A Game of Thrones comic book series, Issue 1

The first issue of the comic book adaptation of George Martin's A Game of Thrones is now out. The mini-series will come out on a monthly basis, and be followed by a new title for every separate book.

Personally, I wasn't impressed. The words are good - Daniel Abraham's done a great adaptation, using exactly the necessary amount of description and dialogue, with only a few instances of added information, when the dialogue would not be enough to present the information that the reader would otherwise read in the novel.




Problem is, I've already read the novel - and more than once - so the only thing the adaptation can offer me are the visuals. And they are... bland. I have never been impressed with Tommy Patterson's art, and it is nothing to write home about here either. The pouty overly pretty and wavy-haired characters would be much more in place in a teenage girl comic book, and the color scheme - done by Ivan Nunes - is entirely too bright. The comic book is definitely not ugly, but it is also nowhere near the style that I think would suit Martin's gritty world best.

And, sadly, the story shows early signs of PG13-ness. Even though the first issue goes only as far as Daenerys' first meeting with Khal Drogo, there is at least one instance of nudity and borderline sexual cruelty that has been cut. And honestly, A Game of Thrones without the realism, sex, violence and dark visuals doesn't seem like much fun now, does it?

Still, I'll follow the series. Who knows, it might grow on me...

6/10

X-men: First Class' first trailer

First trailer of the upcoming X-men: First Class. Looks less horrible than I expected, but it still smells suspiciously of another Wolverine failure. Let's just hope that the magnificent cast can save the day...

A Song of Ice and Fire comic book adaptation

George R. R. Martin announced on his not-a-blog that Bantam has acquired the rights and together with Dynamite Entertainment is going to publish a series of monthly issues. The comics will be scripted by Daniel Abraham and drawn by Tommy Patterson. The first issue is scheduled to be released in late Spring 2011. Until then, here are two concept arts from the artist - of Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister:

RIP Wizard Magazine

Another magazine goes online-only. Wizard was one of my favorites, and I'll be really sad to see it go, especially considering the fact that I have never been even remotely interested in online publications. Perhaps I'm getting old... Anyway, more about the whole deal here.

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Thirteen: Too Far Gone

Rick's group settles in their new home. The strange island of fragile civilization that has embraced them as its members seems to be everything they've been hoping for, and their experience in the zombie wilderness quickly makes them leaders in the community. But Rick's personal demons are beginning to take the better of him, and outside threats are looming on the horizon.

Too Far Gone is a good addition to the series and continues the trend of improved quality in the last few volumes. Nothing particularly important happens in this one, but the characters' places in the Alexandria community are established in no uncertain terms. Rick's growing paranoia and his losing the connection to his son is central to the volume, but so are the number of threats the community needs to deal with, both from inside and outside.

The best thing about Volume 13 though is the promise of an actual ZOMBIE problem in the near future. Not that the "humans are the real evil" concept is exhausted, but in a zombie apocalypse one would expect the zombies to play some part from time to time, and the herd threat is way too interesting to pass by.

All in all, the last few volumes of The Walking Dead have been strong. I just hope Kirkman doesn't stop moving the story forward, and that he gives at least a passing thought to some ending to it. I think it would be all the stronger for it.

7.5/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Nine: Here We Remain

After the catastrophe in the prison, Rick and his little boy Carl are alone in the wilderness. Rick is badly hurt, and when they crash into an abandoned house, he lapses into a coma, leaving Carl to fend for himself. And that is only the beginning of his worries, because then the phone starts ringing...

Here We Remain is a slow story (what a surprise, eh?) that sets the pieces for the next story-arc. Unlike previous entries though, this one is full of character development, or if not development, then study. All the strain finally catches up to Rick, while Carl has some wonderful moments of his own. A few old characters reappear (not too many of those were left after the last volume), and some new ones arrive.

And just when I said that there is no point to this story, Kirkman might have proven me wrong. Finally a character appears that claims to know what caused the zombie apocalypse, and what's more - to be able to reverse it or at least stop the dead from rising. I have the traitorous feeling it's all going to be a sham, but at least now The Walking Dead went from Fortress Defense to a quest story. There might yet be a hope for the series.

7.5/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Eight: Made To Suffer

The inevitable moment has come - the Governor attacks the prison in force. While his first attack is repelled, it takes its toll, and Rick's group has to make tough decisions. Because next time they might be forced to run...

Volume 8 is sort of a finale for a very long story-arc that started with the discovery of the prison. The good part - there are almost no musings on how people feel, since most of the time is dedicated to actual things happening. Also, the status quo is irrevocably shattered, and after the end of this tpb nothing can ever be the same again. For this, Kirkman gains points in my book.

I finally figured out what the actual problem of the series is, however. And it is very simple, but also not something you can get before reaching a certain point of the story. The fact of the matter is that The Walking Dead is not a story. It is a soap opera with zombies. There is no narrative structure to the series, no actual point to be made. It doesn't have a beginning, middle and ending planned, just a beginning and an endless middle. It can literally go on forever, and ten years from now we can be reading the exact same story about completely different people, the torch having been passed from Rick on to others.

And yes, I don't like that. I've never been a soap opera person, and zombies aren't enough to make me into one, especially considering the fact that the series actually pretends to explore the human condition. So, while I've obviously reached a point where I won't be quitting (and honestly, it reads fast enough not to take too much time anyway), I have also stopped trying to find any relevance and depth in The Walking Dead. It is just a grossly overhyped pretentious soap with a few gems hidden under tons of boring crap. Too bad, because the potential is there and keeps trying to rear its head. If only Kirkman would let it...

7.5/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Seven: The Calm Before

After a necessary break from the series, I decided to jump back into the world of The Walking Dead. It seems to have done me some good, because even though not much happens in Volume 7, it wasn't irritating either. The Calm Before is sort of an interlude, as the title suggests, dealing with the weeks of relative peace the people in the prison are enjoying, after Rick's return from Woodsburry.

Outside of the token death of an established character (and one that was long time in the coming, to be honest), the only important thing to happen in this volume is the birth (finally!) of Lori and Rick's (or Lori and Shane's, but who cares anymore?) baby. Plus, of course, the cliffhanger at the end - one which we were also expecting for a while now.

And yet, The Calm Before feels just right for its title, giving the characters some (not too much) rest from all the drama they've been forced to endure, and in a way that doesn't feel like the story is dragging the way previous volumes did. Sure, Kirkman is obviously never gonna grow out of his pretentious declarative exhibitionist conversations about who feels how, why they feel that way, and how messed up life is, but I've kinda grown to accept that The Walking Dead just isn't the masterpiece I was led to expect. Now all that's left is to see where (if anywhere) the ride will be taking us.

7/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Five: The Best Defense

As Rick, Glen and Michone go out of the prison to investigate a helicopter crash, they come upon another community, run by a savage man who calls himself "The Governor". By the time they realize how dangerous he is not only to them, but to the people left in the prison, it may already be too late.

The Best Defense is the long awaited jolt of actual story-line that the series was in such a desperate need of. A new threat is introduced, and while nothing much happens in this volume (you died of shock yet?), it promises a lot of changes in the survivors' status quo.

Unfortunately, the story is headed into a place I don't like. Half of Volume 5 is dedicated to blood, mutilation and torture, and it is no fun. I didn't sign up for this to go through torture-porn fest. And even though I realize it is Kirkman's right to take any course he wants, I'm just not ok with the fact that he has chosen the easiest - that of Mad Max and cheap revulsion-inducing brutality. Just like his ham-handed attempts at character building, his depiction of the evil face of surviving humanity is schematic and formulaic at best. I think the only thing his bad guy didn't manage to do in this one single volume, was eat a baby while raping it to death at the same time.

The Walking Dead has been a stable 6-7/10 ever since it started. I liked the author's premise, I also liked the execution of the beginning. But ever since then the series is a middling affair of overly pretentious boredom, and this new turn of events promises to be a middling affair of pretentious violence. After all the hype for the series, I really hoped it would get better. Instead, it's just doing different kinds of mediocre. Well, I'll keep reading it for now, but it's becoming less and less something I enjoy, and more and more a chore I do for this blog's sake...

6.5/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Four: The Heart's Desire

After the cliff-hanger of Safety Behind Bars, Rick's group manages to solidify its claim on the abandoned prison. However, the arrival of a newcomer and the pressure building over Rick due to his leadership might break the survivors apart.

Kirkman's The Walking Dead saga is supposed to show us the life of people trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. That is all good and well, but honestly - I am getting tired of it. True, relationships change, casualties continue to pile and by the end of the volume a radical change in the way things are run is introduced. But, really, it just feels like same old same old. I don't care about any of the characters anymore, as Kirkman uses them only to hammer points home with the subtlety of a retarded rhino.

Instead of improving, the writer's style and characterization seem to worsen. In The Heart's Desire we are witness to the most inapt, clumsy and illogical aggressive argument I've seen in a while, where characters seem to yell numbingly cliched accusations seemingly just so they have an excuse to continue pummeling each other. Rick is supposed to be on the verge of snapping, but we only find that through others' declarations of it, as the way he reveals it is by being a chaotic douchebag - not exactly a textbook representation of snapping... On the up side, the stilted explanatory prose is a bit less, which leads me to hope that Kirkman might have caught up on the fact that showing always tops telling.

There are a few really good moments in The Heart's Desire, and I'm still inclined to continue reading the series, especially after the end of the fourth volume. But after 24 issues, I think I am now qualified to say that with all the hype I've read for The Walking Dead, I expected a lot more from it. The character building, the relationships and the "realism" are nowhere near good enough to warrant this endless soap opera, and since they are the main focus of the series, we don't really get much else from it. Still, hope is like the undead - tough to kill and always comes back. So I'll just keep reading.

6.5/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Three: Safety Behind Bars

The third volume of Robert Kirkman's zombie saga begins with Rick's group finding a fortified prison where they hope to start a new life. However, the prison turns out to be occupied by not only the undead, and crisis soon follows.

Safety Behind Bars does exactly what I hoped it would do by breaking the rhythm of traveling from place to place and dropping a bucket of sh*t on the new place so that the group has to leave it. What's more, the third installment of The Walking Dead series presents the concept of creating new society and new laws in a world ruled only by death.

Unfortunately, Kirkman relies on stock cliches to achieve his goals, and thus quickly becomes annoyingly predictable. Only black people and the main character (when justified) can get enraged. Only mellow people with glasses can have real issues, be weak-willed and jealous or purely psychotic. Only drug addicts can be gay. Only stilted explanatory dialogue could show how you feel. It is easy to fall into traps such as these, but Kirkman proclaims higher ambitions and shouldn't rely so heavily on them.

However, Safety Behind Bars is a solid installment and shows that if it turns out to be a never-ending story, The Walking Dead at least intends to be an ever-changing one as well. So it's time for Volume 4: The Heart's Desire.

7.5/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume Two: Miles Behind Us

The second volume in Robert Kirkman's zombie saga sees Rick's band of survivors on the road, looking for a safe haven after the events of Days Gone By. As they travel and fight the zombies, lack of food and their personal losses, tensions rise in the group and in the end Rick's leadership might not be enough to keep them together.

Miles Behind Us shows a noticeable progress in terms of storytelling. While characters keep spelling their motivation and feelings out like they're on a therapist's couch (which I find highly unnecessary considering Kirkman's obvious skill with empty atmospheric panels), the narrative flows a lot smoother and without the hiccups of the first few issues.

Kirkman's study of human psyche under the stress of the zombie apocalypse also goes deeper here, although for some reason the emotional impact is lessened in comparison to the first volume. Still, questions of morality and whether killing the zombies is actually the right thing to do are well enough presented to compensate for the lack of tear-jerkers.

What bothers me is the pacing. Nothing particularly important happens in Miles Behind Us, and Kirkman could keep it up for literally thousands of issues in the same manner - people traveling, some of them dying, some of them getting together, some of them breaking up, some leaving and some new joining. The story will loose appeal quite quickly, so I am hoping that further volumes will present a change to the status quo.

One thing is clear though. Kirkman is a "straight to tpb" writer. I do not even want to imagine what it must have been like for people waiting for each new individual issue of The Walking Dead to come out, and I'm glad I started reading it when the series is nearing its 12th volume. I only hope the story does not get into an endless loop, but considering the ending of Miles Behind Us, I expect it won't.

7/10

Comics: The Walking Dead, Volume One: Days Gone By

So, I got into non-superhero comic books rather late, having grown up in a country where comic books in general were a rarity. That means I have a lot of catching up to do, and hundreds of different places to start doing it. It is usually outside factors that decide which series I am going to give a try, and in this particular case the outside factors were my love for zombies and the TV show based on The Walking Dead and directed by Frank Darabont (of Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist fame) that is about to start airing in the Fall.

So anyway, back on topic. The Walking Dead tells the story of a group of people, trying to survive after a zombie apocalypse that basically wiped out civilization. Volume 1 begins with a small-town cop named Rick Grimes who wakes up after a month of coma, having being shot while on duty. He finds the world irrevocably changed, and starts searching for his wife and son. What he finds is a small community of refugees, with all their little and not so little dramas.

The setting is overused, true, but Robert Kirkman's treatment is still admirable. As he points out in the forward for the trade paperback, his purpose for this series is to show the lives of people as they survive in a hostile world. It is a bit off-putting when he bluntly tells that he plans The Walking Dead to be almost a never-ending story, but apart from that, the series accent aims true. A particularly favorite quote of mine from the back cover is "In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living."

Days Gone By is a bit rocky as most beginnings often are. The dialogue is nothing to write home about, motivation is a bit too spelled-out for my tastes and sometimes scenes don't connect well with each other, leaving the reader with a feeling of gaps in the narrative. Despite those little flaws though, the focus on characters is really well-executed, and there are moments of really strong emotional impact. I have high hopes of Kirkman's style maturing as he finds his stride in later volumes.

So far The Walking Dead looks like a solid read, and certainly worth checking out both by zombie buffs (who have probably already done that since the series has been running since 2003 and is nearing its 80th issue) and comic book fans in general. I know I'll be digging into Volume 2 first thing tomorrow!

7/10