The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made To Suffer [Paperback]

I've been following "The Walking Dead" since the first trade paperback. I'm so devoted to this series that I bought a newly released collection while on vacation in Sweden a couple years ago because I couldn't wait to catch up. I wasn't sure what direction Mr. Kirkman would take after the last collection's apocalyptic final page, but he has certainly gone to the dark side with this volume. That man has *no* mercy. Wow.

In a flashback we see The Governor, body horribly maimed by Michonne but hateful soul intact, marshalling his forces against Rick's enclave using blatant lies and force of will. Suffice to say that he's more twisted now than ever, especially given the depths he's sunk to in his relationship with the little girl zombie he keeps leashed up at home. Between her and his "entertainment system," we see that he's more comfortable relating with the undead than with the living.

After we return to his assault on the prison, things get even nastier. No quarter is asked, and none given. Familiar characters are brutally murdered, badly wounded, spiritually broken, or flee for their lives. What makes this volume so devastating is that many longtime players are lost or forever damaged, even some that have been around since day one. And of course, the undead feast on anyone unlucky enough to get in their way (talk about survival of the fittest). As with most zombie stories, the undead aren't really the villains. Indeed, the living are more gruesome and do the most heinous deeds by far.

In the end, we have yet another of Mr. Kirkman's trademark cliffhangers, one that tops all the previous ones in its horror and desolation. I don't know what Mr. Kirkman snorts while writing these stories, but it must be some hardcore stuff. Absolutely recommended - but not for kids or the faint of heart.

The eight installments of The Walking Dead should be titled: Santa ate the Easter Bunny, then raped the Tooth Fairy and hung himself. Robert Kirkman chose to go with Made to Suffer.

In case you didn't get it...this story is all bad. I challenge you to have an ounce of happiness left in your soul after reading this chapter. I couldn't smile for a week. Suffice it to say, set this one down and find a quiet place and get all your cryin' done before trying to be around other people.

No I won't even give you a hint as to who, if anybody, is left by the end. However, I will say that Kirkman takes a real chance here. Any of the delicate souls who survived what happened to Michonne a couple of episodes back at the hands of The Governor, might actually surrender after reading Made to Suffer.

What really stood out in this volume, besides the heaping of bad things on out protagonist, was the look into the psyche of a sociopath. If you've ever wondered what makes a villain tick, Kirkman gives you a peek behind the curtain. You are able to see how sick bastards like Jim Jones, Adolf Hitler, and David Koresh get inside people's minds and distort reality to fit their twisted agendas/ (yeah, boo-hoo, I made a list of controversial figures that some people won't like. If you read zombie fiction and THAT offended you, try the Twilight Series.)

When you reach the final page of this one, you may almost dread picking up the next one. Of course...like me...many of you will continue on like a battle-weary veteran. However, unlike when I first read it, you can pick up volume nine and dig right in. I actually needed those few months to digest all that transpired.

Do yourself a favor: take the time to re-read this issue. It deserves the time and you may be able to savor the amazing ability of Kirkman to reach down and pull out a part of your heart and spirit. Those who may have doubted my earlier claims that Robert Kirkman is indeed the new king may finally see what I've seen for so long.

I only have two words for Mister Kirkman before digging into the next offering: Thank you!

Most of the folks here already know that The Walking Dead saga is a compilation of stories by Robert Kirkman that expand on the story that is well know to any zombie movie fan....The main story. The one started in earnest by George Romero in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead [and was later remade in 1990 (the version that I prefer) by Tom Savini (with Romero oversight)].

The Walking Dead Volume 8 continues the story of former Normal-World Police Officer Rick Grimes and those that he comes in contact with in a New World...a world that has been over-run by zombies.

I'd agree with you if you thought that maybe The Walking Dead, Vol. 7: The Calm Before took a major pause in the epic series to focus less on zombies and more on what happens to society, its morals, laws and standards when government is lost and the planet becomes mostly uninhabitable.

You'll probably recall that previous volumes in the series showed how venturing out of the confines and security provided by the characters' home (established in Volume 3) are less than safe. The new zombie-infested world is dangerous not only because of the hordes of undead, but outside the gates await unfathomable chaos and horror in the pockets of societies of other survivors (see Volumes 5 and 6)....Especially in Volume 6 where survivors in desperate situations do the unthinkable to stay alive (or entertained).

By the end of Volume 6 we thought that one of the major threats to the primary group of survivors that the series follows had been removed. But what fan of the series can forget the cliffhanger of a last page from Volume 7? Volume 7 was appropriately named "The Calm Before", because Volume 8 is indeed a storm. Volume 8 picks up right from the shocker of a final Volume 7 page and relentlessly presents a war...not between the undead and man...but between two societies of the living in a world gone mad.

There's real, heartfelt emotion in The Walking Dead series combined with believable scenarios. I was never a big comic book guy prior to this series. Now I'm singing a different tune. This comic book series blows the doors off of a lot DVDs that I've wasted time with, and it's introduced me to a whole new entertainment media.

Anyway, the volume releases of The Walking Dead are like reading a screenplay with storyboards of a version of Night of the Living Dead that began simultaneously, but in a different part of the country (much like George Romero's late 2007 release, Diary of the Dead). Yes, The Walking Dead is kind of a rip-off of a story (stories) already told, but the key is that it's done very very well. The zombies are true to the original Romero creation: slow and stupid as opposed to the fast and thinking "infected" in (28 Weeks Later / 28 Days Later) or the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.

Each Walking Dead volume only takes about an hour to get all the way through, and they leave you wanting more. And they seem to keep coming; I think that issues 49 - 55 will likely comprise Volume 9 (with issue 55 due in Sept '08), so unfortunately, as of this writing, only #49 - #53 are published. The wait begins.

Volumes 1 - 8 are all available individually. A hard cover combination of Volumes 1 & 2 is out (The Walking Dead Book 1, a hard cover combination of Volumes 3 & 4 is out (The Walking Dead, Book 2), and Volumes 5 & 6 are now combined in Hardcover (The Walking Dead Book 3).

Anyone in need of a very well done zombie fix that you don't put into your DVD player should absolutely get down with The Walking Dead sickness. Add it to your cart, but be sure to start with Volume 1 and read them chronologically.