The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor - Part 1

The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor – Part 1 by Jay Bonansinga

Review by Gerti

I love the television series “The Walking Dead” on AMC, but I don’t like reading graphic novels, so Jay Bonansinga’s novelized books about “The Walking Dead” with Robert Kirkman are a wonderful way to check in on my favorite characters and settings, as well as see some action the TV series ignores or changes to make it more palatable for a wide audience.

For example, in “The Walking Dead” on AMC, the treatment of the katana-wielding female character Michonne is very different than what happens to her in the graphic novels, and also here in “The FOTG – Part One”. I understand why, because the sex and violence in these books is way beyond what you could or would want to show on TV, given the wide age-range of the series’ fans. There are several protracted scenes here where the Governor, Philip Blake, takes revenge on Michonne after she, Rick and Glenn stumble into Woodbury. When she is finally freed by one of the Governor’s henchmen, instead of escaping, she sets out to find the Governor and gets her own perverse payback from him. It’s that kind of a world after the zombie apocalypse, but it’s definitely more “Fifty Shades of Gray” than the made-for-TV revenge viewers get on AMC.

This book also stays true to the graphic novel plot, where the Governor takes off one of Rick Grimes’ hands, which also does not happen on TV. In this book, Rick spends time in the infirmary with Dr. Stevens and nurse Alice, who show him that Woodbury is an evil place, and the Governor is a madman. Therefore when the opportunity to escape arises, the whole group follows Martinez, the Governor’s unhappy henchmen, out of the complex after rescuing Glenn and Michonne.

A character completely ignored by the TV series is Lilly Caul, who takes center stage in Bonansinga’s “Descent”, which shows Woodbury after the Governor. In this book, unlike others by Bonansinga, she is lulled into a false sense of security by the Governor, and spends her time sleeping with her boy toy, and getting pregnant. I’ll have to read “The FOTG – Part Two” to see why she isn’t pregnant in “Descent”. Here, however, she is not a likeable character at all, and could have been completely written out without me missing her.

“The Fall of the Governor – Part One” is a terrific read, although like so many “part one’s” these days (Harry Potter and The Hobbit, for example), there is a sense of dissatisfaction when it ends. Bonansinga writes in a clear, exciting way, and I felt swept along with the action, although the graphic sex and violence are not for pre-teen or sensitive readers. I can’t wait to read “Part Two”, but still resent that what should have been one book was split into two parts, probably just to garner the authors more money. It’s a great storyline and they deserve to be paid for their creativity, but why rip off the audience?

The Walking Dead - Book 7

The Walking Dead – Book Seven by Robert Kirkman

Review by Gerti

I have been a fan of the AMC series “The Walking Dead” since it first premiered a few years ago. That said, however, I am not a fan of the graphic novel format, preferring Kirkman’s story on the screen to the bleakly colored page. But this season, where Rick Grimes and his ragged group of survivors entered Alexandria outside of Washington DC, had me too anxious to wait for the next televised episodes to find out if yet another post-apocalyptic Eden was too good to be true.

As a result, I chose to read “The Walking Dead – Books 6 & 7” in graphic novel format, hoping that I would be far enough along in the series to catch Rick’s group as they entered the zombie-free Virginia enclave. My timing was just right. It is in Book Six where the survivors I have come to know and care about approach DC. But this review is about Book Seven.

Reading “ahead” like this showed me that the little paradise that Rick and his people stumble onto does not stay one – and that is their fault to some extent. Former law enforcement officer Rick comes to find that one of the inhabitants of Alexandria is being abused by her doctor husband. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that that is the same lady that widowed Rick is attracted to. And knowing Rick as fans of the story do, it is not at all surprising that the situation between the two men comes to a head, with violence being the only solution. He is, after all, “one-strike Rick” now. There are no second chances for these people who have been living with violence and death for so long.

The other fact that is revealed in Book Seven is that the walls that looked so secure early on are much like Alexandria themselves – partially illusory – as the survivors from outside find out too late that some of the posts holding the walls up were not sunk in concrete, and therefore, likely to come down if a herd of zombies large enough pushes on them. We’ve seen the solution they try here before at the Georgia prison where the group holed up, parking trucks against the sagging walls, and therefore readers know the walls will eventually come down before the characters do.

Disaster strikes, and Rick and company try their best to fight off the un-dead interlopers, but Carl is seriously injured in the last few pages. I’m not sure what that means for the show this season. Carl has already been shot once, a few seasons ago, so perhaps they won’t shoot him again on TV. In the comic-book storyline, Rick has one arm and his baby is dead too, so the print world may be more brutal than the producers are willing to show their vast television audience. But I anxiously await both the arrival of Books 8 and 9 for me at the library, and Sunday night, so I can see what twists and turns Kirkman’s story has next.

The Walking Dead - Book 6

The Walking Dead – Book Six by Robert Kirkman

Review by Gerti Zaccone

I have been a fan of the AMC series “The Walking Dead” since it first premiered a few years ago. That said, however, I am not a big fan of the graphic novel format, preferring Kirkman’s story on the screen rather than on the bleakly colored page. But this season, where Rick Grimes and his group enter Alexandria, had me too anxious to wait for the next episodes to find out if this post-apocalyptic Eden was too good to be true.

As a result, I chose to read “TWD – Book 6”, hoping that I would be far enough along in the series to catch the group of survivors as they enter the zombie-free Virginia enclave. My timing was just right. It is in Book Six where the survivors I have come to know approach DC.

What I find fascinating about this graphic novel is not so much the story, however, but how this story differs from the one being told on TV. I’ll wander into fan-talk when I say that I was interested that the leader of the oblivious village of Alexandria is a man in this story, while on TV it is a woman, named Deanna. Several characters that I love who have died on the series, like Dale and Andrea, are still here in Book Six, while others that I love on the series like Carol and Darryl, don’t appear in this book. Other decisions are also different – here Michonne is the one who creates a scene at the cocktail party, while on AMC it is Sasha who begins to shout.

I don’t know why the creators of the TV series decided to make these changes, but I would love to know. I think any fan of the show would also like to read this graphic novel. However, I prefer the portrayal of Rick on TV. Who wouldn’t prefer sexy British actor Andrew Lincoln to the skeletal one-handed Rick drawn in these pages? I think of reading these books as a supplement to my enjoyment of the show, but it truly makes me appreciate the genius that went into casting the actors who bring my favorite characters to life every Sunday night.

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

Ever wanted to know what would happen if Darth Vader was a loving father to Luke?  The book Darth Vader and Son will answer that for you.

Written as a comic, author Jeffrey Brown takes the reader on a journey of small segments in the life of Darth and Luke.  It shows everything from the two taking a trip to the zoo to look at a Bantha to Darth telling Luke to pick up his toys. My favorite shows a happy Darth Vader as Luke receives a medal which is quite far from the menancing Vader that I knew when I was little.

The colorful illustrations are adorable and full of other popular characters from Star Wars (the little Han Solo was my favorite!)  This book is great for young and old Star Wars fans.