Zombies Are Like Porn: Girls Just Don’t Get It The Way Guys Do

The Walking Dead: Vol 1- Days Gone Bye

So…  guess who talked me into reading The Walking Dead- a zombie based graphic novel by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore.  For all the dudes out there, yeah I get it, cool! Awesome! Wow, zombies!  But, I’m a girl, I don’t read graphic novels (they’re all comic books to me!), and I’m just not that into zombies. 

BUT:  I’ve got to give it to Kirkman and Moore, it ain’t that bad. 

Vol 1 starts off with Rick waking up in a hospital alone and out of it.  When he stumbles out and about, he realizes the world isn’t how he left it.  A 28 days later-esque introduction, but it gets the ball rolling.  He finds out that zombies have taken over the city, that his wife and child are gone, and that he must quickly learn to survive in a world full of zombies.  In Vol 1, we get background information, more than a few gory details of life among zombies, and at the conclusion, get the first glimpse of the frightening way in which humans can turn on themselves and each other; boys grow up way too fast, friends become enemies, and anyone can be lost at a moment’s notice.

Kirkman adds a great little introduction at the beginning stating his purpose for the novel and its subsequent issues, which I believe is now up to fifty-something.  There is the standard social commentary feature that puts zombies in the metaphorical realm of society as a whole– mindless bodies that rarely see only do, that blindly grope around life’s existence, and that will eat each other alive (they only eat the living BTW).  Not that far off the mark, I agree, but zombies are gross and stinky!  

In a more sophisticated mindset, Kirkman philosophizes that his novel is less about the actual zombie vs. humans and more about the way in which humans react to their environment.  To me, it’s like a Twilight Zone episode where there is mass hysteria and in these dire situations, we see that humans are by far the scariest creatures imaginable.  But even amongst all the drama of the living, don’t ever for a minute forget about the zombies- NEVER .

The Walking Dead is an interesting concoction of escapism into action/adventure, mixed with a touch of sublime social awareness, all the while graphically showing us what the insides of rotting humans look like.  I’m not sold on the whole zombie bit yet, but I’m sure there are plenty of die-hard fans out there who would love to disagree with me, so let’s hear it boys (I assume you’re all boys, but hey girls, let me know what you think, too! )…   

Next up for me: more zombies!  Stay tuned for a Pride & Prejudice & Zombies review coming soon!