The Walking Dead 70 SPOILERS

[TordelBack]

And with issue 70, I think I may have parted company with this book. SERIOUS SPOILERS FOLLOW



I'm intrigued by the mystery of how Washington enclave works (Lawns without vegetable plots?  Have we forgotten about the threat of hordes and/or jealous rivals?), and the crimes of 'Davidson', I like atmosphere of dread in an idyllic suburban setting, hell I even like Rick's new haircut but...

... by devoting what felt like many pages to recounting in sickening detail one of the most disturbing crimes I'd ever read about in the real world, Kirkman crosses a line for me.  He uses this appalling piece of real child abuse to add weight to his fictional horror, and I just can't go along with that.  As long as all the awful things Rick and Michone and the Mayor do to each other are fiction, I can enjoy it, even revel in the grossness of it all.  When I'm asked to enjoy being creeped-out by a tragedy from the real world, I can't do it.  This isn't From Hell, this isn't about how the world parses and repurposes real crimes, this is a fictional exploration of how people behave in extremis, and what people might do to survive in the face of utter disaster.  I don't see how that scene would have worked any differently if the crime recounted had been a fictional one.  Other than the fact that I wouldn't now be considering dropping the book.

[Spartacus Hughes]

TBH I didnt know that really happened until I just googled it due to your post. I now wish I hadnt as its upsetting to say the least.

I agree it is pretty poor to use that crime (also sorry but the nerd in me feels this real life event happened a good while after the zombies first appeared) and if you feel that strongly you could always write in as the letters pages are pretty lengthy. Maybe see what Kirkmans got to say about it?

[Professah Byah]

I'm not sure how you didn't see something like this in the pipeline, TB - Kirkman's been doing a one-up game for quite a while now.  Dragging real-life crimes into his work to creep out the reader was an inevitable consequence, really.  It probably doesn't help that in this instance it didn't serve the story other than "hey, people can be bad, this is what this dude did to his own son one time..." which isn't really much of a narrative justification.

Mind you, if Paul Jenkins can write himself and his family into a story just to illustrate that his own grandad/Sigfried Sassoon getting riddled by Jerry bullets is exactly the same thing as Captain America and Iron Man making a bunch of trannies wrestle in the mud over nothing at all, then I suppose anything's game.

[Dandontdare]

I'm way behind as I've been reading the trades from the library, but this thread piqued my interest - however despite googling loads of reviews of WD70, I can't find any mention of a real-life crime. Can you shed any more light? Doesn't sound like something that would put me off a comic I'm enjoying, but I'm really curious now!

[Professah Byah]

Consider if you really want to know before clicking.

http://www.turnto23.com/east_county/19473681/detail.html

[TordelBack]

I might well send Kirkman a letter, but TBH I'm faced with the financially-mandated decision to drop either the Meg or Walking Dead, and the last Meg didn't make me physically want to vomit, so it's probably not his fault that he picked a bad time to introduce something that I can't abide in my escapist fiction. 

I was genuinely upset to the point of not enjoying the comic, but as a father who suffers from depression I also had had a very bad reaction to the original news item, so it may not actually be a misstep for Kirkman on a wider front.  I may well read the trade in the library... I just can't spare the dosh for something  that makes me miserable.

[Roger Godpleton]

You could drop both and buy some cheese to go with your whine.

[TordelBack]

Mmmmm, cheese.

[Roger Godpleton]

Don't get the value stuff, as that has eye in it.

[Dandontdare]

In addition to torture and child cruelty, the guy was charged with "aggravated mayhem" - where do they get these bizare offences from? My other favourites include Charlie Sheen's festive wife beating, which was charged as "felony menacing" and a cyclist who killed a guy while speeding in Britain and weas cahrged with "peddling furiously"

[locustsofdeath!]

I suppose it will be awhile until I read this, as I've only been collecting "The Walking Dead" via the HB volumes. The comic can be pretty vile, but the gruesome happenings always seemed to fit the story. I suppose if this does...it will be acceptable. That is a sickening story to read, though. Proves that whatever violence horror writers dream up pales in comparison to real life horrors.

Now "The Walking Dead" only needs a nipple-eating set-piece ala "Burial Ground". I once thought to edit the best bits from every Italian zombie film into one immensely gross feature.

[TordelBack]

So we're a year on, and I’m not really enjoying The Walking Dead these days.  I’ve found the current Washington enclave storyline to be the most implausible run of events since everybody forgot that they owned watches and that there were things called walkie-talkies, which are probably a much better system for conveying warnings than a zombie-attracting ammunition-wasting gunshot.  

The current issue’s (No. 81) rescue derring-do has only amplified the feeling that what I can’t help calling ‘the village’ is a very contrived set-piece without any real thought behind it.  

Some examples from Issue 81 alone:  The characters run out of cement for their wall posts (while scavenging around the suburbs and outskirts of DC in their pickup truck – no builders’ suppliers or DIY ‘stores’, but enough unlooted supermarkets to feed the whole settlement indefinitely).  Their ‘climbing gear’ rope breaks in the middle under the weight of one person  (I’ve done a fair bit of climbing, but I’ve never seen a grappling hook, or a rope this crap).  The rope breaks in front of Spencer, but he still swings forward against the wall of the building, and not back towards the compound.  Andrea somehow frees the grapnel from the chimneys while Spencer’s full weight is hanging off it, and is able to wrap it twice round her waist.  Et cetera  Et cetera.  I know I’m a worthless nit-picker, but this ‘action scene’ just adds to the feeling that Kirkman is not really paying attention these days.  Harrumph.

[TordelBack]

...and I've just realised that Glenn and wozzisname would have taken the weight on the rope, allowing Andrea to get a belay sorted.  Nit-pickery gorn mad, that's what it is.  

[Professah Byah]

Disn't you see his and Eric Powell's call to indy creators, TB?  Don't you know Kirkman is an indy writer who makes barely any money?
He's probably got a full-time job in a supermarket that stops him giving his two ongoing comic series, television writing/producing work, movie pitches, co-ownership of Image comics and various Marvel and Image miniseries his full attention.  Surely some minor errors can be ignored if it helps support someone trying to break into the industry?

[Pete Wells]

It's sooooooo long since anything exciting happened in the series that I was just thrilled to see a bit of drama, no matter how silly. Issue 81 actually had a decent cliffhanger ending too...