the attackers who were armed only with sharp or blunt instruments, painted faces and madness). Those who lived within the city limits (as it were) and imagined a safe life of homemaking simplicity were cut down while the people trained in the art of killing (even those who first tried to use non-lethal methods) survived.

Obviously, the tradition for the Zombie film as a symbolic experience was set by Romero with Night of The Living Dead (Vietnam) and his follow-up Dawn of THe Dead (consumerism). With The Walking Dead we appear to be in The Age of Terrorism.

The Monster is alive and well, and, as always, is us.