Wow, talk about cutting back on the drama quotient.

This issue is mostly spent on expository dialogue explaining the zombie plague to Rick. It shocks him a little but it’s all okay because he finds his family at the end. Unfortunately, as much as I love the celebratory emotional scene, Kirkman didn’t really make it mean anything. It’s not like Rick had a long, hard journey. The most traumatic thing was apparently having to jump from one building to another. Not even zombie related.

I’m rather unsold on the whole thing so far. Kirkman’s slight Southern dialect makes the characters sound forced, not real.

I don’t even know the Asian kid’s name. It’d probably be inappropriate to nickname him Short Round.

Speaking of names, we never get to find out what Rick names the horse he rides into Atlanta. It seems like a rather important detail and Kirkman skips it.

CREDITS

Writer, letterer and editor, Robert Kirkman; artist, Tony Moore; publisher, Image Comics.

I’ve been hearing about Walking Dead for a long time and have always meant to read it. Not sure what pressed me this time (possibly the impending television show).

My initial reaction? I’ve seen most of all this before. The opening, either from Day of the Triffids or 28 Days Later, is something I’ve seen. The dad and kid, seen them before. The race stuff, seen it before.

However, I haven’t seen such a hopeful protagonist. Kirkman sets up Rick–one issue down and I already know the protagonist’s name and refer to him by it, two points to Kirkman there–as insanely positive. He’s walking through a zombie apocalypse and he thinks his wife and kid are going to be a-okay.

I’m not sure if Kirkman intends it… but that kind of naive positivity in a protagonist is endearing–though it doesn’t fit with him being a cop.

CREDITS

Writer, letterer and editor, Robert Kirkman; artist, Tony Moore; publisher, Image Comics.