The Walking Dead Vol. 2 Hardcover for $19.79
After the first mediocre hardcover, you might be tempted to skip the series and this review, but no so fast there, because there’s hope on the horizon.
This hardcover collects issues 13-24 of the series, and it starts on a similar note to the last hardcover. The characters are still bland and the stories still seem lifted from other media. However, you start to notice a few minor sparks of inspiration here and there. The zombies aren’t created exclusively from being bitten, but from anyone with a functioning brain that dies. The characters start having to make decisions they’re uncomfortable with. The story improves considerably once it gives the characters something no other zombie film or story has done quite as well, it gives them a home. They find a prison, an ideal location for an anti-zombie stronghold, and they set to work on making it their own. This brings plenty of conflict and difficulty, it’s a unique and interesting story element that gave the characters room to develop.
One thing that came off as somewhat unrealistic was the heavy reinforcement of gender roles early on. Most women have a man to protect them, they take care of the chores despite few zombies being around. Let me tell you, if I were living in a zombie apocalypse, I’d learn how to do all of the chores asap in case I end up on my own. I’d teach the women and children to use weapons immediately. Another pair of hands means another knife or gun to keep people safe.
What the series does best is that it maintains a great sense of suspense. You legitimately never know whether a character you like will end up dead and you don’t know if it’s going to be a zombie or a screwed up human that does it. It gives a feeling of dread just thinking about living in this world. Even once they find some relief in the prison, it doesn’t last long.
4/5 If you don’t like the series after this, you probably won’t enjoy it at all. The prison parts of the comic were the best in the series and they make you feel for the characters.
