My Comic Rendez-Vous: Like Re-connecting With an Old Friend

Rain. I hate the rain. It's a funny thing about humans. We like to be a little wet or a lot wet. Anything imbetween just pisses us off. If you've ever been splashed by the side of a pool you understand. You're in a bathing suit, but that little bit of water is just not cool.

Friday was one of those days. The rumors of the slightest drizzle is just enough to make you carry an umbrella. You tote that thing around all day waiting for it to rain, and the clouds just decide to hold back. It's like the weathermen and precipitation are in a comedy club together. At any rate, it was overcast, and overall depressive. When class lets out at the university, though, it's like waking up on a Saturday morning. The sky's the limit for the rest of the day. It's always a big secret that you'll just squander the day away, but for that singular moment, you could solve world hunger.

So, there I was. Umbrella in hand, still dry. Heart full of promise. I get in my car and start driving home. Then I see it. Lo and behold...an undiscovered treasure in the otherwise unremarkable strip mall near the University of Arkansas. A comic book store. Well, it's been a while since I've enjoyed a good comic, so I carpe-freaking-diem. I go in and make a purchase after much talk. I get The Walking Dead, promised to be THE zombie epic.

After a 35-minute drive home, I walk in the door and throw myself on the couch. After kicking off my shoes, I open the picture-filled wonderland and get started. I have to say that it was everything it was cracked up to be. See, the thing about zombie stories is not the gore or the threat of being bitten by a zombie per se. No, it's the sociological commentary on how humans behave in a society that is without enforced rules. It's virtually Lord of the Flies, but with a more pressing danger. You see, zombies are too slow to be a real threat. Zombies don't kill people. People do. It's the decisions they make or the decisions others make for them that eventually gets them killed.

Moral of the story? Get that comic and check it out. You may just find yourself a new convert.