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The third volume of The Walking Dead has our heroes reach the next stage of the traditional post-apocalypse, survival horror narrative: having survived the road trip they're now fulfilling the 'living in a safe haven with other survivors' trope. As usual, Kirkman plays the cliches pretty straight, to the point where there is some enjoyment found in identifying which character is about to be offed next by the serial killer or the zombies, which other one is about to crack up next and which one of the new characters is a good guy and which is a psychopath. Kirkman's writing steps up a notch here with more focus on character-building and giving the protagonists more depth. The book ends on a cliffhanger with two groups facing off against one another, but both sides are pretty justified (from their own POVs) for why events have built to this impasse, with bad calls and mistakes from both parties.
There's some other nice ideas here, including impressively logical story developments. Volume 2 saw our heroes split into two bands with the final parting appearing to be permanent. However, with the discovery of the apparently zombie-safe prison not far up the road, the first group nips back to tell the second about it and they agree to re-team up. This is not satisfying from the POV of emotional drama, but is a pretty sensible and realistic thing to do (though it probably worked between on the monthly book, when the separation and reunion were separated by months, rather than in the collected edition where it's a few minutes). There's some more entertaining zombie kills and effective action beats.
Where this edition really succeeds is in deepening and darkening the story beyond its predecessors. The serial killer story is disturbing, with some sick moments showing that other humans may be more dangerous than the zombies to the survival of the group. There's also a few other storylines that delve into the more psychological aspects of trying to survive in a dying world, showing the writer flexing his muscles and trying out some different and interesting techniques this time around.
Some of the same weaknesses from before remain. Dialogue is still patchy, with a tendency towards over-explaining things, and the artwork is still variable (though better than the second collection), with again the zombies being well-portrayed and the main characters less consistently so.
Still, Safety Behind Bars (***½) shows the story developing along the right track. It'll be intriguing to see where the story goes next. The graphic novel is available now in the UK and USA.
After reading the previous two graphic novels (Days Gone Bye and Miles Behind Us) I wondered how Kirkman would keep the despair, tension and the absolute horror of this series going.
I shouldn't have worried.
Safety Behind Bars puts the main characters (Ex-cop Rick and his trusty sidekick, Tyreese) through their own personal hells with one of the best-written plot lines that I've ever encountered. The shocks come when you least expect them, with Kirkman using his skill of misdirection to the max, while the subplot of little Carl's "love life" adds a wonderful touch of lightness to the whole package. With a couple of real body-blows, this really gives Walking Dead fans something to sink their teeth into.
With old and new friends popping up (in more ways than one!), this is a wonderful and thrilling story as long as you've read the other two books first.
Five stars - but only if you're already part of Robert Kirkman's world...
Well I'm very pleased to say that the series picks up again with this volume. By moving the setting to a prison, Kirkman has upped the tension and made the atmosphere more oppresive than the previous volumes. And I'm pleased to say that he successfully brings all the potential for darkness, tension and shock from this in to the story, which has a few shocking twists.
The genius of Kirkman's work is simply revealed in the title, with its several layers (zombies=walking dead; our culture=walking dead - read the blurb on the back!), and in this volume the characters are facing up to their situation, that in effect THEY are the walking dead: at anytime they might be the next one to die, despite their attempts to stay alive. And in an ingenious plot development, this is literally the case.
The only flaw of this book is that there are so many characters, not everyone is given the space for us to become attatched to them or to get an idea of what their motives are. Having said that, Kirkman successfully anchors the story around a core of characters, who he skillfully has developing and changing as the story progresses.
Adlard's artwork is fantastic: when it was announced Moore (illustrator of vol 1) was leaving, I was disappointed as his art is superb. But Adlard's monochromatic, shadowy work perfectly captures the darkness at the heart of this story.
Once again, I can't wait to read the next installment, especially as this volume ends on quite a cliff hanger!
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