Sunday 27 July 2014

Night Of The Living Dead - Graphic Novels (Incomplete set)

After getting into Zombie books and graphic novels, I decided to broaden my horizons a bit and buy another zombie graphic novel which didn't involve TWD. An obvious option was Night Of The Living Dead, written by John Russo and Mike Wolfer, being a huge Romero fan they did stick out to me so I chose to buy the first one. They are quite dear but I found them cheaper online, there are three volumes and a few 'Aftermath' volumes. The thing I LOVE about the first volume is the cover work, it is my favourite zombie art work of all time.

The first book in the picture I got for £2.50 in Forbidden Planet. It basically has extracts from and summarises all three books, so if you aren't sure whether to buy them or not, or if you will like them, this is very handy to get, and for £2.50 you can't go wrong really.

Volume one and two are indeed, cracking. The thing I enjoy about these graphic novels is the art work, I love how colourful they are (unlike TWD which is black and white). I don't prefer black or white, or just colour, I appreciate both of them but colour was really refreshing from constantly reading a black and white graphic novel. The art work was a huge plus in this case, the story was good, it was easy to follow and was generally a good story line but I did not feel the connection to the characters as I did with Rick Grimes and the rest.

There are three volumes before the Aftermath series. I ordered the third one a while a go but they did not have it in stock, ultimately leading to a refund. I have not gotten around to getting it yet but it is on my list to buy as I would love to finish reading them and would love to finish that mini collection within my huge zombie collection. When I purchase it there will definitely be an update that the mini collection is complete!


[Books] TWD Special: The Governor Books

You can probably tell by now, anything written by the creators of The Walking Dead I get my hands on pretty quick. However, I did not know about these books, no not comics, yes they are real books! For a long, long time, it was only when for Christmas 2013 I was given 'The Rise Of The Governor' as a present that I then found out about these books. There are four books written about The Walking Dead's very own character - The Governor.

If you have read the graphic novels then I highly suggest reading these alongside it, although do not fear if you have not read the comics, personally I feel it's not necessary to have read them and these four books could be easily understood if read on their own.

The first book reveals a remarkable twist, I recommend you read it just for that! But, like I've said before, Kirkman & Co's writing style gets me every time. It is written beautifully and they get you hooked on the first page, once I picked these up it was hard to put them down, I did have a lot of University work which forced me to put them down but being on my break means I got to pick them straight back up again. I am currently half way through the third book and it just gets better and better.

We get introduced to new characters, pretty cool ones at that and I love reading about their journey. There are a few familiar names in which we encounter, but so far just from the Woodbury area. For instance, Alice, Martinez and Doctor Stevens.

I can not wait to continue book three and head on to book four to see if all goes down like it does in the comics or television series, and I also wonder, will we get a glimpse of Rick? Or even Daryl? It'll be interesting to see the Fall of the Governor from his perspective.

Once I have read book four I will write another review, but so far, continuing the show of my collection.


[Book] The Walking Dead Chronicles

The Walking Dead Chronicles in the official companion book alongside the television series. It is such an interesting book. It tells you everything you need to know about behind the scenes of the programme whilst incorporating the comics into it too. It has everything you need to know from how they make the sets, the make up artists and how they do that realistic, phenomenal make up, picking actors and actresses that look like their comic selves, visual effects, the music, everything.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the ins and outs which occur behind the scenes during the episodes.


Zombie Figures

Before I even seriously watched anything post-apocalyptic and zombiefied, I would always play that game Plants Vs Zombies, what a funny game that was. I'm pretty sure anyone who has been in a comic shop or a comic convention has seen at least something Funko Pop! related. Alas, anyone who sees, falls in love with these little figures with their big heads. As a gift I was bought the Plants Vs Zombies Disco Zombie Funko Pop! Unfortunately he is not in his box but he does make me chuckle. Next to him I saw the miniature figures for about £2.99, which you only surely know which one you have bought once you open the packet, and I really wanted the Zombie Yeti, after feeling around on multiple packets I was pretty sure I found him, and hooray for me, I did just that.



In addition to the Zombie Funko Pop figures, I have two in relation to The Walking Dead. The first ever Funko I ever bought was Bicycle Girl from Season 1. I thought this figure style made her so sweet looking and she is my favourite zombie of all time. Anyone who watches or even reads The Walking Dead knows how iconic she is.

Secondly, I heard through the grape vine there was going to be an exclusive Daryl Dixon Funko Pop! coming out soon, I kept my eye out and it definitely was not disappointing, 'Biker Daryl' a PX Previews Exclusive was released and I snapped it up as quickly as I could. He is my favourite Daryl Dixon Funko figure and I am so glad I got him as he seems to be so hard to find now. I have several other Funko figures which are not zombie related and out of all of them he is my most prized and without a doubt my favourite one.


[Graphic Novel] The Walking Dead Survivors' Guide #1

In relation to The Walking Dead comics, Kirkman & Co decided to release 'The Walking Dead Survivors' Guide'. To be honest, upon reading the title I thought that they were writing a series of books about how to survive a zombie apocalypse which I thought would be a cool little read. However, upon further inspection, I realised that this is just a book on the survivors of The Walking Dead comics up until volume #14. With learning this information I was not disappointed, I preferred that it was literally a guide to who has survived and who has died up until a certain point.

The good thing about this book is that you do not have to read all of the comics again to refresh your memory, you can flick through this and remember what happened to certain people. It also gives you a little more knowledge on characters who were not within the main frames of the comics, the outsiders or recurring characters if you will.

The books gives these main points of information:

  • First appearance 
  • Last appearance (if applicable) 
  • Status: Whether they are living or deceased or presumed of either
  • Former occupation
  • Current role (in post-apocalyptic society)
  • Relations/ Associations
  • Point of origin
  • Point of departure (if applicable)
It also gives a few interesting details about milestones in their post-apocalyptic lives and what comic this derives from.

The good thing is as it is numbered #1 we should be seeing a few more of these appear at some point, presuming around volume #26 - #30.
All in all, a handy book in addition to the Walking Dead graphic novels.


The Walking Dead Graphic Novels #1 - #20



So, during my anxious waiting period between episodes and seasons of The Walking Dead, I bought the first two graphic novels in Forbidden Planet, Tottenham Court Road. At this time there was already eighteen graphic novels to catch up on! After reading the first two, literally week after week there was another graphic novel being posted through my letter box, I would read them within an hour and be straight on the internet to order the next.

What I love about these graphic novels is that they are different from the television series. The characters are all the same, apart from Daryl, who unfortunately is not in the comics and apparently he never will be, and his brother, Merle. The television series is loosely based around the comics, so some parts you can predict, and others, however, will undoubtedly shock you.

The writers, in my opinion, make you feel like you know the characters personally. Their writing style is nothing short from amazing and at some points they are not afraid to write the most shocking and, some what disturbing, scenes. 

So it's safe to say, any reading material based around The Walking Dead is going to be exciting, gripping and very well written.

Good news is that The Walking Dead #21, All Out War, Part Two is out on the 29th July 2014, my birthday! When I get it I shall post a review.


Saturday 26 July 2014

Pre-Apocalyptic Endeavours

Hello! My name is Sarah and let me introduce you to my new blog :)

My hero is George A. Romero, the Godfather of zombies and without him my interest and hobby would not be so passionate, so before I even start I want to thank him for his gory scripts and his love of zombies. 

So it all started about a year ago when I was first introduced to the television series 'The Walking Dead'. From the first episode I was hooked and I couldn't get enough, by then I had watched all the way through to season two within about two weeks, and luckily for me season three was coming out on DVD that September. Season three was just as good as the first two and I was thrilled to learn that season four would be airing that October! 

At first I felt a bit - out of the loop - having watched season one a whole three years after the original airing date (I was going to watch it, but I completely forgot!) but in a way I was glad because having it on DVD meant I could watch this endearing post-apocalyptic series straight through and whenever I wanted - without having to wait a week for the next episode, and several months for the next season. 

So, when season four hit, I was in the same boat as every other zombie fan out there - at the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode!  So, to keep me from constantly wanting to watch the show when the next episode was not even out yet, I turned to the comics, and what a great decision that was.

The Walking Dead helped kick start my passion again and Romero's films just made it accelerate even more.

All of this entwined was the beginning to my zombie collection, or obsession, which has led me to write this blog in order to share my collection of which I am very proud of and constantly adding to.  

Thank you, George A. Romero, Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore for surfacing my innate love for zombies which was laying dormant for so many years.

Here are a couple of links to two posts that I have written, I consider them two very important moments in my zombie collecting and I feel they are certainly relevant to this sort of, 'About Me', post.

The first zombie film I ever watched: http://thestrollingunwell.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/film-night-of-living-dead-1990-remake.html

The day I met George A. Romero: http://thestrollingunwell.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/i-met-george-romero-twice-lfcc-2.html

To finish it off here's a picture of the Godfather of Zombies and I!