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manuelte's review against another edition
4.0
The first two books are good, they really convey the sense of desolation and the need to form a pack, a team to survive. Book 3 presents what they are REALLY capable of to survive. Book 4 is all about fighting for resources, and a war between two groups who know next to nothing of each other, except for the interaction of no more than 4 persons from each side, and everything is colored by these people perceptions resulting in an all out massacre where no character is safe, regardless of their perceived relevance or development. The story continues strong and I definitely recommend reading the whole series at least up to the end of book 4, the point I'm at upon writing this review - I will start book 5 soon.
keaschultz's review against another edition
3.0
I'm kind of torn about this one. I thought it was okay, but I gave it three stars because I can't wait to read the next one and see what happens next. It was a little too gruesome for me, but considering that it's a comic about a zombie apocalypse, I guess that's more of my own problem. My biggest complaint is the weak female characters, who (other than Michonne) will go shoot up a bunch of animate cadavers one second, and then say something like, "I think we should have a baby," or, "Does this make me look fat?" Are you serious??
So far the first book has been my favorite, but I'm not going to stop reading them. I think I actually like the TV show better, but the show definitely has an advantage, since the books don't have Daryl.
Spoiler
Regardless, I'm relieved that the governor is finally dead now. I was hoping that he died after what Michonne did to him, but I'm kinda glad that someone from Woodbury finally realized what a psychopath he was. I do think that it will be interesting in the next book now that the group is split up-- though I do hope that they reunite eventually. And they will likely have a much harder time surviving serious injuries (they survived a lot of crazy stuff in this book) now that Alice and Herschel are both dead. I think it will be interesting to see where they go now that the prison is ruined for everybody (way to go, Woodbury).So far the first book has been my favorite, but I'm not going to stop reading them. I think I actually like the TV show better, but the show definitely has an advantage, since the books don't have Daryl.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
4.0
Rereading the Walking Dead as a whole story, as opposed to reading it in chunks is not only more satisfying than the alternative, it also makes it easier to pretend that the story doesn't have very predictable patterns. Issue one of a story has the characters comfortable than thrown into chaos, issue two has them confused by chaos, issue three has them thinking they've found a solution, but it doesn't quite work out, issue four has everyone second guessing Rick (usually including himself), issue five an important character dies, issue six there's reprecussions that often (but not always) involve a death or injury that is even more significant to Rick. Issues 7-12 repeat the sequence, but with Rick making some sort of speech either to the whole group or whoever he has taken a vested interest in during the storyline. This is how every book is structured. While every twelfth issue contains a denoument to the previous issues, and a hint or preview of the next storyline, it's every forty-eighth issue (or the end of every fourth hardcover) that there's a Massive Story Changing Event. So the end of this volume has the first of those Now Our Story Has To Be Different moments.
The metaphorical impotence of The Governor in this volume, compared to the previous volume was interesting, as he's still A Threat, but you're less afraid of him than what will happen because he fails to make his plans work. You know he can't win (or the series will be over) but you also know that whatever stupid thing he does is going to get a bunch of people killed. And this is the first Clear The Decks issue of the series.
I think it works. I became more invested in the story, knowing that, while it was going to remain formulaic, the character relationships within the formula were going to have to change because of what happened during this storyarc, which I would call "Math" (because what follows is definitely focused on the aftermath of this volume. Plus, numbers always factor into Walking Dead storylines.
This is also an important volume for seeing how the TV show (which I don't enjoy as much as the books, and stopped watching about a season after this storyline) took the emotional gutpunch from the end of this volume, and an interesting moment from volume five and combined them to amp the emotion and gif-ability of the series to a much higher level. It's the one moment, where, for me, the show was 1000% more devestating than the book. But Kirkman couldn't have reached that level without being able to look at this volume and think "There is One Way I could make this Even More Agonizing."
The metaphorical impotence of The Governor in this volume, compared to the previous volume was interesting, as he's still A Threat, but you're less afraid of him than what will happen because he fails to make his plans work. You know he can't win (or the series will be over) but you also know that whatever stupid thing he does is going to get a bunch of people killed. And this is the first Clear The Decks issue of the series.
I think it works. I became more invested in the story, knowing that, while it was going to remain formulaic, the character relationships within the formula were going to have to change because of what happened during this storyarc, which I would call "Math" (because what follows is definitely focused on the aftermath of this volume. Plus, numbers always factor into Walking Dead storylines.
This is also an important volume for seeing how the TV show (which I don't enjoy as much as the books, and stopped watching about a season after this storyline) took the emotional gutpunch from the end of this volume, and an interesting moment from volume five and combined them to amp the emotion and gif-ability of the series to a much higher level. It's the one moment, where, for me, the show was 1000% more devestating than the book. But Kirkman couldn't have reached that level without being able to look at this volume and think "There is One Way I could make this Even More Agonizing."
tiffanymae2022's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
carolinethereader's review against another edition
5.0
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ONE SO FAR!
I keep telling myself I'm going to pace myself reading this series because I don't want to be up to date too speedily but here I am. I read it in like an hour. The wonderful thing about this series is how addictive it is. I just can't seem to stop reading it (which I don't really mind, but still). I love the amount of character development that is crammed into it. I love the characters and the way they interact with each other. I love comparing key moments to the show. I love the art style and how it alternates between being quite simple and incredibly detailed. There were some panels which amazed me and I'm not going to say which ones because spoilers but seriously this series is just amazing!
I keep telling myself I'm going to pace myself reading this series because I don't want to be up to date too speedily but here I am. I read it in like an hour. The wonderful thing about this series is how addictive it is. I just can't seem to stop reading it (which I don't really mind, but still). I love the amount of character development that is crammed into it. I love the characters and the way they interact with each other. I love comparing key moments to the show. I love the art style and how it alternates between being quite simple and incredibly detailed. There were some panels which amazed me and I'm not going to say which ones because spoilers but seriously this series is just amazing!
nkives's review against another edition
4.0
These are some great books, but I got to stop reading it for a bit. Read Books 2-4 in just a short time, and its a bit taxing.
giannabk's review against another edition
2.0
Yeah okay, I honestly don't even now why I keep reading these.. Okay I do, I like reading about apocalyptic zombie stuff lately..
I don't feel like a lot happened until the very ending and at that point everything happened at once and now everything seems hopeless again.. I don't really care for any of the characters, which means I don't even really care that they die.. which seems ridiculous, why would you want to write so many comic books about characters the reader doesn't care about? But maybe it's just me and does everyone else do like them..
I don't feel like a lot happened until the very ending and at that point everything happened at once and now everything seems hopeless again.. I don't really care for any of the characters, which means I don't even really care that they die.. which seems ridiculous, why would you want to write so many comic books about characters the reader doesn't care about? But maybe it's just me and does everyone else do like them..