5) The Comic Trumps The TV Show In Brutality
Ignoring the much gorier season 3 of The Walking Dead, AMC’s show hadn’t come anywhere near how graphic and grotesque Kirkman’s comic is, missing out on certain horror elements and more horridly squeamishness moments. Sure, I’m glad Glen Mazzara injected some much needed life into the show with much more approvable zombie deaths and some pretty gruesome scenes, but his unforgivable season finale seriously makes me question whether it was all worth it. The body count rose, creativity definitely improved, but it also doesn’t make up for the fact that seasons 1 and 2 were missing this new-found excitement for entirely too long. It shouldn’t have taken until the season 2 finale just to give us something worth biting into.
The comics on the other hand have literally made me cringe through some scenes – and not even deaths. Not to spoil any momentous events, but pretty far into the story something happens to Carl during a zombie attack, and there’s a full pane where he just looks at his dad displaying the wound, and my heart literally jumped into my throat. In the comic realm, Carl has seriously been put through the ringer, and I respect that character so much more than our now TV show “badass” who’s been desensitized to violence, and that panel literally knocked the wind out of me – something I don’t think TV Carl can accomplish.
Specific Examples:
The things done during Rick’s war with The Governor are entirely more brutal and vicious than the TV show. I’m not sure if that’s where they’re going with season 4, but up to now, Kirkman’s comic spilled gallons more blood than AMC’s version of the Woodbury vs. Jail territory war.
