The Walking Dead # 34

The Walking Dead # 34

Robert Kirkman/Charlie Adlard/Cliff Rathburn/Rus Wooton
January, 2007 (released January 31, 2007)
B&W (with shades of gray)
Image
$2.99

Plot Highlights: Characters battle zombies while making their way back to their car. After getting on the road, a startling revelation awaits. A reprinted Christmas story closes the issue.

Aside from having read the first issue of the series online some time back, this is my first issue of The Walking Dead. There have been no shortage of zombie stories crossing the comics racks of late. The stuff is relentless, like the zombies themselves. Zombies, zombies, zombies. What is the deal with all the zombies? I had to finally read something to find out. Also, I like to sample, from time to time, comic settings with fundamental world changing events, like Y: The Last Man or newuniversal, for example. Kirkman's epic seemed like a good choice for giving a zombie version a chance.

Maybe the cover is a bit of misdirection, or maybe it was completed in advance of knowing the eventual contents of this issue, but I can make no connection between it and the story on the inside. The back cover has art as well, which is nice to see.

While not much actually happens in this issue in terms of plot, it does give an effective glimpse of the setting. The discussions and reactions feel authentic for the situations. One character, who may be new, relates some of his background and experiences to the others. While introducing him, it also gives a newer reader more feel for the setting. The nearly constant pressure from zombies is palpable.


The art is well done throughout from action filled encounters with the zombies to more mundane moments of conversation all the way to delivering a scene of large scale zombie devastation. Gore is limited to dispatching zombies, though there are indications this would not be the case in every issue.


Update (2/12/2007): Image Comics' "Walking Dead" #34 Sells Out