Walking Dead: Show and Graphic Novel Comparison

[Young Wolf]

Ok, I got through the Gov storyline...and I have this growing feeling that the writer is simply trying to see how far he can push the envelope in shocking the reader. I have to say, so far I by far enjoy the show more than the GN.

[awesome possum]

I'm with you. I like the GN's and am fairly caught up on them, but I like the show better. Part of it is the element of surprise added to it, and part is that it's just more well rounded. Kirkman does come across at times as doing the wildest, most brutal thing imaginable for the shock factor more than for what it brings to the story.

[Relic]

Ok, I got through the Gov storyline...and I have this growing feeling that the writer is simply trying to see how far he can push the envelope in shocking the reader. I have to say, so far I by far enjoy the show more than the GN.

agreed. It comes across as brutality for the sake of...brutality. A lot of what happens doesn't even make any sense.

[kairparavel]

A lot of what goes on seems over the top in the comics. But maybe the Governor is an example of someone slightly unglued to begin or is completely straight-laced and normal who melts down severely under the confusion of this new world - lack of infrastructure, resources etc. Zombie Darwinism ensues with survival of the fittest and craziest. It almost makes sense that the new rules are no rules and anything goes. Especially in one gruesome storyline post-Governor.

But yeah, in reality after reading that I asked MC how any of the interactions between the Governor and Michonne were at all necessary. I had a hard time with spoons for a bit afterwards too. No cereal for a few days.

[Morpheus]

The Guv is about the only thing I found completely and utterly over the top. Otherwise I accepted early on that it was going ot be a brutal violent story. In the show Merle was just as much a cartoon character as The Governor in the short time we were with him (though not a rapist as far as we know) . Which is probably why so many expected him to fill that role.

[Young Wolf]

Come on...the Guv making out with his zombie niece? Why? I mean, we know he's a nutter already...but why add that as well?

I dunno...I just finished the compendium and I find it doubtful Id continue the GN further. Ends with the prison overran...lots of deaths. Overall, not a very satisfying read. If I wanted to feel like cutting my wrists, Id go read some Goodkind.

[kairparavel]

Is it the zombie aspect that gets you? Because incest and molestation are hardly things of fantasy. So why would that stop when the dead walk the earth? No really, I'm serious. If I tried to think of the most ridiculously violent or awful scenarios possible, I know someone could top me, who in turn could be topped by someone else. And unspeakably violent and awful things already happen right here and now in reality, so reading about some kooky stuff in a comic? Kinda grosses me out, but often reality does way more. But then I read American Psycho about five times after it came out, mostly to confirm what I had read the first, second, third time and wonder how someone could come up with that. So little phases me. Except Human Centipede. Never saw it, but the idea traumatizes me.

[Arthmail]

Is it the zombie aspect that gets you? Because incest and molestation are hardly things of fantasy. So why would that stop when the dead walk the earth? No really, I'm serious. If I tried to think of the most ridiculously violent or awful scenarios possible, I know someone could top me, who in turn could be topped by someone else. And unspeakably violent and awful things already happen right here and now in reality, so reading about some kooky stuff in a comic? Kinda grosses me out, but often reality does way more. But then I read American Psycho about five times after it came out, mostly to confirm what I had read the first, second, third time and wonder how someone could come up with that. So little phases me. Except Human Centipede. Never saw it, but the idea traumatizes me.

No, i would say its the unrelenting need to shock. The endless brutality. Shock for the sake of shock and not for any thematic elements. I mean, Kirkman is simply bad at writing stories. The prisoner that feels compelled to murder children, who turns out to the nerdy little guy - check. Cop protecting his family - check. His idea of throwing in different story elements is to simply murder characters.

To be honest, for me, it is like Martin. I don't really care about any of the characters anymore because the shock value has been overplayed. I'm not surprised anymore, and so it becomes boring.

[Young Wolf]

Is it the zombie aspect that gets you? Because incest and molestation are hardly things of fantasy. So why would that stop when the dead walk the earth? No really, I'm serious. If I tried to think of the most ridiculously violent or awful scenarios possible, I know someone could top me, who in turn could be topped by someone else. And unspeakably violent and awful things already happen right here and now in reality, so reading about some kooky stuff in a comic? Kinda grosses me out, but often reality does way more. But then I read American Psycho about five times after it came out, mostly to confirm what I had read the first, second, third time and wonder how someone could come up with that. So little phases me. Except Human Centipede. Never saw it, but the idea traumatizes me.

No, I think its simply that how does this further progress the story? He's got heads in fish tanks, feeds his zombie niece hunks of human to keep her alive, keeps alive a gladiator type of game to amuse his populous, his brutal rape and torture of Michonne...I mean it just feels like the zombie makeout session was there to just try to shock you even more. Leave that out and we are still 100% sure that the Guv is a despicable fuck. Its not like that moment made me decide,"Oh yeah...this dude is fucked up."

Im under no illusion that this zombiepocalypse world is fucked up. Its back to the primeval days where man is the hunted.

As much as people complain about the tv series, I'd say the series is better written, actually allows you to feel some empathy/attachment to some of the various characters, and gets the point across that the world is fucked...without the need (so far) to try and simply shock its viewers for the fuck of it. I strongly feel like the GN is less about telling a really good story and more about how much the writer can shock his audience.

[Morpheus]

As much as people complain about the tv series, I'd say the series is better written, actually allows you to feel some empathy/attachment to some of the various characters, and gets the point across that the world is fucked...without the need (so far) to try and simply shock its viewers for the fuck of it. I strongly feel like the GN is less about telling a really good story and more about how much the writer can shock his audience.

Can't say I agree at all, I wouldn't care at all if the entire crew were killed tonight and they were to start over next year with a new cast; I'd be surprised but I find all of the characters to be thin caricatures not relatable human beings. And I don't try and defend Kirkman as anything approaching a great writer, I have liked the gn, but don't conisder it anywhere near the top of the art form. I thought the show had a great opportunity as far as improving character development from the comic, they just dropped the ball big time IMO. I at least was sorry to see some of the comic characters go even if the death seemed gratuitous.

[Lady Octarina]

I gotta say, so far none of the characters from the book are like the tv show, with maybe the exception of Glenn. Rick in the GN is basically Shane in the show. The book is already pretty fucked as far as Im concerned...so I gotta say Im pretty happy with the direction the show took in comparison.

You think so? I always thought Rick, Carl and Maggie were also kept as the same, except that in the show it takes Rick much longer to turn into his harder self (you'll notice, in the comics, he has lapses of humanity, something that never happens to Shane) whereas Carl, well... I just think he's creepy in both GN and show O.O I hope they won't ruin Michonne like they ruined Andrea, though...

As much as people complain about the tv series, I'd say the series is better written, actually allows you to feel some empathy/attachment to some of the various characters, and gets the point across that the world is fucked...without the need (so far) to try and simply shock its viewers for the fuck of it. I strongly feel like the GN is less about telling a really good story and more about how much the writer can shock his audience.

Really? Because I feel the opposite way. I could feel empathy to most characters in the comics, whereas in the show... well, no, not after season two at least. First because they changed the rhythm of the show to an unbearably soap-opera pace - I mean, the farm storyline was material for six episodes, at most. But no, they chose to stretch Sophia's search beyond what would be believable, only to kill her in the end. Then, approaching the season finale, they start killing some of the major characters with most potential. I mean, in the GN, there's a reason they kill major characters: they become unnecessary

(Patricia, the prisoner who looks like a truck driver)

, they don't have a place in the new kind of life the characters have to take

(Hershel)

, to add something another character's development

(Lori and he baby, Dale, those twin boys)

, or to the story

(Tyreese's daughter and her boyfriend)

, and occasionally just for the necessary shock in this kind of story

(Hershell's children, the people who die in their camp before they leave Atlanta)

.

(Yeah, it looks horrible to read with all those spoiler tags, but I think that other TWD topic traumatized me about it ¬¬')

I'm not saying the GN is perfect, far from it. Like I said, it's one of the best stories you can expect from something that has been published for so long, tat has so many issues (the only better GN I can think about in a comparable situation would be Fables, but I haven't read them all, so I really don't know how useful the comparison is). It manages to avoid falling into the problems of those super-hero comic books, and for that I'm most grateful.

Besides, I have to say the show shocked me more than the GN. Seriously, there's nothing in the GN that can compare to that zombie ripping Dale's stomach. All the disgusting aspects of the GN (cannibalism, everything related to the Governor) is in perfect accord with what I think would happen if there was no society to control human nature's darkest side. Disturbing? In a way, yes. But that's far from the most shocking thing I've ever read in a comic book (or maybe that was just those Suehiro Maruo stories I read that made me feel that way :dunno: ).

[peterbound]

You keep bitching about being forced to use spoiler tags. makes me think you don't know how?

There are 90 some odd issues of the WD comic. Some people here haven't gotten to the half way mark yet. Do the math and stop whining.

No.

As to the violence. After Lori and the baby got killed i thought i could let it go. But when Carl got shot in the face, i almost gave up. The almost raping of Carl, and Rick biting the throats out of the 'hunters' seemed over the top. The whole damn thing is bleak as shit. As stated above though, the new storyline with the interconnecting 'trade villages' seems reassuring in terms of story development though, and one that i hope brings some light back in to the storyline, although the leaked cover to the next issues doesn't look very reassuring.

It will be interesting to see if they tackle some of those topics in the show. I can't imagine carl walking around with half his face gone for very long on a show.

[Young Wolf]

You're both crazy.

Rick in the show is not even close to Rick in the comic. Comic Rick was Shane in the show. Maggie really doesn't have much screen time or comic time so who knows if they are the same. I guess they could be, but who cares either way? I think Carl in the show is way more effed than Carl in the comic (though I've only read up to the end of the prison portion).

Daryl is a far better character than anything I've read in the comics, better than Tyreese I'd say if we're comparing him to any role close to his in the comics.

The show's length on the farm had more to do with the budget and the demand of more episodes than planned. They had to stretch the budget to cover more episodes...hence they kept the farm plotline going longer. Regardless of that, I found the pace just fine.

Seriously, there's nothing in the GN that can compare to that zombie ripping Dale's stomach.

This is the most absurd thing I've heard yet though. A zombie ripping out Dale's stomach, worse than say...the Guv raping and torturing Michonne? Or even Michonne's in turn torture of the Guv??? Worse than Tyreese killing his daughter's boyfriend, waiting for him to come back as a zombie and then completely mauling the zombie piece by piece? Worse than Thomas chopping off the heads of two little girls?

I'm not comparing this comic to any other...I'm comparing it to the tv show. I'm sure we can find numerous examples of things that we could shock each other with; the point I'm making is that given I'm not all that far in the comics, I'd say the writer is more focused on continually attempting to shock us and one up his previous shock moment, rather than deliver some quality storytelling.

[peterbound]

Where the hell are they getting all the fucking ammo?

[Lady Octarina]

This is the most absurd thing I've heard yet though. A zombie ripping out Dale's stomach, worse than say...the Guv raping and torturing Michonne? Or even Michonne's in turn torture of the Guv??? Worse than Tyreese killing his daughter's boyfriend, waiting for him to come back as a zombie and then completely mauling the zombie piece by piece? Worse than Thomas chopping off the heads of two little girls?

I really don't feel shocked by those things - as I said, that's what I expect from human behavior when there's nothing to control them. The zombie attacking Dale, though, that was shocking - not because I expect zombies to be civilized, but because the whole scene made absolutely no sense, I've rarely seen anything that poorly written. They put that in the show just to shock us. Those things in the comics, on the contrary, are regular human interactions in zombie world. It's a violent world, what else could we expect? As I said, Kirkman might have written that just to shock readers, but what I got from that was simply "Oh, they're torturing each other again. Bah, what can we do? Humans... and they dare complain of the zombies". That's how I reacted to all the situations you mentioned :dunno:

I'm not comparing this comic to any other...I'm comparing it to the tv show. I'm sure we can find numerous examples of things that we could shock each other with; the point I'm making is that given I'm not all that far in the comics, I'd say the writer is more focused on continually attempting to shock us and one up his previous shock moment, rather than deliver some quality storytelling.

After the prison saga that changes. Nothing is as violent as the prison issues, really. And I don't know how valid it is to compare the GN with the show; too different medias. But if we're to do that I can only be sorry that the show lost (or explored poorly) every single opportunity of exploring the characters this season, so...

Where the hell are they getting all the fucking ammo?

Nhe, I'll only watch it tomorrow, snifs :bawl:

[peterbound]

Michonne. FUCK. YES.

[Mya Stone]

Michonne. FUCK. YES.

I'm hoping they announce her casting on The Talking Dead now.

[kairparavel]

Yeah, I was pretty excited by her introduction. I suppose they haven't cast her yet. That could have been Sarah Wayne Callies under that hood for all we know.

ETA

Speaking of Michonne, Playboy apparently has a short comic with her backstory.

[Monday]

Michonne! I'm so glad they kept the awesome Michonne introduction. Her standing there with the jawless walkers is iconic. Before Andrea found her I was starting to wonder if they might combine Michonne with Andrea. Like, Andrea got separated and has to spend a month or two on her own then shows up at the prison all bad ass with a couple pet walkers. So glad they didn't.

[Monday]

Spot on. Excellent.