
The most impressive thing about print media is its ability to convey a message deeper than what it shows the audience. The evolution of comics from a type of patriotic propaganda for children to deep and thoughtful stories filled with different messages and ideologies for adults shows the power of visual storytelling and how artists and authors can convey thoughtful messages through almost any medium. As an avid reader of The Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman, I’m not drawn in by the violence and death in this zombie apocalypse story, but instead by the analysis of human nature and what people are capable of in desperate situations. In the 24th issue of the long-running comic series, Rick Grimes, the protagonist of the comic and leader of his group of survivors, delivers a monologue which I feel captures the underlying theme of the series. In this monologue Rick is trying to explain how the world has changed to the other survivors and how they have to change with it to survive. The theme of his speech is essentially to do whatever it takes, no matter how bad or immoral, to stay alive which I feel captures Kirkman’s message within these comics—the message being, when humans are placed in a desperate enough situation, they will do anything to protect themselves and their children.

The desperation of humanity and the loss of human morality is the main issue covered in this comic series so there are many examples that I can point to to be able to convey my point but the prime example of this loss of morality comes from the 24th issue, pages 16 through 22. Rick is confronted for killing someone that he thought was a threat to his group and becomes enraged that he is being thought of as a villain. He proceeds to tell the group that he will do whatever he feels is best for them and his child and that includes killing those that he sees as threat. He talks about how the world as they all knew it is gone and how they must adapt to this new world and the adaptations that they have to make to survive will strip them of their former humanity. He then delivers what may be the most iconic line in the entire series when he says “We are the walking dead!”, meaning that the survivors have lost their humanity and the only thing driving them is survival. The changes and adaptations that Rick says he and the others must make to survive strip them of their morality and take away the black and white view of the world as far as deciding what is right and what is wrong. This new world outlook that the characters develop plays into the message that I believe this series conveys.

The Walking Dead is loved by many different readers because it has something for everybody. Within this long-running story there is romance, mystery, violence, sex, and struggles for power. People who read this comic only for the violence and zombies will be completely satisfied by the horrifying flesh-eaters that Kirkman has created and for those of us looking for something deeper, Kirkman has delivered a piece of art that helps us see humanity for what it really is, or at least what he believes it really is. Though they are entertaining, the zombies are just the independent variable of a social experiment that Kirkman has conducted within his comics. To prove that humanity will strip away its moral compass in favor of selfishness in order to survive, Kirkman had to put humans in a dire situation in which there were no goals or ambitions except for survival itself. In this series humans are inserted back into the food chain and nothing is provided for them. They have to worry about feeding themselves and not being the meal for a predator (in this case a zombie). Survival is the only goal of the Walking Dead world and in this world the ones who survive are the ones that put their values aside and do anything to stay alive. When it comes down to it, most people care more about themselves and their children more than any other thing or any other idea and if they have to lose their moral code in order to provide for themselves or keep themselves safe, then they will do it. This argument is supported by the killing and stealing that occurs in The Walking Dead; namely the killing that Rick commits which causes him to give his speech in issue 24.     

One point that the character Rick makes while giving his speech was particularly eye-opening in that it shows how people are aware of the things that they are or would be willing to do to protect themselves or their families. In his monologue he essentially states that they are “evolving” to adapt to their new world and that they will “still be human and kind and we’ll still care for each other” but he insists that they must all be willing to go to any lengths to keep each other safe. Rick’s self-awareness and readiness to admit that he is willing to kill to protect himself and his family is an interesting thing in that it leads me to wonder whether or not we all, as humans, have the same willingness to abandon morality in favor of survival. I personally feel as though I have a sound moral compass but at the same time there is truly nothing more important to me than my immediate family. It’s an odd thing, contemplating a situation in which I would be forced to kill to save myself or a family member and in trying to decide whether or not I would be able to, I’m torn. On one hand, I like to believe that I would never do anything to hurt another person because that’s what I believe is right and that is how I was raised but on the other hand, I care so deeply about my family members that I can’t picture myself allowing anything happen to them without doing whatever it took to stop it. This kind of inner debate is what Kirkman seems to want his readers to have within themselves, and it seems as though he concludes that most people would be willing to abandon their values to protect themselves and their loved ones and that, eventually, they would be willing to admit it. This comic shows that, in a desperate situation, the protection of one’s self and one’s family would become the primary focus of every individual and that one would eventually be willing to give up their previously held values in order to protect themselves or their family.

  Visual media is a powerful form of communication which holds an author or artist’s message below the surface of what the audience sees explicitly. The Walking Dead is an analysis of humankind and our willingness to abandon our morals and our abilities to deal with stressful and dire situations. Masked in a violent zombie apocalypse narrative is the message that at our core, we humans are still animals with instincts-- instincts which lead us to protect ourselves and our offspring by any means necessary. This comic gives an interesting take on what is truly most important to people when material items are stripped away and when money loses value. The one thing that remains constant, even through the apocalypse, is the inner selfishness that every person has and the love that we all have for our closest family members. Whether or not humanity would lose its morality in an apocalyptic situation like the one presented in The Walking Dead remains to be seen (hopefully it won’t be seen in my lifetime), but it certaintly is an interesting thought that Robert Kirkman presents and one that I am inclined to agree with. 
