“We must hurry” probably isn’t a good excuse (40/100)

I’m not trying to pick on Robert Kirkman here, he’s just one of the more glaring culprits of really bad characterization in comics.

I’m a fan of Robert Kirkman in theory. He has some fantastic ideas (The Walking Dead, Invincible and Outcast, to name a few) but his execution is sorely lacking. This is a common problem among comic book writers. They pitch and present these amazing concepts and sprawling stories with twists and turns but when it comes time to write the dialogue, the way in which those characters behave in the story, there’s much to be desired.

The Walking Dead is a mega hit on the TV. Before that, it was a solid selling comic book; one with a plot that kept going even after nearly 100 issues (150 at this point). People loved the comic, understandably, because the story kept them involved no matter what Kirkman threw at the reader. But if you look at the quality of the comic vs the TV show, there is no comparison.

The TV show is currently run by Scott Gimple, a damn fine showrunner with a history of crafting wonderful stories and whose middle name is Milhouse (I just found this out, loved it and thought I’d share), and written by a room of some of the better mix of veteran and contract TV writers today; not to mention fantastic directors. The depiction of characters doesn’t come directly from those writers, necessarily. Usually those writers sit in the room and map out how the characters will behave, what they’ll do and what they’ll say, but, ultimately, the actor is the one to take those words, shape them and place them in the mouths of the character they inhabit. This is the problem with most media, mind you, as it’s very difficult for a writer or room of writers to get every word right. They make mistakes, perceived by the viewer/reader or the person embodying the story, that are then adjusted to make the media more consistent or “better.”

When you’re on your own, writing 150 issues of a comic book, those problems come up. The problem isn’t that they come up but how often. Which is to say, quite.

The difference between Kirkman’s book and the TV show, again, is glaring. Steven Yeun’s Glenn is beloved on the show because he fully embodies the character — an Asian character that doesn’t fall on stereotype and is filled with nuance. Kirkman failed at that, recognized that more people liked the character on the show and killed him off.

Want more proof of this? Maggie and Glenn’s relationship grew and changed in front of us on the show. When they were reunited or saw each other, it felt like two people who cared deeply about each other, loved each other.

But in the comic, it’s a little different.

Granted, the way these stories were translated from the book to the comic was different, but the way Maggie speaks, saying “c’mere, husband!” feels like the kind of line a writer writes because they have no idea what the character is going to say. Or, their deadline is looming and they’d like to go spend time with their own families.