So, it’s all been leading to this. With the last few weeks, we’ve done a few different while discussing everyone’s favorite apocalyptic story of zombie mayhem and destruction.

That was a weird sentence.

Anyway, we’ve talked about the concept of the series and what’s made “The Walking Dead” universe so successful.

We also talked about the comic book series, featuring the ongoing adventures of Rick Grimes and his crew.

Last week, the announcement of the brand new magazine tying all aspects of the series together was released. Upon initial review, it seemed like a great way to get interviews and sneak previews of the show before the upcoming third season really gets underway.

Cover to the Magazine

Now, outside of the awesome interview with Danai Gurira, soon-to-be Michonne (or your new all-time favorite “The Walking Dead” character ever), who is also an accomplished theater actor and playwright, the magazine gives a set visit to the new prison stronghold. Also, they take an inside look at the events of Comic-Con.

This is all great publicity stuff, but they do have some great articles that are very insightful and lead to a better understanding of the show.

First, the magazine publishes the “Kirkman Corner”, where they interview the man himself, Robert Kirkman. Creator and writer of the entire series and comic books. After so long of watching the show or reading the comic, it’s always nice to see that behind it all is a man wanting to create. Hearing his views on character deaths and how, even though he loves the show but does not let it interfere with the comic, helps it all.

Another favorite is the illustrator of the comic for close to 100 issues, Charlie Adlard. It’s hard to maintain a regular comic schedule for months on end, but he’s done it for years, creating some of the best and most memorable moments in the series. Reading about how he creates characters and moods, but also how he balances out the violence for the sake of story is truly interesting stuff.

Keep in mind, though, that the magazine caters to both the hardcore and the newcomer fans of the series. This is true in that the magazine features a lot of material for people that know nothing of what comes ahead and have been reading for years. So, my suggestion, read at your own risk in case of spoilers. Especially for this upcoming third season of the show.

Now is the time to offer my thoughts on the show. Seeing as how I’ve spent the last few weeks diving deeper and deeper into “The Walking Dead” as a whole, I feel completely submerged in the world that Robert Kirkman and his artistic collaborators have created. It’s odd to think that for the last four weeks I’ve been completely absorbed by zombie killings and humanity’s despair.

Sort of been a depressing month, to say the least. However, it’s not without its ups. I’ve been exposed to one of the great, modern classics of our literary generation.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes

See, what the television show has to work with that the comics don’t is a greater, widespread audience. This is disappointing, seeing as how the comics are also phenomenal. But since the show is so mainstream, they have to make some adjustments that I noticed.

These changes, however large they may be, have served to better the show. Sometimes characters are kept alive longer than they were in the comic books, sometimes they were killed of sooner. However this happens, the show has taken full advantage of developing characters in a much better way.

The first season kicked off with a bang. Officer Rick Grimes awakens from a coma and is drawn into a world overrun with the undead. (Or the dead coming back to life, depending on how you look at it.) With it, he travels to Atlanta and discovers another group of survivors and from there, the zombie horror continues.

Jon Bernthal as Shane

I think the thing the show has over the comic is that is allows us to see, truly, how the survivors stay alive. With zombie movies, things have to happen so quickly to play to the time constraints of film. With television, though, they have quite a bit more wiggle room. This allows for us to see the thinking and the thought process’ that Rick, Shane, Glen and the others have to go through before they rush back into the city to save another survivor.

It also allows us to witness the aftermath of important character deaths. When a husband is lost, we see the effects spread through the group like the zombie outbreak that started it all.

It’s an interesting thing that I find that this is what makes the show so great when others saw it as a hindrance in the show’s second season.

(Can we reflect on that? A television show based around a comic book {that’s not Superman} has made it to its third season.)

Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori Grimes

The show’s second season slows itself down when the group reaches Hershel’s farm, where the terror follows them. There, they are finally able to all look inward and see what kind of people becoming. How Rick’s friend, Shane, is absorbed by the madness. How Carl is becoming desensitized to the horrors of the world.

Some saw it as a slow pace. I saw it as an awful reflection of what would really happen to our lives. This is the entire point of the “The Walking Dead”, to see ourselves and our loved ones in these characters.

And that, more than the zombies, is where the scary parts come from.

So, with Halloween today and the spirit of what we accomplished this month, I say this to you.

If trick-or-treating is not your thing, and you wish to stay inside, catch the show. Read the books. Scare yourself. Not with the zombie horror, but the horror of realizing that series will hit you closer to home than you realized.

Promotional Image for Season 3. The Prison…

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Now that October is wrapped and I can finally step out into the light, Comic Matters is going to be going on a bit of a hiatus throughout November.

See, my advanced reading class and I are going to be participating in an internet event called National Novel Writing Month, or, NaNoWriMo. Since this is going to require the majority of my writing time and supporting my kids throughout, I’m going on a mini-vacation of sorts.

However, throughout the month of November, Marvel NOW! kicks off into full swing. Check out some of the new series coming out, especially if you liked the Marvel movies of late.

We’ll be discussing the likes of Iron Man, Thor: God of Thunder, and all the other greatness coming our way. See you in a month!