What Does The Walking Dead Mean To You?

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#1
josh is a walker

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twd has had a strangely big impact on my life since my friend introduced me to the comics at christmas.

for the past couple of years i have suffered from depression (wont go into details) but since christmas ive found the comics to be a fairly big help when it comes to keeping my mind busy and off of the more negative things in my life for periods of time while i read.

i actually emailed Charlie Adlard about this so i'll just put what i said to him:

______________________________________
I have contacted you before about an autograph but that is not what this email is about.

I just wanted to say thank you for being a part of what has become one of my favorite media outlets. I've never really been into comics/graphic novels until my friend bought me the first walking dead compendium for Christmas last year. Ever since i have been hooked.

As someone who suffers from depression i've found the walking dead to be an unexpected way to cheer myself up and take my mind off things going on in my life. I want to thank you and everyone else involved with the comic for giving me that way to relax. The comics have had a fairly big impact on me; to the point where in a few weeks i will actually be getting a walking dead tattoo done to remind me of how the comics cheer me up!

So once again i would just like to say thank you. Keep up the amazing work. Your artwork is incredible.

All the best for the future.

Joshua Hammond
_______________________________________


its weird how something as silly and as small as a comic about zombies has had as big an impact on me as it has. its still the only magazine/book i have read where i have genuinely cared about what happened to the characters as well.

anyway, just thought if anyone else on here has been impacted upon by the comics in any way
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#2
That Guy

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Source material.
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#3
Barry Cade

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Not wishing to be in any way flippant, but isn't caring about the characters in the Walking Dead a bit of a hiding to nothing?
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Don't Dead Open Inside...

#4
Anderlation

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I know exactly where you are coming from OP. I to have depression (episodes) and Walking Dead has played a good part in making me feel good and happy. I now collect Walking Dead in various forms (Hardcovers, Trades and issues) It has got me collect comics and branching out into a hobby I never knew much about. I feel like I have a bit of purpose and accomplishment with TWD. Walking Dead to me is a great story, with great characters that I care about and feel an interaction with every read.
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#5
theblackboxlies

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Strange how a story about death and despair brings people happiness. I'm not sure the story means anything more to me than just a good story and good entertainment. I would say its the most involved I've become with a story and that I have a passion about it, and even care about the remaining survivors. I don't know, it's just fun to be a part of the whole walking dead community and I love the camaraderie here in particular.
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#6
Anderlation

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It brings me happiness because the story has me entertained. Its not about getting pleasure from the deaths or doom.

Walking Dead is a story you can really invest in and immerse yourself in. It could be seen as escapism really.
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#7
DeadCave

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As one who suffers from depression as well, the Walking Dead has at least allowed one of my creative outlets to be set free and thus actually complete an entire novel. That and the fandom that the novel created here on R&L, which was a HUGE help in getting it finished.

The dead rising and walking around, eating people and all of that, well. Every single last one of us knows it'll never for real happen but it does allow for an outlet of sorts and in a way trains our minds to be in a survival mindset should any disaster occur in our lives.
It's a great escapism like Anderlation says.
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#8
gypsyrose

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Right on people let it out. TWD is a great creative outlet
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#9
Dough

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OP, I know that I've had a very similar experience with TWD and comics in general.

They provide an escape from reality, if only for a small time.
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CARL, STAY IN THE FUCKING HOUSE!!

#10
DaneBramage

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I think the TWD is a wonderful source of intelligent entertainment and it gets my neurons firing!! I love that. If it ceased to exist tomorrow, I'd live. There's great entertainment out there. Television has some amazing stuff sandwiched between mountains of Fecal Matter. I am currently digging True Blood and Damages. Great scripts and acting.
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#11
Yelnots

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About a year ago My parents were actually in the process of going through rehab for substance abuse. I became super depressed and dealt with issues of my own, I had saved up money so I stopped working , stopped excersising, to sum it up my life went on hold. Then after seeing another episode of the tv series I looked into it and discovered the comics. Not only did it captivate me but it brought me happiness(weird for such a sad tale) and I started to pick up the pieces and everything sort of fell into place. The walking dead along with some podcasts helped me get out of one of the darkest times in my life.
Whew
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     “Concern should drive us into action and not into a depression. No man is free who cannot control himself.”

#12
babywalker

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OP, if it makes you feel better, great. I have problems with depression and an anxiety disorder, as I see some in this community do as well.

Escapism is the best treatment I have found. TWD gives me that outlet, as does Game of Thrones and Dexter. This forum is usually the last thing I do before I go to bed. You just have to be sure to keep your worlds where they belong.

When things get overwhelming just remember, we have it so much better than these characters do.
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#13
DaneBramage

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Oh yeah GoT and Dexter fo Sho Their seasons aren't for a while. The guy that's going to play the Governor is a great actor. Rent the DVD of Thorne:Sleepyhead fantastic stuff.


Yelnots: I am a recovering alcoholic (Sober 5.5 years and 2 years off cigs and have lost 157 lbs.) and I am prone to clinical depression. I know exactly where you are coming from. That is exactly why TWD appeals to people like me IMO. I see it as about triumph in the face of incredibly horrible odds and adversity. It's about hope.
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#14
josh is a walker

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bumping this as i just got my walking dead tattoo done!!!!!



apologies for the poor picture quality. this was taken just after it was finished
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#15
PorkTornado75

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nice very nice i have hellboy on my leg, going to get touched up next week.
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#16
Ansceniiiic

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Is it just me or does it look like Rick has an Osama Bin laden type beard. :o
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#17
DaneBramage

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Nice work!!
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#18
Anderlation

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Is it just me or does it look like Rick has an Osama Bin laden type beard. :o


Its the shadow, dummy :smiley-confused002: LOL


That tat is awesome, really looks good. Congrats on it,I want one but dont know what to get! :)
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#19
Ansceniiiic

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Its the shadow, dummy :smiley-confused002: LOL


I know, just messing lol.
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#20
josh is a walker

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thanks guys and girls.

of course, now the temptation is to turn my one walking dead tat into a half sleeve with loads of different characters. i already know what pics of andrea and michonne i want, but its difficult finding full pics of other characters. it may end up looking like some kind of movie poster with some close up and some far away pics, but in my head it looks awesome

i like having the walking dead comics/books as a break from reality. now i can remember i have that ability to get away from my problems by reading everywhere i go :D
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#21
WalkerBaitress

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Yelnots: I am a recovering alcoholic (Sober 5.5 years and 2 years off cigs and have lost 157 lbs.) and I am prone to clinical depression. I know exactly where you are coming from. That is exactly why TWD appeals to people like me IMO. I see it as about triumph in the face of incredibly horrible odds and adversity. It's about hope.


The point you made (which I bolded above lol) is part of why the WD story appeals to me, and I have a feeling it's also why it appeals to so many people on and off the Internets. At a time when many Western economies are in the crapper, a lot of people have fear and nervousness about surviving in a bleak new world where holding onto what little resources we have--and each other--is of the utmost importance in life. I don't know anyone in even my own family and circle of friends and coworkers--myself and my own immediate family included--who *haven't* been affected in some way by what's going on at large in our society and economy.

This is why I think TWD and many apocalyptic-themed forms of entertainment have so much appeal right now. Not only are they a means of catharsis and blowing off steam, they are in a way about us as a people learning to appreciate who and what we have in life when "the shit gets real." Rick and his allies in TWD have to deal with an exponentially catastrophic "shit-gets-real" world, and in doing so, none of the petty crap matters. All of the arguments with coworkers, the hassles of being stuck in a cube or fighting the traffic, the stress about who's going to win on Dancing with the Stars or whether your kid's going to pass his standardized tests don't mean a hill of beans when you're fighting along with your loved ones just to survive. True things about people's characters are revealed, you learn who your real friends are, and you know who you can count on when the already-ensuing chaos escalates.

WRT TWD, I see these aspects in both the show and the comics, and IMO these themes work beautifully in both. Art imitates life and all that. :P
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"Stick them with the pointy end." Arya Stark, Game of Thrones

#22
WalkerBaitress

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BTW DaneBramage--congrats on your sobriety. :) Big zombie thumbs-up to ya :zombiethumbsup: I too deal with clinical depression and anxiety in my own life--been living with it since I was a kid. I wouldn't say watching/reading TWD makes me "happy" per se, but it IS a series that makes me think--and that alone lifts it head and shoulders above a lot of the mindless garbage that passes for "entertainment" these days... :P
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"Stick them with the pointy end." Arya Stark, Game of Thrones

#23
DaneBramage

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Back at ya WB. I take it one day at a time and have two great sponsors. You made a great point about these apocalyptic themes appealing in rough economic times. The energy Crisis/recession of the 70's gave us Mad Max and The Road Warrior (I don't count the third one...)
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#24
DeadCave

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thanks guys and girls.

of course, now the temptation is to turn my one walking dead tat into a half sleeve with loads of different characters. i already know what pics of andrea and michonne i want, but its difficult finding full pics of other characters. it may end up looking like some kind of movie poster with some close up and some far away pics, but in my head it looks awesome

I triple dog dare ya to have the cover of issue 100 tattooed on your back! heh


Yelnots: I am a recovering alcoholic (Sober 5.5 years and 2 years off cigs and have lost 157 lbs.) and I am prone to clinical depression. I know exactly where you are coming from. That is exactly why TWD appeals to people like me IMO. I see it as about triumph in the face of incredibly horrible odds and adversity. It's about hope.

I've been a friend of Bill W's for going on 27 years now. Still smoke cigs but eh I'll work on that soon enough.
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#25
josh is a walker

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I triple dog dare ya to have the cover of issue 100 tattooed on your back! heh


which cover? :D
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