Do You Think The Walking Dead Is As Good As It Used To Be? EXTREME,MAJOR spoilers
This is something that’s going to be hard to write. In my opinion, the Walking Dead isn’t as good as it used to be. I know this is obvious to some people and others will completely disagree, but hear me out. I DON’T THINK THE COMICS ARE BAD. I STILL THINK THEY’RE FANTASTIC. However, there’s been a lot of frustration lately with the fans and I hope I can offer some insight. Once again, I want to emphasize that I don’t think it’s bad. Yet, what used to be a 12/10 comic is now an 8-9/10.
Some things to note:
I haven’t read the comics issue by issue since the beginning. When I first started reading the first few volumes were out and when the wait between volumes became unbearable, I started reading monthly. This might be relevant because it may account for why I feel the pacing has been unbearably slow
I don’t read any other comics so I can’t compare the quality of this one to others
First of all, this isn’t Kirkman’s fault (partially). The most compelling part of the early volumes was watching Rick evolve into a survivor; a savage. There’s not much else Rick can do at this point without becoming a villain.
The comic has run over 100 issues. That’s a long time for this story to progress without constantly repeating plotlines, characters, dilemmas, etc. He’s still kept it refreshing and it hasn’t gotten stale yet. This is a testament to Kirkman’s great writing and I’m glad no one else is in charge.
The new characters don't get as much development anymore. One of the best parts of the Walking Dead is anyone can die. No one is safe. It makes the Walking Dead THE Walking Dead. This is the guy who killed Abraham because he thought it would be boring if he was just shot at and ran away.The strange thing is that he has introduced so many expendable characters that haven’t gotten the axe yet (Rosita, Gabriel + every person from Alexandria). Now, while a lot of people died in issue 46-48, ONE character was from volume one. It seemed like such a gut punch when each person died (besides Patricia and the Governor) because they all had such great development and personalities and backstories. I’ve heard people say that the new characters haven’t gotten a lot of development because Rick keeps everyone at arms length because he has trust issues now. This is true but a character doesn’t need to interact with Rick to get development. Billy Greene and Axel almost never did but they had enough interaction with other characters to make them significant. I know you don’t need deaths to make the story interesting and I’m glad that he’s held off because it shows the survivors have adapted and we’d be desensitized quickly if he kept up the killing, but there also aren’t many shocking moments in general. Since they arrived in Alexandria, Rick chopped Jesse’s hand, Carl lost his eye, Abe died, and Glenn died. I can think of so many bigger moments at the prison.
The story has hit a rut since they arrived in Alexandria. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that it was too good to be true. When they arrived at the prison, they had to fight to live there. People died and Rick had to kill several men just to keep everyone safe. They got a generator running, watched movies, had a farm, played basketball, lifted weights, sewed clothes, and made it their own. The prison was just as much a character as the actual characters. Alexandria was just gift-wrapped for them. It has nice houses and it’s solar powered but it didn’t feel like they earned this place. They’ve fought to stay there but they never fought to get it in the first place. It’s also too nice. The prison was amazing and it still felt like the apocalypse when you were in it. Alexandria doesn’t. Another big factor is that we knew the names of every character at the prison. Alexandria has 48 people and including every single minor character mentioned like Erin, we know of 15 besides Rick’s group. A question that comes up a lot is, “What’s your favorite volume?” and a lot of people answer, “The prison arc.” Even though this isn’t a volume it’s seen as an acceptable answer because every volume in that arc was so significant and amazing that people just call it, “The prison arc.” Since they’ve arrived in Alexandria, I can think of two volumes that stick out. “No Way Out” and “Something to Fear.” When I reread the volumes, the other Washington ones just sit and gather dust. I’d add “What Comes After” but…
Woodbury>Saviors. A lot of volume 18 is just set up for the big war. This is fine because so was volume 7. It still all feels like set up, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if volume 20 is still the Saviors. I thought the Walking Dead was getting kind of boring when they arrived in Washington and there were a lot of issues where nothing happened. Kirkman moved stuff around and I’m willing to bet that if there were no issues, like Kirkman was just writing one massive 8,000 page comic, we would’ve gotten to Negan a lot quicker. I’m saying this because it feels as if he was waiting to introduce Negan in issue 100 and Glenn was supposed to be killed in issue 75 but I guess they moved it to 100 because you need a big character death in 100. Since he knew cool stuff was coming but he was still a long ways away, he wrote a bunch of filler issues. And if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s filler. He could’ve used this time to develop the lesser characters but he didn’t and it’s baffling me why he didn’t. So now that Negan was introduced in 100, things are bound to pick up, right? Well, it did. And now it’s moving at a snails pace and I’m just waiting for the big war. Now I’m starting to think Kirkman is holding back so he can have a big event in issue 115 (the ten year).
The boring issues used to be exciting and now the boring issues are boring. I’ve heard a lot of people complain that “The Calm Before” was a boring volume of the Walking Dead and maybe it was based on the ones preceding it but think of all that happened in that volume. Lori gave birth, Dale lost his leg, and we got a major character death of someone from volume one. A boring volume now is one with no deaths, not a lot of interesting dialogue that makes you think (like Rick’s conversation with Abe about the ‘switch’ in your brain. We don’t get many talks like that anymore), and no moments (see below).
A lot of stuff that just isn’t in it anymore. I don’t know what to call these (Moral Dilemmas?), but I’ll just call them “moments.” These moments are the ones that make the reader think. The ones that make you question the characters as they just did something that you know will change them. For example, Rick killing Dexter, Michonne torturing the Governor, Rick killing Martinez, Carl killing Ben, the cannibals being slaughtered, etc. I can’t think of one since they arrived in Washington. The closest I can think of is Rick chopping off Jessie’s hand but I think everyone would’ve done that to protect their own life and the life of their child. I thought Carl might become a vegetable and Rick would have to decide whether to kill him or not but that didn’t happen. I mean, I’m glad it didn’t but it would’ve been something really memorable.
The comics aren't at the beginning anymore. This isn't Kirkman's fault since he can't rewind time but I thought another great aspect of the comics was the survivors learning about the virus and adapting to how to survive.
There's no end in sight. I know it seems pointless to compare this comic to TV but shows eventually get to the point where they begin to make a season for whatever reason and not the sake of the story. The best shows end when they're in the prime and others fizzle out. Because of this, the longer a show goes on, the worse it gets. There are exceptions (Season 5 and 7 of 24). My point with this is the best shows are ones that know how many seasons there are going to be when they create it and start the show with an end in sight. I think Kirkman probably has an idea on how the Walking Dead will end but I don't think he knows how long it's going to take to get there, so I think there's a long road ahead and we're going to get on the road of repeatability.
That’s about it. On one last note, though, The Walking Dead just doesn’t feel like the Walking Dead anymore. It could be due to the lack of deaths, lack of “moments”, etc. It used to actually scare me with that feeling that death was around every corner for all of the characters and I could lose one at any moment. It used to be fighting zombies and fighting people. Now, zombies aren’t a threat anymore (which I actually like because it was a game-changer) and there is a war against Negan but if I had to guess where the Walking Dead would be by issue 100 when I was reading the prison arc, I wouldn’t guess trading with other communities.
What do you guys all think?Do anybody else is feeling/has felt the same way.
Comments
No. I think it's getting better.
The comics have mainly dipped and peaked for me, and honestly I think they'll get better soon.
However, the show has been getting better non-stop. The Walking Dead: Season One was fantastic. Had a great narrative, pacing, action, beautiful finale with a moral dilemma and just all-around great. Season Two on the other hand was horrible. Terrible, boring, dull pacing, bad plot-lines, and a mediocre finale at best. Season Three showed signs of improvement, with a decent story, better characters but got worse during the second-half and the finale was still mediocre.
Season Four was absolutely beautiful. Fantastic episodes, very smart narrative, beautifully developed characters, amazing action, intense scenes and is still my favourite season to date.
Season Five was also fantastic, overall just great stuff and the characters just keep getting better. Also my favourite. Yes I have two favourites.
Trust me, I get what you mean. But Kirkman does this on purpose. He makes The Walking Dead pause for fans to catch their breath and feel "safe" before the deaths come in. Walking Dead will return to its style soon enough.
Okay, I'm going to calmly argue a bit here.
Well there isn't much That Rick can do as a Cripple either. He huddles around on a Cane Nowadays. If only Glenn was still here... Carl as a protagonist makes me Gag.
Well, I don't know if you Noticed, But The Amazing Spider-Man ran over 500 Issues and It was still frickin' awesome.
In the show and the comic, A lot of people Including me saw a lot of the Prison's plot twists coming. I think the main problem nothing Shocking or Big is going on is because they're in alexandria and not on the road. Also, Glenn's death was completely unexpected, He was just some guy who didn't really LOOK important, the Fact Negan killed him is weird.
I agree. The Alexandria arc was good at the beginning, but now it's just kind of meh.
I don't know about that, I do not want a Big war unless Alexandria is taken down with it. I hate Alexandria, and I want them to continue to the good things. The way I see it, Negan will convince Carl to do something bad, A war will start, Carl will be on Negan's side, Negan betrays Carl, Carl dies, Rick kills Negan, and they Lose Alexandria and Rick leaves and Goes A-Wol. But either way, I do not want a war again, Not unless we lose Alexandria. We've had too many wars.
Yeah, I miss those Philosophical chats from Rick. Those things just made you think and be so Inspired, It's kinda Bland without those.
I've actually Noticed quite a few of those in Newer issues.
I completely agree Here, it doesn't FEEL like TWD anymore, But I still think it's getting better. Kinda.
Im just talking about the comics
There's going to be a time in almost any kind of series where the writer writes himself into a hole, rehashes plot lines, or completely diverges from the story.
Personally, I don't think the Walking Dead is as good as it used to be. Kirkman's early plot lines in the comic were interesting enough to keep me reading. Now, he's rehashed and copied a bunch of plot lines, and just pasted them onto different characters. The Governor is not terribly different than Negan, whose appeal solely comes from spewing expletives in nearly every panel he's in. The formula for the comic has gotten increasingly bland over time.
The TV show was enjoyable from S1-2, but took a major dip in writing during S3. S4 and S5 have been getting better, but nowhere near the feel S1 and S2 had.
S1 of the game was one of the best pieces of fiction I have witnessed. S2 turned into a convoluted mess where it seemed like each of the writers had a different opinion on how the overarching story should go. It was so screwed that E5's writer seemed to end the season as well as he could with the shit he was given (which was still pretty horrible). I'm not excited for S3, and the only thing that would get me interested for the future of the game series would be to follow another new group.
Don't get me wrong, I still follow the series because it's still entertaining on some level. Not just as much as it was before.
You make good points.
However, this happens with every comic series when it runs as long as TWD has. Batman had bad, good, and transitional periods; as did Superman, Spider-Man, Green Lantern, etc.. It always happens in comics.
As of now, I would say TWD is in a transitional period of development. While not gripping or fantastic, it is far from bad. Kirkman is just slowly moving pieces into place and introducing readers to a post-timeskip world. I know it makes things quite boring sometimes, but trust me, it is worth it (just look at how awesome Issue 141 was because it was built up so much).
I really do think the comics are beginning to move at full speed again, though; so keep that in mind going forward.
I don't get the hate for the Alexandria arc. It was vital for things to slow down after the craziness that proceeded it, but Alexandria gave great development to a lot of the characters. Plus, Douglas, Heath, and Aaron were all positive additions to the cast and the rest of the Alexandrians helped contrast nicely with Rick's group.
I agree things go a bit stagnant after 'No Way Out' and The Saviors arc could have been better. But hey, it introduced the always awesome Negan and 'All Out War' was a unique and unpredictable read. Plus, the timeskip REALLY did change things up and Kirkman has to be praised for that.
The comic is just moving away from the tone of the prison arc and thus it may feel a bit boring. The main focus is no longer on survival and becoming monsters to live, but instead of the opposite and rebuilding civilization. It may be a tad monotonous, but it is necessary for readers to feel a sense of total series progression, instead of just massacring characters every 10 issues.
I also agree that it is not fully to do with Kirkman, more on the genre of storytelling. There is only so much you can do with realistic, grounded zombie survival before you have to start slowing down and getting a little boring. On the other hand, 'Invincible', Kirkman's superhero series, just keeps getting better and better as the years go by.