Tag Archives: Frank Darabont

Review: The Walking Dead Volume 5 (by Robert Kirkman)

Posted on by Arleigh

[Some Spoilers Within]

The first four volumes of Robert Kirkman’s have led Rick Grimes and his group from the encampment right outside of Atlanta to an abandoned prison which have now become their new sanctuary from the dangers of the outside world. We’ve seen the group lose people to the dangers of the zombies which have now claimed the world. They’ve also gained some new people which in turn has also caused some major conflicts to the group dynamics.

The series’ 5th collected volume (titled The Best Defense) takes place sometimes after the dramatic revelation by Rick Grimes to the group which ends the 4th volume. The Best Defense begins a new story-arc which would last right up to the very last pages of the 8th volume of the series. This was the volume which helped bring back some of the series’ fans who had begun to leave due to the overly dramatic and soap opera-ish narrative of the last volume. While the conflict which began between major characters in the last volume still remain a new surprising discovery of other possible survivors and another fortified compound brings the group back together for a common purpose. While this return towards cooperation was welcome development I did like the fact that Kirkman still kept the conflicts hanging in the air like a sword about to drop at the first wrong step.

Some fans and critics have spoken about how Kirkman’s writing style is actually very bad when compared to other top writers in the comic book industry. Yes, he’s not in the same league as a Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis and Alan Moore, but in the type of story he’s trying to tell his style seems to work. He does have a way to put up a lot of exposition with every page in the series. For some this was a sign of a lazy and weak writer who doesn’t allow the images to help tell the story. While at times I will agree as the series can get heavy with dialogue in the end it doesn’t bother me as much. Zombie films, even the best ones, rely and lean heavily on exposition. It’s actually such a surprise for a horror subgenre to have so much dialogue and people actually expect it. The same could be said for this series. The heavy exposition is not a bother for most and actually welcomed by its readers.

With this volume introducing a new outside force as the big baddie for the next major story-arc, Kirkman has easily shown he understands the zombie genre and how the zombies themselves don’t even count as the main danger for humans trying to survive this new apocalyptic world. This is especially true with the new character of The Governor who, in just a handful of issues in this volume, has cemented himself as one of the best villains to appear in any entertainment media in the past 10 years. Here’s to hoping that Frank Darabont in his tv adaptation of this series for AMC doesn’t mess around too much with this character. The Governor definitely makes one wonder if humanity actually deserves to continue as a species and not just march towards extinction.

Review: The Walking Dead Volume 4 (by Robert Kirkman)

Posted on by Arleigh

[Some Spoilers Within]

I’ve loved and obsessed over Kirkman’s The Walking Dead series and the previous three collected volumes have not disappointed at any level. This fourth volume collects issues 19 through 24 and is appropriately titled The Heart’s Desire. We pick up from the cliffhanger that ended the third volume (Safety Behind Bars) as Dexter gives Rick and his group a choice that bodes nothing but death either way he chooses: stay and be shot or leave and take their chances with the zombies outside the fences.

The book starts things off with a bang as Rick realizes that Dexter’s success in getting guns of his own has let loose a bigger set of problems as zombies from a locked wing of the prison was accidentally let out. What happens next as Rick’s group and Dexter’s group fight to stay alive shows a new side to Rick that surprised me alot. It puts a new wrinkle on Rick’s rule of “you kill, you die” and will have long-reaching ramifications deeper in the story. It is also in this heart-pounding sequence that a new face is added to the mix in the form of a female survivor whose mode of survival, to say the very least, is interesting.

The rest of the book really deals less with the zombies but the emotional consequences of many of the characters’ actions from the very start of the series all the way to point of this volume. I can fully understand the disappoint many fans have with the direction the series took with all the drama and sopa opera kind of twists nd turns of the heart, but I think people fail to realize that Kirkman is writing about the human condition rather than just about zombies. Sure I got abit impatient with all the emotional crisis and the meltdowns by almost everyone involved, but I can also understand why they’ve been acting the way they have. I think if Kirkman had written abit more of zombies and death in this part of the series people wouldn’t be complaining much.

Kirkman himself has already admitted that zombies wasn’t what the story was all about, but just a part of it. With the group in relatively safety within the secured fences of the prison and some sort of artificial normalcy starting to come back to the group he needed a way to continue the conflicts that make for good drama. What else but let the pent-up emotional baggage everyone has been carrying since issue 1 to finally come to boil. Part of me didn’t fully enjoy this new arc in the series, but not enough to be disappointed with the end result. Hell, even with all the drama Kirkman still came up with one of the best fight scenes in the series a la Carpenter’s They Live and South Park’s “Cripple Fight” episode.

The Heart’s Desire was not as great as the previous three collected volumes in the series, but it still told a good story though with a bit more drama than most fans of the book were willing to take. I myself enjoyed the book enough that it wasn’t a waste and I was a bit surprised and shocked at the observation Rick finally made and shared with everyone at the end of the volume. I know that after all the emotional trials and tribulations everyone in the series went through in The Heart’s Desire and how the arc ended there’s nothing left but up for the series.

Review: The Walking Dead Volume 3 (by Robert Kirkman)

Posted on by Arleigh

[Some Spoilers Within]

Safety Behind Bars is the third collected volume of Robert Kirkman’s excellent The Walking Dead comic book series from Image Comics. This volume collects issues 13 through 18 and it continues that journey and travails of surviving in a world overrun by the undead. As the tagline of the books proclaim, in a world ruled by the dead we are forced to finally start living. This is so true in Safety Behind Bars as Kirkman and returning artist Charlie Adlard tell the story of Rick Grimes and his band of survivors as they come across what they think will be their salvation from the threat of the hungry dead: an abandoned prison complex.

The last we saw Rick, Tyrese, Lori and their ragtag band of survivors they had just been forced off the the presumably safety of the Herschel farm after the tragic events which transpired within its fences. But Safety Behind Bars starts off with the group discovering an abandoned prison complex that may just solve their shelter, safety and food problems. Once again, Kirkman’s writing is tight and to the point. The characters of Rick and the rest of the survivors continue to evolve as the days and months pass by in the journey to survive. What they find in the abandoned prison is both safety and danger, but not in the way of most people thought it would come in. Sure there are still zombies both inside and outside of the prison’s security fences, but as the enormity of the crisis finally crashes on everyone — that there won’t be a rescue — the survivors reach the threshold of their breaking points to the detriment of everyone involved. It’s especially tragic for Tyrese as a tragedy pushes him to act on his base instincts in an act of vengeance that is both understandable and horrifying.

More people are introduced to the group in the form of surviving group of inmates left behind by fleeing prison guards. This new group acts to change the group dynamics and even add more conflict to what Rick and his group thought was going to be safety from the dead. Instead, human nature — as Kirkman sees it — causes more problems and danger than the dead represent. The events of The Walking Dead has really changed everyone involved and we lose more people to both living and the dead.

The volume ends in an even bigger cliffhanger than the previous two collected volumes. Like the best drama series on TV, The Walking Dead hooks you in with great writing, well-drawn characters and a great hook that pulls the reader in and doesn’t let go. Whether the upcoming AMC and Darabont-produced tv adaptation of this series follows this particular story-arc is still up in the air. To deviate from the prison would definitely involve a new story-arc that surpasses what Kirkman has written in these 6-issues and that would be quite a tall order.

The Walking Dead – Official Series Trailer (AMC)

Posted on by Arleigh

Well, it’s now official. AMC has finally released the very same trailer that people not fortunate enough to have attended San Diego Comic-Con last month. This trailer is under 5 minutes long and it’s the same one those who attended the Comic-Con panel for the show saw. Only shaky and grainy bootleg copies of the trailer has been seen outside of that panel. While some bootleg versions were quite good in quality they’re still not a substitute for the official release of the same trailer by AMC for everyone to watch.

This official trailer release was also AMC’s way of finally announcing the premiere date of the 90-minute pilot episode (directed by showrunner and producer Frank Darabont). The pilot will premiere worldwide on Halloween Night, October 31, 2010. While some thought the pilot will premiere early on AMC’s “Fearfest” campaign for October I think it’s appropriate that the series premieres on Halloween Night. I can definitely see many fans of the comic book series planning their Halloween parties to include group watch of the pilot episode the very same night.

Still two months away and this trailer definitely doesn’t make the wait any easier.

Source: The Walking Dead (AMC)

The Walking Dead – 5 New Pics from AMC

Posted on by Arleigh

The parade of new promo materials from AMC in regards to their upcoming zombie apocalypse tv series, The Walking Dead, continues with the release of 5 new production photos from the pilot episode (directed by series producer and showrunner, Frank Darabont).

From what I could gather from these five new production photos these shots were taken probably close to the end of the pilot as Rick makes his way into Atlanta in search of Lori and Carl, his wife and son. There’s no denying that I’m very hyped for this show to air. The comic book has been an obsession of mine for over 5 years now and going onto its 6th year.

If we’re to believe what Darabont, Kirkman and Hurd have mentioned before, during and after San Diego Comic-Con then AMC have been very hands-off about how to handle the violence and gore in The Walking Dead as a tv adaptation. While these photos doesn’t show much gore outside of the numerous zombie make-up effects there’s the 4th pic that shows what could be the series’ very first gore money-shot. The angle is all wrong in the shot, but if they sot it from a higher angle as well then here’s to hoping they show some of it. It definitely will show some sort of gutmunching.

One thing which was mentioned during the Q&A at the panel for The Walking Dead at Comic-Con was a possibility of the first season being shown as B&W just like Darabon’t B&W version of his own apocalptic-horror, The Mist. The series won’t be shown in B&W when it premieres, but Darabont is hoping that when the first season dvd comes out that a B&W version may just be included. Here’s to hoping that he does do what he’s hoping for.

Below are the same 5 pics from above but treated as if taken from a B&W airing.

Source: AMC – The Walking Dead Gallery

The Walking Dead – Motion Comic (AMC)

Posted on by Arleigh

With Comic-Con over the hype surrounding the tv adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse comic book series has reached stratosphere status. The 6-episode first season was already one of the most anticipated new shows of the upcoming fall season from just the fans and geek community talking about it nonstop in the internet, but with it’s unveiling at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con the mainstream press has latched itself onto the series. The common reaction to the series at the panel in Hall H seemed to be a unanimous positive one.

Character photos, Drew Struzan posters and new trailers have added to the hype. The comic book series has hit it’s milestone 75th issue. Sales of the comic and it’s collected softcover and hardback graphic novels have seen a spike in sales. AMC has added to the series’ website a taste of the the comics for people to get an idea of what to expect from the series. This motion comic of the first issue of The Walking Dead really captures the horror and hopelessness of the world Kirkman has created and Daabont plans to show up on the TV screen.

Source: The Walking Dead on AMC

The Walking Dead Comic-Con Bootlegged Trailer

Posted on by Arleigh

It may be weeks before AMC puts up a much more high-quality version of this trailer, but until then this is the only one non-Comic-Con goers can watch. The trailer definitely shows enough of what Darabont and his writers are going for to assuage any fear I have that they’re straying too far away from Kirkman’s laid out plans and that they may be staying too loyal to the original source.

I really like how the trailer shows enough scenes from the comic book’s first couple issues that fans have memorized. This series (6 episodes in total) will definitely be the show to watch this coming tv season. That scene with the zombies swarming in, around and over the tank sent chills up my spine.

I also love how loud and well the panel attendees received the trailer. Now time for the series to impress the non-fans. If the series does that then The Walking Dead will join Mad Men and Breaking Bad in creating a trifecta of the best shows on basic cable and probably tv in general.

Drew Struzan Does Walking Dead plus Cast Photos

Posted on by Arleigh

Drew Struzan.

That name alone will bring big smiles and goofy grins to film geeks and comic book fanboys the world over. Struzan has been one of the go-to artists when a studio wants a beautifully painted poster for their film. He’s done poster artwork for some of the most iconic films of the last 50 years. He’s done all the poster work for the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchise. Of late he’s done some great work on film posters for the Harry Potter and Hellboy franchises.

In 2007 he created some wonderful poster art for a scene early in Frank Darabont’s film adaptation of the Stephen King novella, The Mist. Struzan also created a poster for that film. He and Darabont have been close friends so it wasn’t much of a surprise that Struzan would end up creating a film-style poster for Darabont’s tv adaptation of the fan-favorite and critical darling comic book series, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. The poster below is being premiered and given out by AMC at SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con) 2010 as part of their promotion for the series to premiere this October on AMC. To see the image below in its HQ glory then head on over to AICN which got the exclusive to show it before SDCC.

In addition to the Struzan poster AMC has also released individual photos of each cast member as their characters in the show plus two pictures of zombies who will populate the series. The actors really do a good job of becoming like their characters in these photos. The zombie pictures really show just why Greg Nicotero and his KNB Effects are the preeminent people when it comes to creating zombie make-up effects. These zombies look great and definitely reinforces the point that AMC will not waterdown the comic book for tv. Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes for some reason really resembles Viggo Mortensen in his character photo.

The Walking Dead finally gets its Lori Grimes

Posted on by Arleigh

It looks like Andrew Lincoln’s character of Rick Grimes for AMC’s upcoming horror tv series, The Walking Dead, has finally found it’s wife. According to Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly the role of Lori Grimes has finally been cast with Sarah Wayne Callies (previously seen in the now-cancelled Prison Break). She joins Andrew Lincoln to form the husband-and-wife in the tv series adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s popular and critically-acclaimed zombie apocalypse comic book series.

I like this choice in casting not just because Sarah Wayne Callies actually looks like the character, but her previous role in Prison Break looks to have been the perfect practice role for the part of Lori Grimes. Rick Grimes’ wife Lori could only be described as very troubled and keeping secrets of her own during her time away from Rick at the beginning of the series. While I wouldn’t call the character as hysterical she does pose some instability in the group dynamics which Rick has to carefully navigate if he has any chance of keeping his small group of survivors from dying out.

As more and more names get announced as becoming part of the show’s cast it looks like the series (6-episodes ordered for the moment) continues to move towards it’s early summer production start date. The Walking Dead looks to be one of the 2010  fall schedule’s most-anticipated new shows and here’s to hoping Darabont and crew’s initial 6-episodes hit it out of the park and earn the show more ordered episodes.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

The Walking Dead finally gets it’s Rick Grimes

Posted on by Arleigh

The good folks over at The Hollywood Reporter have reported that Frank Darabont’s tv series adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book, The Walking Dead, have finally found the actor to play the series’ lead protagonist, Rick Grimes. The actor chosen came out of left field as his name was never even one people were clued in on. Fan favorites like Peter Krause and Mark Pellegrino were not even seen or heard having tried out for the lead role. Other names like Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica’s Lee “Apollo” Adama) and Johnny Lee Miller (Eli Stone and Hackers) were also mentioned as having tried out for the role with the latter seen as the front-runner.

So, it’s seen as a surprise by many following the production of The Walking Dead to see the name Andrew Lincoln come up as the actor chosen to play Rick Grimes. The UK actor has worked in mostly shows and films in his native UK w/ Love Actually being the more recognizable of those he’s worked on. I think the choice was, and is, a good one. This is literally an unknown actor to US audiences so it will be easier for suspension of disbelief to be achieved for those watching.

While the reaction to this news is mostly one of guarded optimism there’s a very tiny but vocal group that seem to cry foul at this choice just for the fact that Andrew Lincoln will be a British-actor playing an American from the South. I think fans at times just think that dream choices for roles in their favorite stories should be the only ones chosen to play those roles whether they actually want to take on the role or not, or if they’re even good for the role.

For the detractors I say give the man a chance to get into the role before you put the man down. Oh yeah, one other thing…just be glad the show is actually being down and with strong creative people behind it. Put the fanboy/girl hat into storage.

Source: THR