It’s the age-old question when consuming any piece of popular adapted media. Should you read the source material? With so many shows and movies being converted from books or graphic novels, the opportunity is almost always there. The question then becomes whether or not you want to read the media and enjoy all its twists and turns for the first time in that format, or if you want to be surprised by the show/movie as you see things unfold there for a the first time. A Song of Ice and Fire readers know nearly all the biggest twists of the show, as so far, the HBO adaptation sticks pretty close to the books. But Dexter fans who might have read the original novels were no better off than show readers, as Showtime went in a wildly different direction than the books, which had Dexter killing La Guerta right away, and wrestling with his “Dark Passenger” as a literal evil spirit that possessed him. The Walking Dead comic falls somewhere in the middle. Though the show follows a loose framework that mirrors the comics, more often than not it does its own thing, and it can be odd trying to “follow along” as the two constantly weave in and out of each other.
So if you’re a fan of the show, should you read them? (spoilers for the show and comics follow). It’s likely a matter of preference, and there are a few ways to go about it. You can read every comic out there right now, and pick up all the new issues when they come out. You can read none of them and watch the show alone. Or you can read the comics up until the point where the show has reached. I tried that last one for a while, but that becomes a tricky prospect once the plotlines start getting wobbly. It becomes harder to know exactly when you’re “caught up,” and going one issue too far could mean you run into a spoiler, which is what you’re presumably trying to avoid. I’m not sure I recommend this. But similarly, reading the comics can make for a rather strange show-watching experience too, even if you think you know the answers. A Song of Ice and Fire reader may know exactly who is going to die next episode on Game of Thrones, but not so for The Walking Dead.
The best example of this is a scene from season four of The Walking Dead where the Governor has both Michonne and Herschel captured, and is threatening to kill at least one of them with a sword. So who did he pick in the comics? Neither. In the comics, it was Tyreese who was captured and executed with the sword. That scene made comic reader’s heads spin. They had the spoiler of knowing SOMEONE was going to die, but which one? It could be Michonne, given that she’s another young, strong warrior type like Tyreese, or it could be Herschel, given that Michonne is important to later parts of the story. It’s like going into the final episodes of season one of Game of Thrones expecting to see Ned Stark on trial, but instead it’s Robb and Jon Snow on the chopping block. And past that, now comic readers have to wonder if and when Tyreese is going to die, given that he was killed so long ago in the comics.
Similarly, reading the comics can be an exercise in frustration for those who are attached to various characters. For example, in the comics Andrea is a huge badass, and one of the best characters of the series. In the show, comic fans were sad to see her reduced to something of an idiot, and ultimately killed off. In that sense, the comic fans got the better end of the deal as they didn’t have to endure crappy Andrea in the comics, but then they had to see their idea of her shattered on the show. You can see the conundrum here, and why The Walking Dead’s source material more problematic than many other adaptations. The comic has some advantages, while the show has others (Daryl, for example, doesn’t exist in the comic at all).
It’s up to you whether you want to consume the comic. Personally, I’ve sworn it off because I don’t like the idea of knowing spoilers that may or may not really be spoilers, so I’m constantly trying to figure out what it is I do or do not actually know. I’d rather either know nothing at all, or know everything, and being in the middle is unsettling to me. But that may not be the case for you. Read the first few issues and see what you think of the Walking Dead comic. Once you “catch up” after a hundred issues or so, then you can make a new decision whether to press forward into uncharted territory.
[Photos via AMC and Image Comics]
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