Canadian Gift Guide

Well AMC’s The Walking Dead was a bright (albeit dark) spot in this fall’s TV line-up, kicking off at Halloween and giving us plenty of zombie-filled fun right up until the hopeful holidays. If you’re jonesin’ for a fix, or you’ve got an Undeadhead in your family that’s writhing like a bit survivor, consider purchasing the graphic novel series the show is based on.
If you’re worried about spoilers, consider the following – in the books, Shane is dead pretty early on, and the gang never makes a visit to the CDC. Realistically one should take the graphic novels as an introduction to the characters you’ll meet throughout the series’ (hopefully long) run and the types of adventures they’ll go on. Although again, the creators of the show / novels have noted that they are sort of a taking-off point only. Example? The good doctor’s note that France held out the longest never happened in the books, and the creators have hinted it’s possible to see our characters overseas…if they could just find a non-zombie pilot, working plane, and way over there. In addition, the books are designed to be a neverending story, while the TV show will be designed to have an end game, so expect some key differences there as well.

You can snap up the first 50 Walking Dead stories in the Compendium which was released last year, a real bargain at just $39. Or you can buy ‘Book 1’ for just $23, featuring the first twelve comics (and covers) in one fine volume. If someone is already engrossed in this gross-out series, the individual volumes are also available for $10 a pop. Still hungry for more? Put this on your gift radar: Season 1 of the hit AMC series is available for pre-order already, so you can snap up the DVD or Blu-Ray of the first six episodes the second it’s released on March 11, 2011.