Horror Graphic Novels — The Walking Dead: Safety Behind Bars

“I guess now would not be the best time to admit to you that I’m afraid of the dark.”

At long last Rick Grimes and his small community of survivors have found a safe haven in a fortified prison encampment. After clearing out the zombies, finding food and meeting four survivors, the community is finally safe . . . or are they?

TITLE:

THE WALKING DEAD: SAFETY BEHIND BARS

WRITER:

by Robert Kirkman

ARTISTS:

by Charlie Adlard (penciler, inker)
Cliff Rathburn (gray tones)

SERIES:

The Walking Dead — Vol. 3
Reprints The Walking Dead comics #13-18

PUBLISHER:

Image Comics

GENRE:

Graphic Novel (collection), Horror Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Suspense

DESCRIPTORS:

Horror, Zombies, End of the World, Survival, Psychological Studies, Life and Death, Disaster, Prisons, Serial Killers, Criminals, Trust, Love, Leadership, Suicide

CHARACTERS:

Rick Grimes, A Kentucky police officer who wakes up from a coma to find the world overrun with zombies.
Lori Grimes, Rick’s wife who loves him but doesn’t always agree with his ideas.
Carl Grimes, Rick’s son.
Glenn, A young Asian-American teenager and camp scavenger.
Dale, A older man who recently lost his wife. He owns an RV which is the camp’s primary shelter and rescued Amy and Andrea.
Andrea, Amy’s sister, rescued by Dale.
Carol, A young mother who is somewhat troubled in these troubling times.
Sophia, Carol’s daughter.
Alan, A middle-aged man, Donna’s husband and father of Ben and Billy.
Ben, Alan and Donna’s son.
Billy, Alan and Donna’s son.
Tyreese, An African-American father who swings a mean hammer.
Julie, Tyreese’s daughter.
Chris, Julie’s boyfriend.
Otis, A hunter who is living with Hershel for safety.
Patricia, She seems like a nice person and is Otis’ girlfriend.
Hershel Greene, Former veterinarian and now a farmer where his family lives in some safety.
Maggie Greene, Hershel’s younger daughter.
Billy Greene, Hershel’s youngest son.
Rachel Greene, Hershel’s younger daughter with glasses.
Susie Greene, Hershel’s youngest daughter with pigtails.
Dexter, In prison for murder.
Andrew, In prison for drugs — he has since cleaned up because there are no drugs left.
Axel, In prison for armed robbery.
Thomas Richards, In prison for tax evasion.

SUMMARY:

Rick believes he may have found the perfect haven in a prison compound. First, however, it must be cleared out.

On the second day, they begin clearing out the building and there they encounter four prisoners in a well-stocked mess hall. They groups agree to live apart until they learn to trust each other. To increase their chances for survival, Rick persuades Hershel to bring his family into the compound where he can guide them in planting crops. No sooner do they settle in than tragedy strikes and two of Rick’s group are killed, and a disturbing truth about the zombies is discovered.

This truth sends Rick out on a dangerous and secret overnight mission and that is when disaster strikes. Tyreese is cut off and surrounded by zombies when they try to clear out the gym and two of Hershel’s youngest daughters are found brutally murdered, their heads decapitated — the work of a human hand still living. Who is the murderer among them and will this completely tear apart the community Rick struggles so hard to protect?

APPEAL:

This book has the quickest pace of the first three. The prison is secure, a few remaining prisoners join the community and all hell breaks loose. By the time I was done reading this riveting book, I was exhausted. Soon after, I realized that despite the large number of deaths, not one was a death by zombie. It was disturbing in its implication.

This is definitely a character driven book. Kirkman spends the most time with Rick as we watch him grow and mature into a role he never wanted. But the people around him are not slighted. The ensemble is large and changing as people die or leave but they each present their story and some characters change before our eyes.

While this is a story that uses a zombie trope to reveal certain truths about the human condition, Safety Behind Bars makes its grimmest revelations yet. There is no upbeat tone in this story arc. Hope is fading and Rick is losing his community.

NOTES:

This is a black and white comic with greytones.

The Walking Dead Book Two reprints The Walking Dead comics #13-24 in a 304 page hardcover edition.

The Walking Dead Compendium One reprints The Walking Dead comics #1-48 in a 1088 page trade paperback extravaganza.

READALIKES:

If you like the slower moving zombies and the stories of a humanity struggling to survive, you might try these novels: Dying to Live: A Novel of Life Among the Undead by Kim Paffenroth, Dead City by Joe McKinney, Deathbringer by Bryan Smith and Monster Island: A Zombie Novel by David Wellington.

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Tagged as: Horror Graphic Novel Summary, Zombies