OK, AMC. I AM SATED.

Not too much of the zombie outbreak was explained, as most of the facts were fuzzy and the dude didn't know what he was doing. The rest of the world is still a large enough mystery since the power/communication gird went down and no one seems to know what the deal is anywhere. The CDC exploded and is gone. No goofy new plot lines were developed. The cast has been whittled down to the canon group, with the welcome bonus of Darryl. The whisper thing was lame, but is easy enough to puzzle out if you think about it. Merle is still running around and will most certainly be back as an evil d-bag. Essentially, they built themselves a big fat reset button so that come second season they can plot a decent story arc or two. Smart move? However, the ending didn't really leave any openings or tantalizing bits to get you stoked for more, besides basic survival. Ya know? It could theoretically just end here with a well placed "and there were nooooo survivors".

Switching to something that should've ended a long while back, but like a stubborn zombie keeps lurching forward - I leave you with this balsphemous nightmare that aired tonight.

THE END

DEAR WALKING DEAD: PLEASE STOP DEVIATING IN MAJOR GIANT HUGE BIG WAYS, IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Oooooooooook. Here I go. It's been a hit or miss batch of episodes with this series. A series I want to succeed reeeeeeeal bad. And it has, given the numbers and second season green light. But it is not living up to its potential. I know it was taking a chance and a short season and nothing was guaranteed during shooting and the budget was limited - but that's all the more reason you shouldn't fuck around with an equation that's been slingin' the bestest zombie fiction in comicdom.

I've, for the most part, been fine with the minor deviations acquired during the comic to TV transition. New throw away characters are fine, so long as you toss them. And they have! A few new conflicts, like the "vatos" in the hospital thing, was no big deal and resolved itself. However. HOWEVER. Breaking canon by actually making it to the CDC and then developing a reason for the zombie plague itself is not cool. It's stupid and rushed.

This is the one thing the comics never ever reveal over 80 issues, leaving lots of questions and venues to explore. So, there's no damn need to reveal it here either. It adds nothing and only, honestly, detracts from the stories that did so well in the first place to land a TV show. This changes everything. So many plotlines from the source material can't be used anymore with this shit floating around out there. I'm cool with new adventures and what have you, but this isn't a side trip. It's the answer. The potential for fail is so great at this point. It's almost like they're chickening out on what needs to be done ie the killing what needs doing. Shedding light on the virus subject is a very bad move. Fuck, they even named it!

Isn't it better to have the charcaters guessing about how it spreads? Bites only? Scrapes? Can you get zombie juice in your mouth and become one? Or if the USA is alone in this? If it's just Georgia or the South? All that gets flushed tomorrow when the brother from The Truman Show ruins the surprise (how ironical!).

And Merle. The wacky, now one handed, racist dude is still out there. A loose string is cool, but this loose string is bad for a pair of reasons. One: the hand cutting. Given events that will transpire down the line (hopefully), this injury will become Seinfeldian and the retribution will actually be deserved. Two: If Merle follows the trajectory he appears ot be on, then one of the best villians in the comics has just been explained away and now isn't so scary. So Kirkman, take care of Merle now.

Basically, why mess with it at all really? Lighting in a bottle twice? Hard to do. Essentially, a small ass percentage of folks watchin the show have read the comics, so it's not like you're spoiling anything for them, in fact that's all we want is the stuff we love, but on TV. Is that so much to ask for? I guess so. Oh well.

All in all, it's a fine show. The gore levels are exceptional and I'm liking Dale a bunch, he's spot on. It is after all a friggin' TV show about zombies and swinging axes at zombie's heads so I should just calm down. But I can't! Maybe they'll fix it up tomorrow. Perhaps the dude in the CDC is full of shit and this is a red herring. I have faith in this Kirman guy, he's led the story down some questionable paths in the comics, but always pulled it off and managed to shock me along the way. So, here's to hopin'...

GODDAMN I HOPE THIS LIVES UP TO ITS POTENTIAL

I love this black and white comic. Picked up The Walking Dead when it first hit because it had rad art (Yay Tony Moore!). Haven't looked back. It's not just zombies yelling BRAINS! and slobbering gore, though there is plenty of gore. That's just not the complete focus. The series instead decides to linger on the paranoia, fear, and uncertainty that the survivors of an unknown zombie holocaust would potentially feel. So the most dangerous things out there aren't the roamers or herds, it's that secret psychopath you picked up last week who is slowly working out his plan to eat you all in your sleep, then steal your guns. You never ever feel safe, not from the people you trust, the folks you meet, or the undead just beyond the barricade. It's awesome.

Anywho, heard it was maybe going the movie route, then it went the TV route real fast and the TV route is being handled by AMC and AMC does Breaking Bad and all this sounds good to me. For example: It's set in Atlanta, so they are shooting in Atlanta. What a concept huh? The few test shots of zombies thus far, like the one above, are super. It all sounds and looks like the folks behind it give a shit. Let's just hope they don't bail on some of the more f'd up, pivotal scenes from the series. Count me down as excited for something.

Haunt this blog if you care.

Issue #1 in full