Comic book quote of the day
By far The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman is my favorite title of the past few years. A friend who held the flame of comics alive for me presented me with the first volume trade paperback. Always a fan of zombies in film and books, this title stands out as one of the best examples of the genre.
What put clarity on all of it for me was in Volume 4 trade paperback “The Heart’s Desire.”
In it the group of zombie survivors that are followed seem to start out with a possible positive in the fact they gained control of the prison they found after nearly being kicked out by the inmates. Then the situation, which is typical in this unrelenting tale, falls to pieces.
A main character, Allen, is bitten by a zombie and then mutilated by the group’s leader, Rick in an attempt to stop the spread of deadly infection. What Rick knows is it is simply dying, not how that turns one into a zombie, thus stopping any infection may save the man. Ultimately it fails though and tensions rise between Rick and another alpha male in the group, Tyreese over a strategic murder Rick committed to defend the group (and in turn breaking a steadfast rule of no killing living humans that Rick himself dictated).
Cracking under the strain of leadership Rick lashes out when finally confronted by the entire group he’s been leading to safety over multiple issues.
“It’s obvious now that I’m the only sane one here! We already are savages, Tyreese. The second we put a bullet into the head of one of these undead monsters — the moment one of us drove a hammer into one of their faces — or cut a head off. We became what we are! And that’s just it, that’s what this comes down to. You people don’t know what we are. Ye’re surrounded by the dead. We’re among them — and when we finally give up WE BECOME THEM! We’re living on borrowed time here. Every minute of our life is a minute we steal from them! You see them out there. When we die — we become them. You think we hide behind walls to protect us from THE WALKING DEAD? Don’t you get it? WE ARE THE WALKING DEAD!”
His words were a profound pivot point for the story and a draw dropper with its glorious splash page. And this isn’t the only horror Kirkman drops in his tale of survival and death. Definitely worth the read if you haven’t already checked it out.
