****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I don't dish out a five star rating to just anything, because, let's be honest here, most things aren't deserving of them for one reason or another. This is one item I can give the full five stars for many reasons, and for once, I feel it is deserved. I'm going to start by saying that this collection of the individual comic books is a great value. To buy one individually can cost you around 20 bucks, and if you're like myself and most of America, you can't afford that, even though they are worth the price. My husband had bought individual issues before the compendium was released, and I was amazed at what talent goes into each and every page; from the detail of the decayed bodies of the dead, to the storyline (which although is at times far-fetched but fun) you can see just how much time, effort, and talent this must take the guys that produce this. The other thing about this series of comics is that it is amazing how much it differs from the TV series. You can read ahead without worry that you will spoil the next episode of the show! The characters in the show are different, some don't even exist in the comic, such as Darryl and Merle, T-Dog, and others. Some are compilations on the show of many characters pooled together to make a similar, however different person. My personal fave of the character difference of the comics v. the show is Carol. She exists in both but couldn't be more different. In the show, she's an older woman with a daughter, who would do what's best for the group in all situations, and grows stronger as a person the longer she is out in this terrible world they live in. In the comic, she is a sex crazed lunatic (at one point she even sticks her tongue down Lori's throat!) in her 20s and although Sophia is still her daughter, she is not the loving matriarch we all see in the show. In fact, I personally find her intolerable in the comic. That's how much things differ between these two mediums of the same basic plot. This is a fun way to spend some time, and its well drawn, and goofy, which makes it all the more shocking when you were just laughing at something funny someone said or did, then BOOM, someone is dead from an unseen attack. I have put on my review of the first compendium that my husband reads this out loud to me, voices and sound effects included, which is a lot of fun. For couples who can't decide who will read it first, this is a great compromise. Its good fun, and I highly recommend this for a bit of well spent time between couples. This is not a comic for everyone, but I think most people will think their money and time well spent. Five stars given to the most awesome piece of the zombie genre. Happy reading!
