The Walking Dead: Compendium One

Product Description

Introducing the first eight volumes of the fan-favorite, New York Times Best Seller series collected into one massive paperback collection! Collects The Walking Dead #1-48. This is the perfect collection for any fan of the Emmy Award-winning television series on AMC: over one thousand pages chronicling the beginning of Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning continuing story of survival horror- from Rick Grimes' waking up alone in a hospital, to him and his family seeking solace on Hershel's farm, and the controversial introduction of Woodbury despot: The Governor. In a world ruled by the dead, we are finally forced to finally start living.

Features

• Used Book in Good Condition

Top Reviews

I don't care if you have seen the show; you must read this.
by Keith (5 out of 5 stars)
June 26, 2017

I got the kindle version and it was hard to read the larger panels on my small phone screen. It was perfectly fine on a larger tablet.

If you are a fan of the show and haven't read this, I will warn you that there are substantial differences. It is as if a drunk person explained the plot of the comic books to the screenwriter in a loud bar, and them the screenwriter wrote the show from memory a month later. This is to say that the 'highlights' from the comics made it to the show, but it is still a different story.

People are on here trying to review this with deep literary analysis techniques, as if this were Shakespear or Proust or something. This is a comic about zombies. There are many like it, but this is the best one.

If you like the show, you will like the comics. I promise. They complement each other, but are different enough to warrant spending time on both.
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TOTALLY worth it (contains signaled SPOILERS at the end)
by Tom C. Barros-Wing,Top Contributor: Guitars (5 out of 5 stars)
August 9, 2018

I bought this after watching the first 7 seasons of the TV show (and being severely disappointed with it from about season 4 onward), and it's GREAT. I'm so grateful that the TV show inspired me to check out the comic, because the comic is better in many ways-but also, it's different enough from the TV show that it's engaging even from the pure plot and character development perspective, since people and events diverge so frequently from what I expect from watching the series.

I've ordered (but not yet received) the next two volumes of the compendia [shifts glasses up nose], based on how good this volume is. Already, there are so many things that are different from the series, that I'm on the edge of my seat just wondering how things can possibly turn out here.

HUGE SPOILERS for those who don't care about surprises but want to get a sense of how different the comic is from the series: So there's no Daryl, Merle, or Beth; Sophia, Lori, and Dale live but Carol dies; Carol is a needy sex freak; Rick loses his right hand early on; Michonne shacks up with Tyreese, Andrea shacks up with Dale; they never use the term "walkers" but DO discuss terminology periodically; Glenn isn't a virgin at the beginning.
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Great collection!
by frabjousday,Top Contributor: Pets (5 out of 5 stars)
November 4, 2017

If you're a fan of the series, make sure you read the books.

I bought the compendium so as not to have to buy each volume. While it's now packaged in one large volume, it's well..now in one large volume. Reading can be a little cumbersome due to its size but the spine is bound well and I wasn't worried about pages falling off.

The story is captivating. Beyond the TV series, each character is fleshed out even more. As a plus, story arcs go in slightly (or very) different directions as the show so you won't be able to predict everything going forward. The writing is raw and the people feel a little more rounded, their decisions that much more agonizing.

The artwork is great and captures the gruesome grotesqueness of the undead in exquisite detail.
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I LOVE THE WALKING DEAD!!!
by Lauren Jones (5 out of 5 stars)
December 16, 2015

I have been a fan of The Walking Dead for years now. I started watching when there were only three seasons on Netflix. So I pretty much binge watched three seasons straight, and then joined the rest of the world with watching every Sunday. Anyway, I didn't know the show was derived from comics until seeing an episode of Talking Dead. I discovered the Compendiums and I decided to buy it. I have been thoroughly entertained with these comics. I love reading them and seeing how they are the same and different from the show. I am almost finished with Compendium one, and hoping to get Compendium two for Christmas. This is a great read, just as good, if not better than the show. I am a fan of the show, and now the comics for LIFE!!!
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Way better than the show
by BreAnna (5 out of 5 stars)
October 27, 2018

This is so different from the show, in a good way. Hollywood worries about killing off favorite characters and making the audience mad. Authors do not. There's also less focus on gore and more on human interactions and how people hold up (or don't) in a world that is devolving around them.

I did struggle with what I felt like what bordered on the gratuitous use of rape. However, I think it would be unrealistic to show our society broken down and people acting like the worst versions of themselves without some men taking advantage of the situation in this way. I'm still back and forth with it but there are plenty of other females who find strength in ways that do not involve overcoming rape which were rewarding and integral to the plot.
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Different from the show... really keeps me guessing.
by Chain of Command (5 out of 5 stars)
April 21, 2014

If you're a fan of the TV show and want to get more of the fascinating characters and story then you won't be dissapointed in the least. Having been a fan of the series from the beginning I have often considered reading the comics as a way to see more of the story. If you're worried you will be bored since you have watched all the episodes - don't be. It's different enough that I never know exactly what is going to happen next yet similar enough that I feel I "know" many of the characters already which makes it all the more compelling. It's almost like a look at an alternate walking dead universe where it's mostly the same people we know but the relationships between them, the ways the meet up, and the triumphs and tragedies they experience are often altogether different from the world you've seen. Once the story really got rolling along I found I was having a very similar experience to reading a good novel - getting lost in the story and wanting to hurry up and turn another page to see what was going to happen next. I've almost finished Compendium One now and already ordered the second book so won't have a gap in reading. The artwork is great and altough it's completely in black and white I found it didn't take anything away from it and perhaps even sets a better tone. The book itself is quite heavy and well constructed. The cover is a thick paperpack style and the pages a have a glossy feel like a really high quality magazine. Any fan of the show will love this read, go ahead and get it!
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The show is great but these compendiums make the show look boring in comparison!
by iamroberson (5 out of 5 stars)
September 10, 2015

After hearing how amazing the Graphic Novels were and enjoying the show since day one, I decided to buy both Compendiums I and II and kick back and enjoy some good reading.

It really doesn't matter that most people looking at this item has already watched the show. It does follow along for the most part but there are quite large differences as well. It's worth the read, TV show or Not!

As with most books, your imagination gets to carry you further than generally a TV show or movie can ever do. Although this does have 'pictures' and art in it to carry the reader along with the story, I found myself more 'creeped out' and genuinely thinking about where I'd go and what I'd do in the situation while reading the book rather than the TV show's affect on me.

There are some darker parts in the book that never made it to TV and definitely some non-kid-friendly situations so Buyer Be Warned if you're planning on giving it to a kid under probably 16 or so.

Compendium 3 will be out soon and I've been chomping at the bit for what seems like forever to get more!

So much better than the already awesome show!
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Overall an Excellent, Wonderful Ride
by JW (5 out of 5 stars)
August 15, 2014

This was my very first foray into the world of comic books / graphic novels. I'll admit, it was interest in the AMC series that drew me to the book, as I'd heard there were significant differences and wanted to find out for myself.

Firstly, the artwork is overall fantastic. The illustration is extremely atmospheric, and you will find yourself drawn into the world very quickly. What I found particularly amazing is just how cinematic the book feels. Smash cuts, establishing shots, flowing action, close-ups, you name it, it is very, very cinematic in nature. If anything, it's done just as well if not better than the television show. My only complaint here is that some of the characters are drawn similarly enough that it may be difficult to determine who's talking, but this might just be my untrained eye.

The writing is superb. There is very little of the overt explanatory narrative that seems to pervade many of the other comics I've tried to read. "Show, don't tell" is very much in practice, here, and it works famously. In a word: excellent.

Viewers of the show may be surprised at just how much farther the book goes at times. There were more than a few things happening in the book at which I was surprised, and at least one moment had me open-mouthed and gasping. It's not easy for a book to inspire that kind of reaction for me, so I applaud the author and illustrator alike for such.

This book is extremely hard to put down and is WELL worth the price. I've already ordered the second.
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A Masterful Blend of Narrative and Art
by H. Diner (5 out of 5 stars)
July 21, 2013

I was on the fence a long time about this purchase--I knew that the series was well-renowned, and that it was very addicting, but I was turned off by two things: the price of the compendium and the black-and-white artwork. I figured that I would be taking a pricey risk on a graphic novel that I had never seen before, and that a graphic novel without color wasn't really a graphic novel at all.

Boy, was I wrong. This compendium of the Walking Dead may seem daunting at 1000+ pages, but you'll blaze through it once you're around a hundred pages through. Every page was thrilling, and you'll keep telling yourself "one more page". If you find yourself at all engrossed by the story, buy the second compendium immediately. Once you finish the first, you will not be able to wait to continue the story. I finished the second compendium in a day, and have since bought Volumes 17 and 18 (finished in a day as well) to continue my adventure through the work. Sadly the third compendium will not be out for another few years, so I might need to start purchasing the work issue by issue.

I know I haven't explained much about the story, but that's because the story really speaks for itself. As you might predict, the story isn't so much about humans fending off the zombie threat as it is about humans fending off other humans, as we are, according to the story, infinitely more unpredictable. The interactions between the characters in the story are much more entertaining than their constant struggle against the zombies, and it is here that the story succeeds in drawing you in.

A must-buy for any fan of a good story.
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Where it all started
by Hunter (4 out of 5 stars)
November 6, 2014

I have started reading and love it. My only gripes for taking a star of is there are no page numbers or table of contents. So if you shut your book and forgot to put in your bookmark by mistake it might be a pain to find your place again. It's interesting to see how the show went a different path. Some I would say for the better. Rick in the comic cries more than any man I have seen. Even Glenn tells him to knock it off, and you know you are being a wuss when Glenn is telling you to man up.

Also this is a heavy book. Not for travel or reading on your back while in bed. You will need a table or flat surface when you start to get into this bad boy. The weight also makes it a little difficult if you like to keep your books in a nice condition. I am always using my hand to support the cover so it doesn't crease the binding from just the weight of the pages. I think you could probably tone your arms pretty well if you held it while trying to read.

Either way the Compendium is the most economic way to own and read the comic series. Having 7 volumes in it you are really paying for the price of 3 individual volumes.

One thing you will notice is that Kirkman becomes a much better writer as the volumes go on. The first few volumes you will notice the dialogue gets a little repetitive and many pages are just reaction shots. Most of this is to set up characters, but the reaction is usually the same of a character doing their sob story then another saying "You don't have to explain/justify yourself to me". The first volume alone says that line in some way at least a half dozen times.

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