The Walking Dead vs. The Walking Dead

Spoiler Alert!  I will be talking about the Comics which could give away events to come in the TV show or for those who want to read the comics.  If you don’t want to know, then turn away now – just look out for Zombies.  You have been warned!

What is the Walking Dead you may ask?    

The Walking Dead is a story about a Zombie Apocalypse and how the few humans that are left struggle to survive.  It started as a comic back in 2003 and is still going strong to this day.  It was turned into a Television Drama on AMC in 2010 (Launching Season 3 this year). 

I know, some of you may be saying, I hate Zombies or “if the Zombies don’t sparkle and fall in love I am not interested”.  Let me assure you, the Walking Dead is less about Zombies and more about the human survivors and how they get by in times of great stress.  Indeed, the title “The Walking Dead” may actually refer to the surviving humans as opposed to the Zombies themselves.  As we learn more and more, you realize the real threat is not the zombies themselves, but rather the survivors and how quickly humanity and civilization can be destroyed.

I would go so far as to say that The Walking Dead is one of the greatest pieces of entertainment in the 20^th century.  OK sure, I believe the only forms of entertainment before the 20^th century were gladiators, mimes, court Jesters and those Hieroglyphics on the caves of ancient man, but still….

While the comics are farther along than the show, the 2 are fairly close in story lines (There are some key differences so fans of the comics wouldn’t know what will always happen).

I started with the TV show (which I quickly called the greatest show on earth) and have only since read the comics.  So, what is different and which medium is better?  Let’s explore…

 WHO IS THAT?

Rick, a cop who was shot, fell into a coma, and woke up to a world filled with Zombies is the main character in both the comics and the show.  He is a reluctant leader and a guy whose character is fairly consistent between both mediums so far (although more of a bad-ass (in a good way) in the comics).  Accompanying Rick in this adventure (both with and against him) is a varied group of personalities.  Whether you started with the comic or the TV show, there are either characters missing or ones whose personalities are different than you may have expected.  Here are a few:

·         Tyrese (Comics): 

o    In the comics Tyrese, an ex-football player with a teen daughter who connects with Rick’s band of survivors and is really the #2 guy in the group.  In a word, he is awesome.  Hi daughter and her boyfriend enter in a suicide pact (but the boyfriend doesn’t die) so Tyrese has to take things into his own hands (literally).  He & Rick get in a violent fight (for the most part, Rick is in the wrong), he forms a relationship with Carol, a single parent, but also ends up hooking up with Michonne (a sword wielding female) which leads to a sad situation.  When Tyrese dies (told ya there were spoilers), his death was absolutely devastating.  He is murdered in front of Rick and the group when “bad guys” tried to use him as a hostage to get into their camp.  He went out like a champ.  If I had to choose one guy that was in the show it would be him.

·         Daryl (TV Show):

o    Daryl is in the show but not the comic, but is actually a guy who I wish was in the comic.  He is the “salt of the earth” guy who does all the dirty deeds on the show.  Despite his brother Merle who conflicted with the survivors (and someone I could have done without), Daryl has fit well and was really the sole guy who went out to find Sophia when she was lost.

·         Carol (Both):

o    Carol is a character in both the comics and the show but to me, they are two different people, and I for one prefer the comic Carol.  In the show, she is the mother of Sophia, but really doesn’t do anything other than run around looking like Jamie Lee Curtis.  In the comics Carol is still the mother of Sophia, but is seriously needy and kind of messed up from this whole experience.  She forms a relationship with Tyrese, but when she catches him hooking up with Michonne, she goes off the deep end.  She tries to kill herself in front of her daughter, kisses Lori then tries to marry Rick and Lori (together in some sort of new world threesome – they decline), then has a conversation with a tied up Zombie before letting said Zombie bite her.  See, told ya she was a better Carol.

·         Dale and Andrea (Both)

o    Since I saw the show first, I was introduced to Dale, the older whiny guy and Andrea – sort of a cranky crazy girl who seems at odds with Dale and gets harder and harder in her personality as the show moves on.  In the comics, Dale and Andrea are “intimate” and a couple.  So my first reaction was “eeewww”.  My second reaction was “no really, eeewwwww”.  I will say though that the Andrea in the book is much more likeable, while also being a crack shot with a gun.

·         T-Dogg (TV show):

o    Let’s just say he shouldn’t be in either.  I mean what does he do?

·         Ben and Billy - The Twins: (Comics)

o    The twins, Ben and Billy are the children of Allen and Donna (don’t worry about them) who are later adopted by Dale and Andrea when their parents die.  Ben becomes a big turning point in the comic story.  Long story short, Ben kills his brother (and a cat) as he mentally unravels.  The survivors realize that Ben is a danger to everyone but is undecided what to do about it.  In the middle of the night, Carl (a kid himself) shoots and kills Ben.  I can understand why they are not in the show since their characters really do nothing throughout, but the payoff in the comics was top notch drama and a huge turning point for Carl.

DIDN’T THEY DIE?

Depending on what you watched first, you may be wondering, “wait didn’t they die?

·         Sophia: Dies in the TV show, still alive in the comics (Issue 76).

o    In the TV show she was just kind of “there”, until she got lost and the group found her as a Zombie in the barn and Rick had to shoot her in front of her mom.  It was a pretty big OMG moment. 

o    In the comics she has an infatuation with Carl, goes catatonic when her Mom (Carol) goes off the deep end, and then thinks Maggie is her new mom (until Maggie tries to hang herself).  She is still just “there”. 

·         Dale:  Dies in the TV show at end of season 2 – lived for a while in the comic although eventually died.  So it was the timing of the death.

o    Dale was kind of a whiner in the TV show in my opinion, although he did go out pretty cool in the show getting eaten by a zombie (that Carl failed to kill when he had a chance). 

o    In the comics, he is a cooler dude (in my opinion), hooks up with a much younger Andrea (which is kind of “eh” to me), gets his foot cut off to stop an infection from killing him was plugging along with a new group of survivors for a while before being bitten by a zombie and then captured by cannibals who ate his infected body. 

THINGS I HOPE TO SEE IN THE SHOW

Based on the end of Season 2, we know they will be going to the prison and that Michonne hooks up with the crew. We also know by casting reports that the Governor will be introduced next season which will bring and all new kind of evil into Rick’s world.  All of this spells goodness, or, as readers of the comics know, much badness for our band of survivors.  So what else would I like to see make it into the show? 

• Tyrese.  Yes, since it’s later than in the book, they would have to rewrite his role a bit, but he is just that bad ass that it would be a shame not to include him.  I could see Daryl sort of taking his place in the storyline though.
• The return of Morgan and Duane.  Remember the Guy and his son who saved Rick when he got out of his coma.  The comics provided a holy ^%@* moment when they eventually got caught up.  Not sure it would make it back into the TV show, but would be kind of interesting.
• Lori and the baby:  I hope the show follows the comic’s arc as to the baby and Lori.  I could see the show breaking them up since that is what I heard Kirkman (creator) originally had planned for them in the comics), but I think the comic storyline is better. 
• Woodbury:  I actually hope the show doesn’t go into detail about what happens to Michonne in Woodbury and skip’s the attempted attack on Carl after the prison escape.  I know it is important to show how evil people can be, but those were difficult to read and I think impossible to watch on a TV show.
• Abraham.  It would be a little later on, although I wonder if the show gave a sideways reference to him when the guy from the “other” crew was captured and talked about what some of the men back at his camp were like (not good people).  Meaning, was Abraham’s family a victim of that group?

 WHAT DO I LIKE BETTER?

It’s hard to say.  The comic can drag a bit, but during some of the key Arcs (the prison and Woodbury as two examples) it is amazing.  The show explores some of the characters and situations more deeply (Shane’s relationship with Lori and Carl and dissolving relationship with Rick as an example). 

I could cop out and say both are great (they are, and I may).  I think because I am farther along in the comic book story line I am leaning toward them, but if the show follows through on some of these key moments and stories, I think it will eventually win out. So AMC, do not cancel this series!