The Walking Dead Chronicles: The Official Companion Book

by Paul Ruditis, Robert Kirkman (Introduction), Frank Darabont (Foreword)

The Walking Dead Chronicles: The Official Companion Book is the only authorized, behind-the-scenes guide to Season One of the white-hot new AMC television series, The Walking Dead, which tells the story of a sheriff’s deputy leading a band of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead.

Focusing on the making of the first season of the Golden Globe–nominated TV show, as well as the creation of the New York Times bestselling comic book on which the series is based, The Walking Dead Chronicles is lav­ishly illustrated with never-before-seen unit photography, storyboards, set designs, makeup and visual effects shots, and page-to-screen comparisons of the comic and TV show. Featuring new interviews with series creator Robert Kirkman and executive producer Frank Darabont, as well as the cast and crew, the book also includes sidebars that serve as a detailed episode guide, reproducing excerpts from early drafts and final scripts, and revealing new direc­tions for the second season and beyond.

Praise for the Walking Dead Chronicles:

“Paul Ruditis provides an interesting and insightful look at both the comic book and TV series. . . . The text is filled with thoughtful commentary from the cast and crew, as well as an eye-catching assortment of production photos, set designs, storyboards, special-effects images, and reproductions of comic book artwork.” —School Library Journal

Genres: Nonfiction, Zombies, Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Tv, Art

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Paul Ruditis also writes under the name P.J. Ruditis.

I was born and raised in Philadelphia where I lived a typical childhood with a far more interesting fantasy life. I mean, how many other eight year olds were sticking their Star Wars action figures in Ziploc bags filled with water and putting them in the freezer to recreate the ice planet of Hoth? (Really? That many? Never mind.)

After college, I moved to Los Angeles and was very lucky to get a job as a page at Paramount Pictures only months after I got into town. I worked as a tour guide and usher, and I performed temp office work around the lot.
Eventually, I took a position working in the studio's licensing department where I quickly worked my way up to middle management.

After a while, one of my friends in the publishing industry offered me the opportunity to write a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer short story for a collection she was editing. Well, when I heard how little money I could make as a writer, I immediately quit my job to try it full time. (Stupid, I know, but it kind of worked for me.)

I started out by writing books based on such wonderful TV shows as Star Trek, Roswell, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. I have since written over 30 books based some of the best shows on TV, adding The West Wing, Alias, and Prison Break to that ever growing list.

While I continue to work on these media tie-ins, I have also been focused more on my own original fiction, including my teen series DRAMA! and the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy Love, Hollywood Style.

- Abridged Bio - Official Website.

Reviews

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very nice quick read on the making of the TV series. Great pictures and personal insights from both the actors and the technical personnel involved, but the most interesting information by far is the back and forth comparison of the comic and the show and how the storytelling was adapted from one to the other. It is rare that a movie or show can stray too far from its source material and still turn out just as good as the original, but The Walking Dead achieves this with great success. It may seem like an easy and seamless transition, but the chapters on set design, make-up, post-production, talent selection, site selection, and cinematography tell a different story. A lot of talented, dedicated people who believe in the story have done an amazing job at translating the comic to the screen. Good job and a nice, informative book to read.

[claud. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooray for my first review of 2016!!!

This was good, but I was still a bit disappointed. It focused more on the technical aspects of producing The Walking Dead e.g., the special effects, the music, the makeup and costumes, etc., which of course I still enjoyed reading about, but I hoped that it had more trivia about the casting, the characters, and the actors, as well as more photos of them. Needless to say it was very minimal. Oh well. :(

If you're a hardcore fan of The Walking Dead like I am, having this in your collection would be awesome (I bought mine from Book Depository for AUD$25 which is about USD$18). However if you're just a casual fan, you can skip this one. I think most of the information is available online anyway.

[Brian Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know that I'd have paid money for this, but they were giving away a stack at work so I picked one up and if you're a fan of the comic and/or the show, it's just a lot of fun geeky information about how they went about converting the comic to the screen and how they went about producing the first season. Worth a look if you're a fan... and if you can get it for free too.

[Brini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter of this book is divided in one department of the production of The Walking Dead. You get a sense of the work put into bringing each episode to our television screens. Other than that the structure of this book is really annoying.

The main text in each chapter is interuppted by extra information about one episode. You end up to stop reading in the middle of one sentence and page forward to search for the rest of it. You interrupt the main text or read it and come back for the extra stuff after you finished the chapter. Either way the readability is disturbed enormously.

The comparison of the comic books and television series is what interested me the most but I hoped for a better insight. I didn't get why they left out some characters or created new ones. It simply said what you already knew, that comic books and television series are two different things.

At one point it offers too much information about the work of Greg Nicotero. I'm sure he does a great job and a large share of things (probably the biggest part) to bring The Walking Dead television series alive but I would've liked an insight into other people's work as well.

---

The design of the book ended up to be the best part. It displays the design choices artistically. After all it is a book about art choices.

Each chapter begins with a picture on the left side and a title with text that can be seen a n introduction of the following chapter on the right side. The font is white on black and larger than the main text. There are some violations against this rule:
- Sentences start at the chapter frontpage and carry on in the maintext which is confusing due to the different font sizes.
- Captions about the picture who usually are placed at the main pages are now on the left of the chapter frontpage. They destroy the otherwise nearly perfect representation.

I would've liked more pictures to illustrate and explain the offered information further. Some pictures are just too small to recognize important things.
The black frames and dirty backrounds display a sense of a postapocaliptic world. Usually white pages end up to be covered in printer ink completely which smells disgusting but then again it is a book about zombies and they tend to smell too (I'm sure it wasn't intended but humor me).

[Valeska · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. But at the same time I felt angry because I still feel that they shouldn't have killed Andrea in the show. She is doing so great in the comic as an individual and as a partner to Rick and a mother to Carl, that it makes me sad that they killed her so soon in the show. I love TWD but it worries me how many details they have changed in the past four seasons. I won't even mention what they might do with Glenn's character this (5th) season, but they better make him justice.

[Oday Saed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on The Walking Dead graphic novels/comic books and the series starring Andrew Lincoln (Teachers, This Life and Love, Actually) and written/produced by Frank Darabont whose previous credits include The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, this is a new trilogy of books written by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga, author of Perfect Victim and Shattered. Set in the world created by Robert Kirkman this standalone trilogy is fast-paced, action-packed storytelling about the lengths some men will go to survive. With new characters, new storylines and with the same in-depth character-based plotting that has made the television series such an immediate hit, this trilogy of novels is sure to be a hit with those who love zombies and those who have loved the TV series and comic books.

[DiLovesBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done, informative. Only wish there were one for each season.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to read it

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[R.J. Spruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more about the making of the series but enjoyable read.

Even though the series strays from the comics it is amazing in its own right.
As is the game. Love all three equally.

[Justin Farley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cool. I am (was) a fan of the TV show, so this was great fun.

[Tiffany]

I would like to read this book because I have seen the show and the book looks good so😊

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book but was based more around the comic books than the actual tv series like I was hoping it was.

[Kade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live laugh loved it,especially the parts of the book about the sets,special effects,and all the small but important details that create the amazing show.

[Paz · Rating 3 out of 5]

muyy bueno, me encanto

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pleasant enough read, but a bit too technical to sustain my interest throughout. The sections that focussed on Kirkman, Darabont, the characters and cast were enormously interesting, but I think the book was hampered by Ruditis' selection of principal interviewees. Of the cast members, only DeMunn, Yeun and Riggs have a voice here. The crew are by far the most predominant, and while, yes, it is interesting to read about Nicotero creating zombies, I'm just not sure I was ever this interested in the scoring, visual effects, post-production process etc. It's the insights into the characters' psyches, the development of the comic and the transition into the TV series that really interested me, and compared to the bulk of the book - which focusses on the technical process - they're a bit lacking. Still, it was enjoyable enough to dip into here and there before bed each night, if not a compelling can't-put-down read. I'm sure there's something to relish here for most avid fans, if not the casual viewer. I'd like to read something similar on season two, but given the veil of secrecy that descended over Darabont's departure, it's sadly hard to imagine that working.

[Whitney Garrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have given this three stars if it covered season two material as well as season one. I did enjoy finding out more about the special effects done in the show and how the shows characters differ from their comic book counterparts. However, I think this could have been more informative if they'd waited until after season two to write it, as it could have had material on the Greene family, and more about Daryl (who isn't in the comics) and the development of his character, and how his character influences the others, etc.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Walking Dead is a wildly popular TV show on AMC. It is based on a comic book series. This book seeks to explore the making of the first season of the show, which only runs six episodes, through technical information, story synopses, cast interviews, and comic comparisons. It is informative and entertaining, albiet brief, due to the short length of the first season and the intensity of subsequent seasons. This book begs for a continuation.

[Robert Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at how The Walking Dead the TV version came to be. It includes notes on basically the first season of the show and interviews and comments from the creator of the comic book and the driving forces behind bringing the comic to the small screen.

While not a must by any means-it does give some interesting information and anecdotes on the making of the show.

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this graphic novel series and the tv show is just fantastic. I could not resist this amazing behind the scenes look at the show and how it compares to the graphic novels and why things are done the way that they are. A must read for fans of the show or the graphic novels. Good stuff.

[Rem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diziye başladıktan sonra okumuştum ve buradaki Philip'in dizideki Vali olduğunu öğrendiğimde ki surat ifadem görülmeye değerdi. Kitabı genel anlamda sevdim. Dizinin ve çizgi romanın takipcisi iseniz okumanız gerektiğini düşünüyorum. Daha sonra dizide Vali'ye farklı bir gözle bakıcağınıza eminim. :)

[Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a nice inside view of the 1st season and tells how the series got started in the first place. I usually don't care too much for these "making of -companions", but I'm a big fan of the Walking Dead tv-series and this book went down nicely.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice explanation of his journey from the comics to a television show. There were some nice extras. I would have rated this book higher I was hoping for more information about how and why Daryl Dixon was added to the show but there was only surface info :-(

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda funny to see Darabont so positive about the series and where it's going in this book with what we know (him being fired by AMC) a few weeks later. The technical stuff is interesting but nothing too earth shattering needed.

[Betty Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting behind the scenes look at the making of the series. I was most interested in the collaboration between the graphic artists from the comic book series and the TV producers.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read for those of us who love the books and t.v. series.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough look at season one and behind the scenes info.

[Jutta · Rating 3 out of 5]

i want them to put out stuff to cover through season #!!!!!

[Jason Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like DVD bonus features...but in book form! What more could you ask for? Hahaha...

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

was sad that it only covered season one.