THE WALKING DEAD #20
© Image
Time Out for Torture
By: Kurt AmackerDate: Wednesday, December 13, 2006
I love The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman’s zombie epic rarely fails to impress, and I conclude each issue cursing his name for ending it. Though I’ve found the book a bit slow in the past few months, I still continue to enjoy the hell out of it. I only regret ignoring the series for its first year and having to catch up with trade paperbacks. I never would’ve guessed that a black and white zombie comic from Image would have lasted this long and enjoyed such prestige. In fact, the 33rd issue of the series just sold out at Diamond, prompting Image to reprint it. However, this issue sold out not for any dynamite revelations, first appearances, or super-collectible-holofoil
On-camera violence in movies and comics rarely bothers me. It’s not real. If I find myself too engrossed and horrified, I can always pull myself back by remembering that no one has actually suffered the indignities depicted therein. As such, the torture scene in The Walking Dead didn’t really disgust me on a visceral level. I’ve seen Takashi Miike’s Audition and a host of equally graphic horror films. While I don’t necessarily cheer for such displays of human indignity, they don’t necessarily bother me beyond the initial – and intended – sense of fright and revulsion. We are talking about horror, after all. No one watches movies like that for an uplifting display of the triumph of the human spirit. But, I can’t help but explore the necessity of such a situation. While such images rarely offend me in and of themselves, I don’t necessarily condone them in every single visual narrative, let alone horror story. I don’t think Alfred Hitchcock could’ve improved Psycho with a torture scene between Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. But, Eli Roth’s Hostel wouldn’t have had the impact it did with a muted approach to the violence. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t.
Image has never shied away from graphic content. I remember reading Spawn as a kid and marveling at the bevy of severed limbs and forcibly removed organs that littered its pages – a huge difference from the tamer material coming from Marvel and DC. And, like any publisher willing to forgo the Comics Code Authority, Image has a huge amount of leeway in depicting anything short of graphic sexuality. Anyone not publishing for the tykes can and usually will publish whatever they want. And yet, one has to wonder when a story calls for extreme violence, such as torture, dismemberment, and sexual assault, as The Walking Dead has so recently featured. I don’t want to condemn Robert Kirkman for the torture scene or Michonne’s rape at the hands of the Governor. He could’ve asked for far more graphic depictions than he did and, after all, this is a horror title. I just want to examine what he’s accomplished in the story with those devices, and how their absence might’ve changed things.
Kirkman has suggested that Michonne might either have multiple personality disorder or some other mental illness. Several issues ago, he showed her talking to someone in her cell at the prison, only to reveal that she sat there alone. Not that I didn’t want to see the Governor suffer, but Michonne’s extreme reaction and the length Kirkman devoted to it leaves little room for interpretation – she’s batsh-t insane and we can only wait until she snaps and turns on the rest of the survivors. Had Kirkman muted the scene and just showed the Governor screaming with the shadow of Michonne holding a power drill looming over him, the reader might still pause before calling for a straightjacket for the woman. He raped her, they live in a violent post-apocalyptic world, and government and law enforcement won’t arrive any time soon. To a degree, killing him seems justifiable. It could very well end his reign of terror over the outpost and spare future women the same fate suffered by Michonne. Sparing the reader the details might make the act seem less reprehensible. But, by pulling no punches, Kirkman forces the reader to not so much sympathize with the governor, but realize the Michonne has gone off the deep end. In a way, he almost does the reader a service by refusing to downplay the horror of such an act – if you think the Governor deserves violent justice, that’s what it looks like and Kirkman hopes you’re happy.
One still has to wonder if an issue-long torture scene serves the story, though. I don’t mean to imply that it performs no service at all and I hope I’ve made that clear. I don’t necessarily think that the tale of the survivors’ discovery of the outpost, their capture, their torture, and their subsequent escape would improve with the removal of the scene – again, horror series and all. I suppose the monthly schedule of the series just increases the impact of the scene, given that it lacks the events that immediately precede and follow it in the continuing series. Its release in trade paperback might soften the blow. As it stands, though, it feels like “time out for torture” in the middle of a riveting escape story. Whether it serves the story or detracts from it, I leave to you, because I’m of mixed feelings about it.
The Spinner Rack
By Al Brown and Kurt Amacker
Al: This week: um, lunchboxes. And lots of 'em. Also, Blade stabs Santa.
Kurt: I got my lunchbox and I’m armed real well!
DARK HORSE COMICS
Blade Of The Immortal #120 (MR) $2.99
Classic Peanuts Character #1 Charlie Brown $39.95
Crying Freeman Vol 4 TP (MR) $14.95
Kurt: He must’ve watched Dreamcatchers again.
Escapists #6 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Aw man, this is over? Suck! It was so awesome.
Gremlins Gremlin Gus Pvc Set $14.99
Gremlins Jamface Pvc Set $14.99
Hellboy Abe Sapien Animated Statue $150.00
Hellboy Animated Statue #1 Hellboy $150.00
Hot Stuff Charmer Figure $24.99
Al: Don't be fooled! This is actually a figure of Kurt wearing women's underwear.
Kurt: It’s not my fault you’re insecure in your masculinity, you hate monger.
Lunchbox Amanda Visell A Robot Wants My Lunchbox $14.99
Al: So, anybody want a lunchbox? Do people actually use these for lunch, or is it straight-up kitsch value? I'll say this: if a robot wanted my lunchbox, I would give it to him. Because robots are strong.
Kurt: Yeah, but they don’t really eat lunch, so I don’t see the point.
Lunchbox Coop $14.99
Lunchbox Gary Baseman Lunch Of Unearthly Delights $14.99
Lunchbox Greg Simkins Wanna Sammich $14.99
Lunchbox Joe Ledbetter Dragon Tongue $14.99
Lunchbox Kii Arens LA LA Lunch $14.99
Lunchbox Niagara Baby Doll $14.99
Lunchbox Shag My First Cocktail $14.99
Al: I guess they probably put out more crap like this for the holidays. Man, if someone gets me a lunchbox for Christmas I'm gonna hit them with it. I want Guitar Hero II! Nothing else will do. NOTHING.
Kurt: That’s funny. All I want for Christmas is the eternal suffering of my enemies – and that New X-Men Omnibus by Grant Morrison.
Mail Vol 1 TP (MR) $10.95
Outer Orbit #1 (of 4) $2.99
Star Wars Legacy (new Ptg) #1 (PP #736) $2.99
DC COMICS
100 Bullets #79 (MR) $2.99
52 Week #32 $2.50
Batman #660 $2.99
Batman Strikes #28 $2.25
Bite Club #1 Poster $7.99
Cartoon Network Action Pack #8 $2.25
DCU Infinite Christmas Special $4.99
Al: Oh, ew.
Kurt: You know that someone at DC thought the title up first and then built a story around it. Still, I think it’s better if we just put Infinite Crisis far behind us.
DMZ #14 (MR) $2.99
DMZ #2 Poster $7.99
Emma Vol 2 $9.99
Ex Machina #25 (MR) $2.99
Al: A stand-alone story starring Bradbury, Hundred's bodyguard.
Kurt: I love this series. It will keep me warm at night when Joss Whedon takes over Runaways.
Firestorm The Nuclear Man #32 $2.99
Fosters Statue Wilt And Coco $125.00
Gen 13 #3 $2.99
Al: Okay, I'll say it: The entire Wildstorm relaunch has been a catastrophic failure. My only hope is that Grant Morrison has something up his sleeve with Authority, which is likely but not enough; that thing's only bimonthly anyway, I think.
Kurt: I have to admit I was pretty stoked for WildCats and it kind of let me down.
Gen 13 Var Edition #3 $2.99
Green Arrow #69 $2.99
Green Lantern Corps #7 $2.99
JLA Classified #30 $2.99
Justice League Of America #4 $2.99
Kurt: I hate to be a contentious prick, but this book has not lived up to the hype.
Justice League Of America Var ED #4 $2.99
Mad Classics #12 $4.99
Mad Magazine #473 $3.99
Martian Manhunter #5 (of 8) $2.99
New Teen Titans Terra Incognito TP $19.99
Omac #6 (of 8) $2.99
Robin #157 $2.99
Al: Klarion the Witch Boy guest stars as Robin fights to save the life of a stray cat. Don't look at me, man. I didn't write it.
Sandman Mystery Theatre Sleep Of Reason #1 (of 5) (MR) $2.99
Spirit #1 $2.99
Al: Darwyn Cooke resurrects the classic character.
Stormwatch Phd #2 $2.99
Stormwatch Phd Var Edition #2 $2.99
Superman The Greatest Stories Ever Told Vol 2 TP $19.99
Tales Of The Unexpected #3 (of 8) $3.99
Trials Of Shazam #4 (of 12) $2.99
Wildstorm Fine Art Spotlight Jim Lee $3.50
IMAGE COMICS
Battle Pope #12 (MR) $3.50
Fear Agent #9 $2.99
Frank Cho Women Selected Drawings & Illustrations TP (MR) $14.99
Al: Cue fanboy panting.
Kurt: And fan-girl eye rolling.
Girls #20 (MR) $2.99
Hunter Killer #10 $2.99
Kurt: If this book keeps coming out on time, how will I make fun of it?
Portent Vol 1 TP $12.99
Sea Of Red No Grave But The Sea Vol 1 TP New Ptg (MR) $8.99
Kurt: By this for that special Goth boy or girl in your life, especially if they like pirates.
Sea Of Red Vol 3 Deadlights TP (MR) $14.99
Strange Girl #12 $2.99
MARVEL COMICS
Amazing Spider-Girl #3 $2.99
Avengers Next #3 (of 5) $2.99
Blade #4 $2.99
Al: Ha ha ha, Santa Claus is a vampire and Blade is gonna stab him through the heart. That's fantastic. I'm totally buying this.
Kurt: Howard Chaykin’s art has gone downhill, but the last issue was actually pretty good. I’m really starting to like Marc Guggenheim’s stuff.
Bullet Points #2 (of 5) $2.99
Al: Right, so if Steve Rogers doesn't become Captain America, then Peter Parker becomes the Hulk. Of course.
Dark Tower Door Poster $12.99
Essential Off Handbook Marvel Universe Update 89 Vol 1 TP $16.99
Exiles Annual #1 $3.99
Al: Original lineup vs new lineup! I can never remember who's on the team anyway though.
Fantastic Four The End #3 (of 6) $2.99
Ghost Rider #6 $2.99
Kurt: And, unlike the rest of the planet, I actually enjoy Daniel Way’s stuff, both in this title and Wolverine: Origins.
Heroes Reborn Avengers TP $29.99
Kurt: This, however, I don’t enjoy. This should go away and never come back.
Magician Apprentice #4 (of 12) $2.99
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #19 $2.99
Al: With Arcade, one of my favorite villains.
Marvel Masterworks Avengers Vol 6 HC Var ED 70 $54.99
Marvel Masterworks Avengers Vol 6 New ED HC $49.99
New X-Men #33 $2.99
Punisher Max From First To Last HC (MR) $19.99
Al: Collecting three one-shots: The Tyger, The Cell and The End. The latter two were absolutely awesome. Don't remember Tyger, but when you spell it with a "y" I assume you're making a William Blake reference, and that should've been retired after Kraven's Last Hunt.
Kurt: From First to Last also happens to be the name of an ass-eriffic metal band.
Supreme Power Vol 2 HC (MR) $29.99
Ultimate Marvel Flip Magazine #20 $4.99
Ultimate Tales Flip Magazine #20 $4.99
Ultimate X-Men #77 $2.99
Universe X Vol 1 TP New Ptg $29.99
Wolverine #49 $3.99
Wolverine Origins & Endings TP $13.99
Wonder Man #1 (of 5) $2.99
Al: Oh yeah, we were clamoring for this one.
X-23 Target X #1 (of 6) $2.99
X-23 Target X Djurdjevic Var #1 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Heh. Djurdjevic. It's funny because it's foreign.
Kurt: Boy, Borat really proved that in spades, didn’t it?
X-Factor #14 $2.99
X-Men Phoenix Warsong #4 (of 5) $2.99
Al: This series is lame. That is all.
Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@mania.com.
