The Walking Dead Comic vs TV series (Spoiler Zone)

[Gotham Central]

I've been going back and reading The Walking Dead comic and I've been struck by how much was changed between it and the TV series.

I thought that this would be a good place to discuss the differences. Some of the changes were probably necessary for the sake of TV, but other changes were not. I'm wondering why some of the changes were made and if people think they were for the better or worse.

One of the things that I'd forgotten how many more characters there were at the outset of the comics. More importantly, Carl was not the only child. In fact, by the time they reach the prison, there are 6 small kids running around.

The lack of kids really does change the character dynamics. In the comics, the characters end up being divided into family units.

The other thing that surprised me was how much larger the Hershel's family was in the comic. He actually had an older daughter, two smaller kids and a couple of sons. In the series, this was reduced to maggie and her sister. Was this changed for financial reasons?

 

[Vendikarr]

First off, they cut back on the number of children simply due to the fact that they age. The actress who played Sophia had a growth spurt between seasons, and that has to be why she was absent throughout the first half of season one, and had to die. Adding additional young children just gives them that problem all over again.

They should only add kids when they have a short term storyline for them.

Hershel's family was all dead weight in the comics. They got the same mileage from the killing of the zombie members as they would have by killing living family members.

It makes me feel sorry for Beth, if they keep the first prison storyline and use her in place of Hershel's young ones.

One thing I really hate is that we lost Tyreese. In the comics he was Rick's right hand man. In the series that became Shane, and now Daryl. I wanted to see Tyreese wielding his hammer against zombie skull.

I would love to see the 3rd season open with Rick's group coming across Tyreese, his daughter and her boyfriend, along with Donna, Allen, Ben and Billy.

After a tense stand-off, they two groups merge and come to the prison. Add more than four surviving inmates, and you have a tension filled community. Perhaps Donna can die to the serial killer first, then Beth. That story can take three or four episodes, then move on to the helicopter and Woodbury.

Also, Ben and Billy's storyline is important to Carl, and maybe that can be moved up to occur in the prison. And Allen can be the distraught parent in this instance since Dale is now gone.

 

[Gotham Central]

Its funny that you mention aging. One of the things that I'd forgotten was that ALOT more time passes in the comics than on the TV series. In the comics, it goes from summer to winter before the group even leaves the camp outside of Atlanta. Its the TV series that dramatically slowed everything down time wise. If they'd kept the original pace, having the kids grow would not have been such a big deal.

On Tyreese, it is odd that they got rid of the character in favor of keeping Shane and then creating Daryl and...gak...T-dog.

One thing that will be interesting to see is what happens when the Prison falls. In the Comics, Hershel's farm was a refuge after all of the unpleasantness with Woodbury. Now they have no fall back position.

Its also funny to look at the radically different approach that the series took to the relationship between Andrea and Dale...and Carol for that matter. They were almost unrecognizable.

The approach to Carl is also interesting. The funny thing about Carl in the comics is that he actually kills two perfectly healthy people in cold blood. On the TV show, they made a big deal of the fact that he killed zombie Shane. Carl in the comics is much more disturbing. Perhaps too disturbing for TV.

 

[Vendikarr]

They spent at least a year at the prison in the comics. I can see them arriving there in the second episode of the next season. And they could have a time jump there, which can explain any growth spurt Carl goes through.

Just open episode 3 "One Year later" and we have many new faces to meet.

The fall of the prison can have more impact if it's a bloodbath. And more bodies can help that along quite a bit.