The Walking Dead 1: Gute alte Zeit

I really get the feeling I wouldn't have even picked this up if a friend of mine hadn't lent it to me, which is kind of sad, because I used to get really excited about the prospects of a new Walking Dead volume coming out.

This volume seems to start out okay - our cast tries to regain their collective composure after what they've been put through in the past story arc, and also tries to shore up their resources for the inevitable confrontation with the Woodbury residents. There is still a lot of blood, gore, and death throughout the series, but you do get a bit of a sense that there is some hope in the future for the cast.

The whole thing, however, falls apart when we get to the cliffhanger ending, which shows The Governor to be alive and leading an invasion force against the prison. The fact that he would be able to survive his previous injuries, and maintain his hold of power, stretches the credulity of the story, and turns Walking Dead into a very different kind of comic than it has been in the first 6 volumes.

This came pretty highly rated in a genre I like so it should have been a slam dunk. Sadly, something was missing but I was unable to put my finger on exactly what. Maybe it is just too simplistic considering all the stuff I have read in the genre. Maybe the characters are not deep enough. Maybe there is nothing new. Maybe its all of these points put together. The only thing I loved was the art work which is so in line with the bleakness of the situation. The violence is gory but realistic if sometimes too simple. All in all a fast read but not something I would follow up on.