Rise of the Governor - Book Review: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/comicsreel/news/?a=77709
The Road to Woodbury is the second book in Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga’s trilogy of prequels to The Walking Dead comic book series. Whilst Rise of the Governor followed Phillip Blake, his brother and daughter and their journey to Woodbury, Road to Woodbury introduces Lilly Caul, a character only ever seen in Kirkman’s comic book series very briefly in #48. The book follows Lilly and a group of survivors as they encounter a series of events that eventually leads them to the gates of Woodbury, now lawed by Phillip Blake or “The Governor”. As a fan of the comics and the entire mythology of The Walking Dead, I thoroughly enjoyed Rise of the Governor. Though it had its share of slow points, it captured the intensity and bleak atmosphere of the comics and acted as a hugely rewarding reads for fans that fleshed out The Governor’s story and only added to the quality of the original comic series instead of threatening to taint it. And although The Road to Woodbury was also an entertaining read, it was unfortunately a much more predictable and much less rewarding read that, although still very enjoyable, doesn’t stand out.
It cannot be denied that Kirkman and Bonansinga once again capture the unmistakable atmosphere of The Walking Dead in the pages of The Road to Woodbury, and the way characters are introduced, established and made lovable to the reader is a skill of Kirkman’s that is absolutely present here. However, the book suffers from being too predictable and having far too little at stake – two weaknesses that should never be present in anything bearing The Walking Dead’s label. Although The Road to Woodbury is not in any way a poor book or a waste of time, it just didn’t make me as glad that I’d picked it up as Rise of The Governor did after I finished the final pages. It is in no way as near a rewarding read, but still offers enough here that it is worth being picked up by avid fans of the comics.
Kirkman certainly has a knack for pulling in his readers, even when there is little actually happening plot-wise. Whether it’s down to how he fleshes out his characters or writes some intense dialogue or simply leaves you wondering what lies around each and every corner, Kirkman constantly leaves you wanting to read more at the same time as being scared to turn the page, as you’ll be worried that your favourite character is about to become walker food. That fear is absolutely present here, and Kirkman’s skill of maintaining a danger looming over the characters that will even spook the reader is present throughout The Road to Woodbury. The only problem is that there’s no real payoff. Although the final chapter make for an interesting and pretty damn intense climax, it isn’t quite enough to make me feel worth being invested in the story and its character for so long. When I finished reading The Road to Woodbury, I simply wanted more, not because the book left me open-mouthed needing to find out what happened next, but more because it wasn’t quite enough to satisfy me.
As a fan of Kirkman’s comics, I can safely say that this is a book that will please fans in the way that it doesn’t, in any way, contradict The Walking Dead or lessen its quality. If anything, The Road to Woodbury brings up many issues and ideas raised and explored in the comics. Fear, death, relationships and characters are all hugely important themes and elements in The Road to Woodbury and, if anything, the book allows these themes to be explored further than the comic has ever allowed. A character, and what makes them who they are, as well as their relationships with others and how they manage to survive with the issues they face are what this book allows time to explore as a pose to being forced into a six panel comic page. Some could argue that the book allows too much time for character development when they would much prefer to see some intense walker action, of which there is still plenty to go round. Because Kirkman and Bonansinga together do such a good job of establishing these characters and making them so likable to the reader (just like the comics), it’s all the more hard-hitting when one of those characters is lost. And for those characters how survive long enough to appear in the comics, The Road to Woodbury gives us a greater understanding of what events made them the way they are and set the stage for the comic book series – something that should be most pleasing to fans, especially fans of The Governor, who is written at his best here as we continue to see Blake’s disturbing transformation into the malicious villain who will soon make life a living hell for a certain group of survivors living nearby.
Overall, although The Road to Woodbury is a far cry from being the essential read that Rise of the Governor was to fans of the comics, it’s still worth picking up to anyone who is interested enough in The Walking Dead’s mythology, wants to see The Governor’s story come full-circle is it begins to crossover with the comics, or simply wants to keep up-to-date with Kirkman and Bonansinga’s prequel trilogy. Although The Road to Woodbury isn’t as much of an exciting or consuming read that I’d hope the sequel to Rise of the Governor would be, it’s still an enjoyable read (depending on expectations) that sets the stage for The Fall of the Governor, the final chapter in the duo’s trilogy that promises to be an enthralling and hugely entertaining epic that should wrap-up the trilogy in style.
Verdict: ★★★