The Walking Dead: Volume 3 - Safety Behind Bars.

Just wanted to check out another Walking Dead volume before starting the Mid-Week TV Clusterfuck, enjoy!

Looking around at user reviews, and reviews in general, I was pleased to find that most people hated Adlard's art on the last volume and most felt it was a much poorer outing than the first volume. See, I don't try and be different on purpose! And thankfully when I read reviews of the third volume, knowing I was on the same page as everyone, I was pleased to find people both found Adlard's art had improved, as had the writing, so I got a little more excited. Is this a better outing than the second volume? Let's find out...

First things first, yes the artwork is better but that says nothing. How Adlard got a job in comics, I really have no idea. A kid with a pack of crayons could do better than this shit. Well at least I can make out what is happening in action scenes now., the action scenes last volume looked a lot like the doodles I do in the margins during lectures.

Our opening issue #13, is a promising start to the volume, it opens with a bang, I guess to make up for the lack of zombie slaying in the last volume and I suppose to make up for an otherwise flat and and abrupt ending to this volume as well. The whole issue feels very true to the quality of the first volume with a beautiful blend of zombie slaying and character development as they arrive in the prison and start killing all the zombies there, eventually heading inside to look for food.

Issue #14 only furthers the promise and my enjoyment of this volume as we get a bit of a summary of the world of The Walking Dead so far, of things we both already know and things we can only theorise. Government, communication, organisation and resistance are all gone. And since they've seen no military presence at all, it's logical to assume this is global. Also, with spring on the way zombies are becoming much more lively again and we also learn that everyone is infected, that they are just waiting to die and be turned. In issue #13 we discovered four inmates had survived, they are made up of an armed robber-Axel, a tax fraudster-Thomas, a drug dealer-Andrew and a murderer-Dexter, although we can't take any of this as gospel being that they are criminals. We also learn about their situation, although they have more theories than facts, the guards left the prisoners behind, but perhaps not to die as they let them out before they left, how the zombies got in they don't know either, the place was quickly overrun and despite letting them out of their cells and fighting their way out with the prisoners, the guards eventually locked the exit behind them, trapping the prisoners inside the building. Oh and Hershel, all his family and Glenn are all back now. Yay?

Issue #15 is the conflict/gut-punch chapter - there is a lot of death and shocking twists, with a bit of character and story development to keep it from feeling like a novelty chapter and that is really all you need to know. I mean sure, the details have changed, but you've practically read this chapter several times over through the three volumes already. What is important in this chapter is that I think this is the first time where we really start to see Grimes' slipping from that otherwise Paladin Level Holiness he has had so far. It also gives us a chance to see Shane as a zombie, as Grimes, learning that all dead turn, didn't want to leave zombie Shane buried under the ground. While Grimes is away doing that, some of the cast get haircuts and start clearing out more areas of the prison. And of course with these kind of chapters, it ends on a twist.

Issue #16 is largely one long follow on from the last chapter and the start of a murder mystery! Grimes is continuing to ride around on his motorcycle getting swarmed, Hershel's beheaded daughters come back to life - Glenn has to put them down, Glenn and the gang flee from the gym after getting swarmed - leaving Tyreese to die. Wow, everything sure went to shit quickly at this prison. Grimes has a lot of shit to come 'home' too. This is easily the most badass chapter of the whole series, Tyreese is by far my favourite character since Shane. We also learn who the killer is!


Issue #17 sees order really created for the first time. Sure the camp in the first volume had leaders and systems, but really, so far the survivors have just been bouncing around and playing it by ear. However with Thomas killing Hershel's girls and trying to kill Andrea, Grimes beats him almost to death and decides capital punishment is the way forwards. You kill, you will be killed. And everyone either agrees or is too scared of Grimes to argue. Except Lori who continues to try and be the least likeable thing in the whole series. If they want to start a life here in the prison, who better to set the rules than the cop amongst them? We also get two new added threats this chapter, the prisoners are planning to rebel against the survivors who basically arrived at the prison and took over. And that despite the fence, with zombies gathering in droves every day, there is going to get a point where there'll be too many for the fence to hold - so they devise a plan to cut down the numbers.  

Issue #18 is easily the least interesting part of the whole volume. Rather than going out with a bang, it is more chapter #17's epilogue followed by a cheap cliffhanger. Awesome...

For a long time Chris and Julie have been plotting something. I never even brought it up or mentioned it before because most of the scenes were so incredibly small, there was nothing of substance to even mention. I had just kinda assumed they were going to kill Tyreese but I didn't think a review was really a place to discuss theories. We finally find out what they were plotting this volume. A suicide pact, to consummate their relationship, then shoot each other. And of course, this is The Walking Dead after all, this goes horribly wrong. Seems kind of odd they built this up so long, because it never really goes anywhere...well not in this volume anyway.

Everything is improved in Volume 3, the blend between action and character development is back to that brilliant balance the first volume had. There is some great humour, they stick to one location to give it poignancy and by adding new characters we automatically don't trust because they are prisoners adds an extra level of tension to it all. Volume 2 ultimately feels like a drastically different direction for the series and a drastic step in the wrong direction however I definitely think the series needs a shake up, the series is starting to feel very scripted, box ticked, formulaic stuff. There is the conflict of interest, the gut-punch etc etc I mean I know there is only so much you can do, but how long until faces and places change, but you realise you're just reading the same story over and over? I mean I still have like 90 chapters left, so if it continues like this it's going to get very boring very quickly.

However, this almost seems to be becoming a theme in itself. In every day to day life, one death of someone close can be the most earth shattering moment of your entire life. Here they can lose three friends in a day and it's becoming so normal, they take a moment, then shrug it off and carry on. Zombies are often used as a metaphor of the modern people and you have to wonder how different will the survivors be from the zombies by the end, when they become so desensitised to everything?

There sure is a lot of sex and nudity in this volume, at least compared to the others. Sex, boobs, shower scenes, lesbian kisses. Why? Did you think The Walking Dead really needed that? I mean I'm not complaining, but this just feels really unnecessary.

One interesting dynamic they introduced into this volume that I really enjoyed was the role reversal. We've followed Grimes and the survivors, so we all trust them but the people in the world of The Walking Dead don't. So the prisoners think that the survivors are the crazies and the survivors think the criminals are the crazies because they are the criminals...it just introduces a really interesting dynamic. Just adds a shade or two of grey.

Another introduced theme is the notion of broken psyche. It's starting to feel like everything is cracking, people and bonds. Maybe Dexter is right, maybe before this is all over, they'll all just turn on each other and wipe each other out. Ironically the fact that everyone is starting to crack is really the start of proper organisation, hierarchy's and rules. This is a new beginning, they could be the start of a new civilisation, living and turning in a prison surrounded by zombies.

So do I recommend it? Honestly, Safety By Bars is easily my favourite volume yet, even with the lacklustre art and rather flat conclusion  It's basically the first volume again but with the badass turned all the way up. My only worries now are where exactly this series can go and keep going for the next 90 or so chapters without feeling as stale as the zombies that populate it.

Think About It!

-Locke