The Walking Dead Chronicles: The Official Companion Book
Paperback
Written by Paul Ruditis
Abrams Books
Release date: October 1, 2011

The Walking Dead Chronicles: The Official Companion Book is, as the title would indicate, the official behind-the-scenes book for The Walking Dead. Almost every popular TV or movie (especially those based on comics or sci-fi properties) gets one of these. I’m sure you’ve seen these before. They’re usually filled with interviews, pictures, and inside information about the production of whatever property the book is talking about. This one is no different, and will be a book worth buying if you really like The Walking Dead, but won’t be of much interest to non-fans.

The Walking Dead Chronicles has a lot of good information about the creation of the comic book series and the show. The book starts with an in depth look at the creation of the comic and how writer Robert Kirkman came up with the original idea, how he brought it to Image Comics, and how it became a success. Chronicles then goes into the creation of the show, including the original pitch process for the series, and how it ended up at AMC. From there, it’s more specific information about the writing, effects, and music of the show. The book is filled with lots of pictures from the television series as well as from the comic. The Walking Dead Chronicles does spend most of its time talking about the show, but I was impressed by how much time was spent examining the comic.

There are a few unintentionally funny parts of the book, starting off with the introduction by original showrunner Frank Darabont. This is only funny because of his ouster during the production of the second season of the hit show. All in all though, there is a lot of interesting information on all aspects of the show. I enjoyed the background information on the creation of the comic book the most, but the stuff about how they make the zombies for the show was very cool as well. I don’t usually get a lot out of these behind-the-scenes books, but this one had a lot of info that I didn’t know before.

So, if you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, either the comic or the TV show, The Walking Dead Chronicles is probably a good buy for you. This is one of those things that fans of the property will want to pick up, but that casual fans will probably get nothing out of. I’m not going to give it a score, because this is kind of a review-proof product, but I will say that it is well worth the money if you do decide to buy it. Give it a look and always remember, shoot “˜em in the head.