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Walking Dead - coming from TV to comic

Started by IndigoPrime, 28 January, 2015, 11:19:41 AM

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IndigoPrime

(Please keep this thread as spoiler-free as possible, or use spoiler tags, for those who've not read/watched WD yet.)

I've always been intrigued by Walking Dead, but got into it by fits and starts. I can't remember whether I went for the TV or comic first, but I recall enjoying the first five episodes of season one (despite the relentless grim nature of the show) but being annoyed by the sixth, to the point it put me off more. For the comic, I bought two trades, and didn't really get what all the fuss was about. It seemed so very heavy on talking heads, the dialogue felt unnatural, and the characters weren't well-defined.

Of late, I've returned to both after people suggested I gave them a second chance. With the TV show, I'm now just starting season four. Again, despite the ongoing sometimes overly dark tone (yeah, I know it's a dystopia, but it sometimes REALLY piles on the bleak), I really thought season two and three had a lot going for them. The show keeps you guessing, throws in regular twists, and only has a few overt flaws. (It — only rarely, mind — stumbles into "DON'T GO DOWN THERE, YOU MORON" territory from the worst of horror films, and also at times does the Spooks thing of [spoiler]introducing a new character with certain traits and attributes, and you therefore know the equivalent's basically doomed[/spoiler].)

In the recent Image Humble Bundle, I got the first compendium, and so I've been reading that on my iPad, having already watched a lot of the TV show. To my mind, the comic comparatively doesn't hold up well at all. It's kind of a trudge to get through, seems constantly overly fascinated by who's pairing off with who at any given moment, and has a slightly iffy smell of sexism wafting about, which is present but at least dialled down in the TV show.

Did anyone else go from TV show to comic? It'd be interesting to know what you think of either. Or am I being a bit unfair on a comic by a sole writer that's clearly been transferred to screen by a talented writing pool that have taken its basic concepts and many of the scenarios and characters, but, to my mind, made them a lot stronger? (I guess also this rarely happens. Comics usually get a lost worse when remade for screen. But I'm finding Walking Dead the comic rather ordinary, and the TV show a cut above.)

Colin YNWA

Your last two paragraphs I don't think need to be spoilered?

Anyway I have a similar thing, but haven't progressed as much as you. I kept dipping my toes into the comic thinking I really should like it but I'm never taken by it, its all a bit stilted. And popular though he is for me Robert Kirkman - much like J K Rowling - can weave a yarn but isn't particularly adept at either good characters or solid dialogue.

I watched the telly show and really enjoyed it, the last couple of episodes of season 1 aside. I've stalled at the end of Season 2 though, for no other reason than not having too much time to watch telly and other things taking priority. Just having started The West Wing if that takes, which I now suspect it might it will be a while but Walking Dead is next on my list after that, defo.

Like you I got the compendium with the recent Humble Bundle and paid enough to get the recent 'New Beginnings' trade so I can compare and contrast. They now languish at the bottom of 'To Read' spreadsheet and so I probably won't get to them for the next couple of years (I know, I know its bloody ridiculous) but I'm determined when they do get to the top to give the comics a good concerted effort once and for all.

So yeah I have similar feeling as yourself, just with not quite as much evidence to back it up yet. 

Theblazeuk

Most people I know who came to the comic late much prefer it due to the 'no one is safe' holding more true and less leaps of disbelief when it comes to people's behavior. Sexism... well, actually I think that disappears as things go on. Any examples?

Satanist

I've read all the comics so far and my main impression for a long time now is that its a soap opera that happens to be set in the zombie aftermath. So much so that when almost every issue ends on a cliffhanger I cant help but hear the Eastenders end theme.

Someone gets bitten by a zombie on final panel....

BAM...BAM-bam-Ba-ba-dam!

:lol:

I actually like the show a lot more and half think I buy the comic just out of habit now.
Hmm, just pretend I wrote something witty eh?

NapalmKev

I started with the TV show and then bought 'Compendium 1 and 2'.

I like the show despite some minor niggles - [spoiler]The Characters all seem well fed and reasonably fit, despite food being scarce and cold/harsh winters that they breeze through with impunity. And, as the series covers a couple of years, how the fuck are Zombies not piles of mush on the floor? Unless this is explained later as a by-product of the Virus itself.[/spoiler]

I enjoyed the first Compendium - [spoiler]It finishes with the Death of The Governor, and everyone leaving the Prison.[/spoiler]

The 2nd Compendium is a complete borefest, IMO. Too much talking, and rehashing of earlier Plots. I'm not sure if i'll bother with the 3rd Compendium (not yet released).

The TV show is better, again IMO.

Cheers
"Where once you fought to stop the trap from closing...Now you lay the bait!"

IndigoPrime

Colin_YNWA: It turns out I'm an idiot who can't close spoiler tags. Oops. Edited. The dialogue thing also made me wonder about Invincible, which I enjoyed the first trade of a lot more. I guess that says even more about what I think of Walking Dead (in comic form). As for West Wing, I love that show. It's very of its time and a sort of Democrat wet-dream, but it barrels along and has so much great content, even after Sorkin quits.

Quote from: Theblazeuk on 28 January, 2015, 11:59:51 AMMost people I know who came to the comic late much prefer it due to the 'no one is safe' holding more true and less leaps of disbelief when it comes to people's behaviour.
I don't really see (so far—through to S04E02) any attempts to keep certain characters especially 'safe' in the TV show. The body count is high, and although a few deaths were telegraphed due to the aforementioned Spooks thing, plenty took me by surprise. On behaviour, there's plenty of stupid stuff in both.

QuoteSexism... well, actually I think that disappears as things go on. Any examples?
I'm only halfway through the compendium right now, but there's a much stronger aspect of "the women just want to be protected by THE MENFOLK" than in the TV show. (Sidebar: the relationship stuff also feels rather like a teenage take on everything; on the TV show, the typically subtler/slower nature of trust and relationships works better for me.)

Quote from: Satanist on 28 January, 2015, 01:31:04 PMI cant help but hear the Eastenders end theme.
I'm not going to be able to unread that. Should prove interesting later this evening when I carry on reading!

Quote from: NapalmKev on 28 January, 2015, 01:42:24 PM[spoiler]The Characters all seem well fed and reasonably fit, despite food being scarce and cold/harsh winters that they breeze through with impunity. And, as the series covers a couple of years, how the fuck are Zombies not piles of mush on the floor? Unless this is explained later as a by-product of the Virus itself.[/spoiler]
Yeah, I've wondered about that second point, especially when you consider 28 Days Later and [spoiler]the manner in which the 'zombies' rapidly started to starve[/spoiler]. There was at least a fairly throwaway line along the lines of [spoiler]the zombies actually starving to death, only it takes them far, far longer to do so[/spoiler]. But then again, suspension of disbelief with this kind of subject matter's par for the course, so that niggle hasn't overly bothered me. The other point is a necessity, I guess, to have any kind of storyline, but I'd again wondered about that too.

gurnard

I only ever read this in the trade paperbacks and love the story presented in that format.  I get what you mean about the soap opera style even with the trades they leave you hanging and hankering. 

I watched 10 minutes of the show and shit myself scared.. I can handle zombies in a comic but the screen is too close to reality for my over-active imagination.

What I like about the comic is that no-one is safe and you never know what is coming lead characters fall this makes it exciting and leaves me more attached to the remaining.


IndigoPrime

Well, I practically forced myself to the end of the first compendium and I have no desire to read anything more of this comic, nor, frankly, anything else by Kirkman if this is representative of his output. It really is astonishing to read events that largely mirror those in the TV show (and in fact formed the foundation for them) and consider what the TV writers made of them.

There's practically zero nuance in the comic. The characters almost to a person have no depth. The governor was an especially big eye-opener, [spoiler]nothing more than a comedy villain who may as well have twirled a moustache, compared to the complex character in the TV show[/spoiler].

Does anyone here actually prefer any of the comic characters to the TV show ones? I'm struggling to think of a single one at the moment. Still—can't complain. I only ever bought two trades, got this digital comic as part of a Humble Bundle, and still have a TV show I very much like to watch!

Tiplodocus

I was comic to TV myself.

I still get the trades but more out of a sense of completeness than anything else. If I was more of a man, I'd just stop buying them.

Can't get enough of the TV show though.

It takes a decent actor and director to sell something like [spoiler]Rick talking to an imaginary Laurie on the disconnected telephone. [/spoiler] It seemed clunky in the comic but was well done on TV.
Be excellent to each other. And party on!

I, Cosh

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 06 February, 2015, 10:44:07 AM
Well, I practically forced myself to the end of the first compendium and I have no desire to read anything more of this comic, nor, frankly, anything else by Kirkman if this is representative of his output. It really is astonishing to read events that largely mirror those in the TV show (and in fact formed the foundation for them) and consider what the TV writers made of them.
I bought the first compendium from Amazon a few years a few years ago. In the end I was pretty glad that their delivery company had managed to completely mangle it as it meant I could read it, send it back and get my money back.

Found it really boring, full of overlong dialogue and indistinguishable characters who I didn't give a toss about. As a result, I have never watched the series.
We never really die.

Richmond Clements

I haven't watched since season 2, which was just boring. And I got fed up with characters doing stupid things like wandering off and not bothering to tell anyone else where they were going.

I hear it picks up though, so I'm sure I'll watch it all eventually.

Tiplodocus

Well the "ONE YEAR LATER..." jump is very popular in TV fiction these days so I guess you could just watch Season 1 and then jump straight to Season 3. 

But you would miss out on some indidual cracking episodes in Season 2 (and the [spoiler]Rick/Shane [/spoiler] resolution).

The comic almost forces you to do a similar jump every time you pick up an issue because, as they have little "character", it's really hard to tell characters apart unless somebody states their name.
Be excellent to each other. And party on!

Theblazeuk

Comic deals with Shane in a much better and striking fashion.

The TV only clumsily apes the moment it didn't dare attempt.

Tiplodocus

[spoiler]But the decision to keep Shane alive for longer with (and I can't quite who first brilliantly described him as this) his "air of sweaty menace" was much better.  That episode with Rick and Shane in the bus depot is a belter.[/spoiler]
Be excellent to each other. And party on!

IndigoPrime

Tiplodocus: I agree. And really that's the one very big difference between the comic and the TV show—the latter exhibits patience and pacing (which is astonishingly rare for TV). The former's always so desperate to blaze through things, and so it comes off as 'idea of the moment' every single issue. But it's also oddly lightweight as well (unlike, say, one of Wagner's densely scripted Dredds).

Ah well. Horses for courses, I guess. As for Shane, I thought both versions were dealt with well, but I'm not sure the TV show didn't ape the moment; after all, [spoiler]Carl shoots that teen in cold blood, rather than 'accidentally' shooting Shane dead to protect his dad, which is far more chilling, to my mind[/spoiler].