The Toast

Kinemortephobia- They’re Here!

ATTENTION READERS! The zombie apocalypse is extremely f#$king nigh! With bath salts easily accessible, it seems that the human race stands no chance in avoiding the inevitable takeover by the undead. In the world of “The Walking Dead,” the end has already arrived. Our hero, Rick Grimes, has woken up to a time that he is completely unfamiliar with, a land of the living dead.

When we last saw our protagonist, he had made his way into the city of Atlanta in hopes to find more of the living and less of the undead with the ultimate goal of finding shelter and perhaps being reunited with his family. Unfortunately for Rick, his arrival to Atlanta is not the safety net he imagined it would be.

In the television series, the second episode, entitled “Guts,” we find Rick trapped inside a tank in the middle of an Atlanta street. Before I get further into the episode, I should mention that at the end of episode one, he had already arrived in the city to find that it was deprived of any living people, except for the walking dead of course. When he finds that he is surrounded and has no other way to go, he sees an abandoned tank to take shelter in. It seems like he may have gotten himself into a situation that he may not be able to get out of. Trapped and beginning to panic, Rick is not what to do until he hears a voice coming over the radio. The voice is directing him to safety, but who is it?

Unfortunately, Rick has placed other lives besides his own in danger when he started shooting at the walkers. It is here that we meet some more survivors (of the television series). Where did they come from? Outside of the city where they have set up camp along with other survivors including POSSIBLE SPOILER Rick’s wife, son, and partner Shane, who have decided to start their lives over together since losing Rick. Andrea, T-Dog, Merle, Morales, Jacqui and Glenn (the voice directing Rick to safety) have all sneaked into the city in order to grab supplies for camp. Their intention was to quietly creep in and quietly get out as fast as they could. After Glenn directs Rick to the store that the others are in, they let Rick know that the quiet escape is now not possible and they’re all trapped. “We came into the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key of scavenging is? Surviving. You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out. Tip toeing, not shooting up the streets like its O.K. Corral,” Morales says to Rick as the swarm of walkers can be seen waiting at the store entrance for a chance at a meal. To keep from disclosing all details, important (more possible spoilers) and non-important details, they find a way out, but at a cost; not everyone makes it back to camp.  In the meantime, the rest of the members at the camp are left wondering where their loved ones are and if they’re even still alive. Amy, Andrea’s sister, is one of the most concerned.

In the comic book, Rick has not quite made it to the city yet. He has just left the Jones’ and is making his way towards Atlanta. This is one of the differences between the show and the comic book. This scenario has already occurred in the first episode, which was an hour and a half (possibly 2 hours) and not only incorporated new elements, but also portions of the first and second edition of the comic book. Getting back to the book, Rick obtains a horse and makes his way into the city (which he already did in the first episode), and just like in the show, he finds himself surrounded by walkers with no one to assist him in his getaway… but he’s not really alone.

Just like in the show, Glenn assists Rick in escaping certain death (for now) and brings him to safety. The difference here is that there was no tank for Rick to find shelter in. He was out in the open without any type of shield against the zombies. Another difference between the show and the comic books is that Glenn is the only one from camp who came into the city for supplies. As mentioned, in the show there was an entire scavenging group that went into the city to gather supplies.

The escape from the zombies in the city is seemingly effortless in the comics. In the show, there is a detailed plan executed by the group in order to get out of Atlanta. In the book, Glenn and Rick do what seems like some parkour jumping from building to building and a little running to get safely outside the city.  It’s after they stop to catch their breath that Glenn breaks the news to Rick about the city. He explains that the government initially encouraged everyone to come to the city so it was easier to protect everyone, but “all that did was put all the food in one place.” He also explains that once a zombie eats a person, that person is a new member of the walking dead.

The final divergence between the second episode of the show and the second comic book is the ending. Yes, in both they make it out alive of the city. Also, Rick is aware that there is a camp of survivors outside of the city in both the show and the comic book. However, in the show, he knows ahead of time about the survivor camp, but in the book, when the two men are taking a break after their quick exit from the city, Glenn mentions that there’s a camp outside of the city of survivors that he’s staying with. The group is staying close to the city so that they can easily be found when the government “sorts this all out.”

Rick is in for the surprise of his life when they finally arrive to that camp. Little does Rick know that these people will be vital players in his survival and that he will also play an enormous role in their continued well-being.

• 18 June 2012