The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn | Rating: ★★★★☆

I think we can all agree that The Walking Dead is one of the most iconic comics in the modern horror genre both because of the show's obscene popularity and the comics startling beginnings. Volume 9, Here We Remain, reminds us why the series has spawned such a large fanbase that only continues to grow. Here We Remain is both terrifying and heartbreaking in its base of emotions. Which is both an incredibly moving trait and overwhelming.

We saw the end of an era in the previous installment that was what laid the groundwork for this one. Here We Remain is a testament to the fact that The Walking Dead is more than just another horror-themed zombie story, there is this startling amount of humanity and soul even as we see these characters forced to move forward in the face of loss and terror. Here We Remain signals another change to the story as Rick and Carl struggle with the deep cut of loss and begin their next chapter. The sense of doom lingering in the background like the shadow it has always been.

The thing about Here We Remain is that, now that we've lost so many more, it reminds us of the dire situation these characters are in. And how utterly unprepared they are.

The Walking Dead: Vol. 08, Made to Suffer by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn | Rating: ★★★★☆

As always, The Walking Dead kicks things up a notch with the next installment. It asks questions of humanity--who would we, the ordinary, be in such dire circumstances. One thing is certain: we'd be forever changed.

Following the events and cliffhanger of the previous volume, the survivors find themselves with a brand new (and in some cases, old) threat ready to take everything away from them. We've got classic horror abound! Disturbing villains, questionable good guys who only want to survive, and just about every gory trope in the book. But that's what we love about the series, right? The shock, the terror, the idea that what is old (the tropes) can become new again?

In this volume--it's all there. Moreso, it is utterly heartbreaking. We're talking, "Hey. Do you want to just take my heart out right now and shatter it?", levels of madness and pain. We lose quite a few of the characters we'd come to love and two are just so far beyond heavy and disturbing, I cannot begin to describe my graphic novel hangover--which is funny because this is NOT my first read of the series.

Overall, a great read for someone looking for a scare.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 07: The Calm Before by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

Perhaps one of the weakest length in the early run of the series, The Calm Before is basically a filler volume. Each issue had its perks and flaws but for the most part, the title says it all. It's a base. It is the calm before a storm--and the way that it ends on a cliffhanger, as per usual, makes this fact stand out more. The Walking Dead once again captures the horrors of how deeply scarring the world they are living in is. It's dark and gritty.

You know, the two things that stick out to me most in this volume is the mental health issues that plague one of the groups own--the days leading up to her successfully committing suicide. And the idea of starting--or continuing--a family in such dire circumstances. Can you imagine bringing up a child in this world? What Carl says is perfectly put--any new child would not know the world as it was, only as it now is. Something about that is chilling and perhaps one of the most emotionally charged moments in The Calm Before.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 06: This Sorrowful Life by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn | Rating: ★★★★☆

Proving once again what a staple this is in anyone's horror/graphic novel collection, The Walking Dead continues with its sixth volume, a collection of gory tales of survival in a zombie apocalypse. You see the horrors first hand--the death, the savage nature we're drawn to, the burning passion of love and hate and most of all surviving until tomorrow. During my first reading of this series, I have to admit, I wasn't altogether fond of many of the strips in This Sorrowful Life but this time around I enjoyed it far more than I had. I still have some complaints (more of life back at the prison as the group grapples to survive, not knowing whether Rick, Michonne and Glenn are dead) but for the most part this was one of the most suspenseful installments yet.

The biggest threat isn't always zombies in The Walking Dead: it's humans, too, at their very worst. Enter, The Governor. Sadistic, troubling, chilling--any of these things can describe such a horrid character. He is one of those characters that scares the heck out of you and makes your stomach turn. Worst of all, he is holding some of the survivors captive and torturing them.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 05: The Best Defense by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn | Rating: ★★★★☆

AND A WORTHY, SPINE TINGLING VILLAIN FINALLY ARRIVES. You know, the level of emotional distress and disturbance has always been high in this one, what with the introduction of The Governor. In its history, The Walking Dead has always balanced that sort of terrifying and unhinged tone to some of its greatest, most disturbing, villains. The Best Defense is proof of that--suddenly, surviving is much more trying than it had been for the group (in particular: Glenn, Michonne and Rick) and the events of this one are horrifying. What always strikes me about this one is that the biggest horror doesn't necessarily come about by the threat of the zombies we've come to fear.

Instead, the focus is shifted back on the horrors of humanity. We explored this briefly in past issues and volumes (including the last installment) but something about this one hits you right where it hurts. Because seeing some of the strongest characters in the history of the comics in such a dangerous position after going out and searching for fellow survivors to bring back to the prison is heartbreaking.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 04: The Heart's Desire by  Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn | Rating: ★★★★☆

Continuing on with my binge reread (as well as my first time reviewing the graphic novels, ah!) of The Walking Dead we've officially reached volume four. Time really flies by when you're reading one of these volumes--I have to stop myself from reading the entire series because if I could, I would do so and not eat/sleep. The Heart's Desire is one of my favourites to read because to me, it is one of the quickest. Also--Michonne is introduced in this go.

So for me, the intrigue is at an all-time high. Death and loss during the series are common. I mean, hello? Zombies. There's always that threat and the lengths they will go to continue to survive. At its deepest, that's what The Walking Dead is about; the complexities of remaining humane whilst surviving the most dire of circumstances. I think that The Heart's Desire really plays into this fact well and shows the most soul that we've seen in the first quarter of the series.

That being said: the massive cliffhanger at the end of the third volume is confronted right away and it's something that Rick struggles with through the remainder of this installment. I always thought that seeing this shift in Rick was one of the most realistic paths the novels could have taken with his entire persona. He is very conflicted trying to figure out where he stands and what his morals are nowadays and I think that's one of the most fascinating developments.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 03: Safety Behind Bars by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn | Rating: ★★★★☆

My rating of the third volume, Safety Behind Bars is a bit lower than I anticipated. I loved it on my first read and still enjoyed it this time around but much less than before. A lot of the plots in this were fantastic--action packed, dramatic, heart-wrenching and downright spooky. Yet there was a bit of something missing in the tone when compared to its previous, and later, installments. I do not want you to misinterpret this as me saying it wasn't a good read because it was.

But! I thought there were parts that dragged on a little too much and relied on something else entirely at the end of the day. Can't really explain it beyond that--from two young characters gruesome deaths, the former inmates from the prison the gang now resides in, to the suicide pact of two other characters and the attempted murder of another, there's a hell of a lot to be seen. Just as disturbingly compelling as you expect, it definitely left me both on the edge of my seat and lost elsewhere in my emotions.

I loved the recurring themes of survival--would it really be a The Walking Dead story without it?--and the fact that Rick's emotional struggles are posed front and center.

The Walking Dead Vol. 02: Miles Behind Us by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn | Rating:  ★★★★★

There's something about The Walking Dead that feels like a classic horror film--it's easy to see why its following has stuck to it so long and why T.V. fans everywhere salivate for its phenomenal television adaptation. In Miles Behind Us, the second volume of the graphic novel series that started it all, we see a glimmer of life as the survivors struggle to--well--survive.

After the groundwork is set for the series as a whole, both in volumes one and two, we settle in with the loss of Shane (and the potential gravity of Carl having done the deed); the unexpected pregnancy of another character, the arrival of several new faces, the loss of others, a main character is nearly lost and more. In other words: plot twist after plot twist after plot twist.

Miles Behind Us feels like an expansion on what was already set up as an introduction to a brave (and horrible) new world. Now that we're familiar with the general story board, we're able to flesh out the characters and their connections to one another as well as, hopefully, dive into backstories and the like. What I liked most about Miles Behind Us is that it felt undeniably like it was more fleshed out than the first volume. This is a factor that comes into play in any story--the more development there is, the more compelling the stories become. And in a series like The Walking Dead, the story only grows from here on out.

The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore (Illustrator) | Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)

The Walking Dead is--and always will be--one of my all time favourite comics. Days Gone Bye proves to not only be one of the most compelling first installments to what appears to be (on first read) one of the best releases in recent years. Admittedly the first few are fantastic but lack a little bit in comparison to future volumes. That doesn't make Days Gone Bye any less than it is.

The thing about zombies in popular fiction is that a genre (more than one, really) bends to fit a certain story type and often the tropes just don't work. In that sense, it's kind of like all warmth has been sucked dry from the tale and it becomes the zombie they are writing about. The Walking Dead has never had that problem--and hopefully never will.

What always strikes me about revisiting Days Gone Bye is that it always feels like what's old becomes new again. It's an introduction to this world the characters are forced to survive in but it also gives that glimmer of strength and perhaps a bit of hope. Looking back at this you can't help but to feel a bit of nostalgia because it's more than just another end-of-the world rundown story.