What do YOU think about 'The Walking Dead' TV show, comic books?

Up until about six months ago, the only thing that I knew about “The Walking Dead” was from what I saw for a few seconds on a passing TV commercial or learned from an occasional Facebook post. I’ve watched zombie movies before, and I’ve even found some of them entertaining, but I just couldn’t see myself getting into “The Walking Dead” TV show.

And then I watched one episode.

It was just a random episode from the first half of Season Three and after about five minutes I could see why people really got into the show. I’ve been hooked ever since. Since then, with the help of NetFlix and the occasional “Walking Dead” marathon, I’ve managed to go back and watch every episode to catch up with the series, which is currently into the second half of Season Three.

One thing that I learned early on was that the TV show is based on a monthly comic book series that began in October 2003. Like the TV show, the comics focus on Rick Grimes, members of his family and his circle of friends, and how they deal with a zombie apocalypse. While on the surface, the TV show and comics feature zombies, they’re both really about how Grimes and the other survivors deal with the total collapse of modern society.

The comic book series is ongoing and as of today, there are 107 issues in the series with more to follow. Back in January, I placed “Read the complete ‘Walking Dead’ comic book series” on my “bucket list,” and I took the first step toward accomplishing that goal earlier this week when I finished reading the first six issues. Those issues are compiled in a trade paperback edition called “The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye,” which was published in May 2004.

As of this writing, the remaining issues have been compiled in 18 other trade paperback editions. Those that I haven’t read (and their publication dates) are as follows:

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us (November 2004)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars (May 2005)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 4: The Heart’s Desire (November 2005)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 5: The Best Defense (September 2006)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life (April 2007)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 7: The Calm Before (September 2007)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 8: Made to Suffer (June 2008)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain (January 2009)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become (August 2009)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 11: Fear the Hunters (January 2010)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 12: Life Among Them (August 2010)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 13: Too Far Gone (November 2010)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 14: No Way Out (June 2011)

- The Walking Dead Survivor’s Guide (November 2011)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves (December 2011)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World (June 2012)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 17: Something To Fear (November 2012)

- The Walking Dead, Vol. 18: Abandon All Hope (June 2013)

In the end, how many of you out there are fans of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” TV show? How many of you are fans of the comic book series? What do you think about them? Let us know in the comments section below.