Read: 17 February, 2012We love zombie stories because it feeds into our destructive impulses. The zombies destroy the daily stresses and struggles of our modern life. No more bills to pay, no more 9-to-5, no more damn kids on mah damn lawn... And then there's the possibility of building anew from the ashes of society, a clean slate on which the survivors may impose their will in a way that many of us feel too helpless to do in our real lives.
We had a few false starts in this direction in Miles Behind Us (such as the discovery of the Wiltshire Estates), but the immediacy of survival kept the characters' attention. But in Safety Behind Bars, the survivors find a respite in a prison. Zombies are no longer a threat, there's no lack of food, and there's even working showers. This is where the lesson comes in.
Zombie stories generally teach the same lesson. They wipe away the society that gives us so much stress and ennui, and they give us the opportunity to rebuild, to make it different, to make it good. But we're doomed, says the zombie story. Given every chance to make a society, we will still be our petty selves, we will still play power games, we will still destroy ourselves. We are flawed, so flawed that the dreary world of rules we live in now is preferable to the freedom zombies give us. The zombie is never the monster in the zombie story - people are.
Kirkman didn't do a terrible job at exploring this theme, but it's just been done so many times that it was somewhat tiresome to read through. From the opening of the volume, I knew that the survivors had reached a safe haven, and I knew that would mean trotting out the tired old "we're our own worst enemy" trope. Unfortunately, he did not disappoint.
That's been my impression of the series so far, really. The dialogue is so-so, and the plot is basically just running through the standard zombie story plots. It's enjoyable insomuch as I enjoy zombie stories, but it's nothing special. Even as far as zombie stories go, the fast pace of the comics means that I don't feel like I'm getting to know the characters, or to care about them. I'm hoping that it will get better as the series trods on, but so far I'm not impressed.
Other books in the Walking Dead series:
- Days Gone Bye
- Miles Behind Us
- Safety Behind Bars
- The Heart's Desire
- The Best Defense
- This Sorrowful Life
- The Calm Before
- Made To Suffer
- Here We Remain
- What We Become
- Fear the Hunters
- Life Among Them
- Too Far Gone
- No Way Out
- We Find Ourselves
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