We here at Somewhatnerdy are big Walking Dead fans. We have been fans since the comics, long before the series was created for TV. Well, I tossed an idea of having Walking Dead Wednesdays for our readers with the rest of the staff at SWN and they agreed it would be a great idea. So, every Wednesday, I will be posting a review of the Walking Dead comics one trade at a time. Since this is the first Walking Dead Wednesday, we start with Volume 1: Days Gone Bye. This trade collects issues #1-6 and introduces us to Rick and the gang.
Our story starts very close to the show. Rick and Shane are trying to stop a fugitive and Rick gets shot. The next thing you know, we are in the hospital with Rick as he awakes from his coma. One major difference from the show is there is no warning on the room sealed with the wood beam. Rick looking for anybody to help him opens the room and becomes surrounded by Zombies. He doesn’t realize they are Zombies quite yet and tries to ask for help. When he realizes he is under attack, he decides to escape the situation all together.
On Rick’s journey back to his home, he comes across a means of transportation aka a bicycle. As he sets to get on the bicycle, he comes across the bike’s original owner. He freaks out a little and the heads to his house. Once home, he doesn’t understand why there is no one there. Before you know it, he gets hit in the head with a shovel. Sound familiar? Rick is caught up to speed by his “attackers” Morgan and Duane. Rick takes them to the station and they get guns as well as cars to help them is this dire time. They split up with the promise to meet up again when this is all over. The only reason they split up is because rick has to find his family and he thinks they are in Atlanta.
Days later, we find Rick out of gas. In search of another means of transportation, he comes across a horse and decides to ride the rest of the way. Once he makes it to Atlanta, he is rushed by a pack of Zombies that see his horse as a meal. He manages to break free and runs into Glenn who helps him out of the city. Glenn takes him to his camp and Rick cannot believe his eyes. There in front of him is his wife Lori and his son Carl. It turns out that Shane saved them from the Zombie rising and just couldn’t make it back to save Rick. One thing you TV fans will notice is that there is no T-dog, Sophie’s dad is already dead, and well, there are no Dixon brothers. I know it’s hard to imagine no Daryl, but that the reality of the book. Anyway, Glenn and Rick sneak back into town a few days later using the Zombie stench method to get more guns. It does rain and they barely make it out alive, but they do.
More time passes by and their camp is attacked by Zombies and they lose Amy as well as Jim. Amy is taken out by her sister Andrea before she turns but Jim dies slowly and convinces the others to leave him be. He hopes that when he turns he will somehow find his family who had already turned in the beginning of the outbreak during his escape from Atlanta.
Not long after this incident, Shane starts to snap. He and Rick go hunting one day and Shane has already figured out that he is going to get rid of Rick so he can have Lori. Well, before Shane can put his plan into action, Carl shoots him in the throat and kills him. Not only is the timing of Shane’s death different from the show, but Carl’s age is also younger than when he did the killing on the series. Hell, even the location is different.
The Walking Dead is an excellent TV series that has given life to an excellent comic book. Any fan of the Walking Dead from TV should read the comics if you haven’t before. It will only increase you love of the Walking Dead and make you appreciate the writing of Robert Kirkman even more.
Creator/Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler/Inker: Tony Moore Publisher: Image Comics
