The Graphic novels
When reading any volume of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic book/graphic novel series, the sharp contrast of light and dark within the artwork, done in black and white, stands out above all other elements. The areas of darkness, with negative space being used between panels, works to keep readers wondering just what is lurking in those shadows waiting to strike. Readers are left with sense that a threat, be it living or reanimated dead, can spring from the dark and snuff out the life of a beloved character. In contrast, the cable television series employs the same pathos of fear and mounting stress, but it is more what cannot be seen or is hidden in woods and alleyways than what shambles in the shadows.
It is not only the characters that are shocked by what they see, as the artwork and cinematography play no games in terms of sudden death or in taking liberties with warping and twisting dead bodies, but readers and viewers alike are shown moments of extreme violence against living and dead alike. For example, as seen in The Walking Dead, Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, the character of Michonne tortures another character in a manner that makes death by a zombie mob seem almost preferable (Kirkman, 50-59).
As Rick Grimes hunches over a man who may betray them all, he has these words for another survivor, “You people are a poison… A plague worse than the dead! You’re animals!” (Kirkman, 120). Although the characters struggle to survive in a new world full of gnashing teeth and sundered hands of rotting flesh, it is fear and paranoia for fellow survivors that perhaps makes for such a strong emotional connection.
It is not only the characters that are shocked by what they see, as the artwork and cinematography play no games in terms of sudden death or in taking liberties with warping and twisting dead bodies, but readers and viewers alike are shown moments of extreme violence against living and dead alike. For example, as seen in The Walking Dead, Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, the character of Michonne tortures another character in a manner that makes death by a zombie mob seem almost preferable (Kirkman, 50-59).
As Rick Grimes hunches over a man who may betray them all, he has these words for another survivor, “You people are a poison… A plague worse than the dead! You’re animals!” (Kirkman, 120). Although the characters struggle to survive in a new world full of gnashing teeth and sundered hands of rotting flesh, it is fear and paranoia for fellow survivors that perhaps makes for such a strong emotional connection.