I think one of the reasons I’ve never really got into horror is because I jump easily. If I’m watching a movie, the cinema disappears and I’m there in the scene. Consequently when anything jumps out at the screen, I jump out of my seat, whether it be zombie, serial killer or fluffy kitten.
My friends find it hilarious, but I find the jumps take me out of the movie. Plus, the tension as the scary music indicates something – either friend or foe – is about to jump out, is, frankly, unbearable.

As a result, I don’t tend to enjoy horror movies which has resulted in me not being too big a fan of the genre. Which is a shame as I think there’s a lot of good horror out there. It’s just not for me.
However, in my recent conversion to digital comics (I blame Adam Christopher) I’ve been trying to search out some great non-superhero comics. One comic that keeps being recommended to me is the Walking Dead. It’s your typical zombie horror survival story – in fact the beginning could have been ripped from 28 Days Later or Day of the Triffids – but what stops this being yet another regurgitation of the zombie apocalypse trope is the level of empathy.
This isn’t a comic book looking to either shock or shy away. It will quite happily linger for several panels on things, whether they be a character’s eyes or on some vision of horror. But never does this stop being about the characters. This is a book that could have an issue with just two characters chatting in a wood and yet it would still be utterly captivating.
I’m only four issues in and yet I’m already completely hooked. I hear it gets even better. And the fact that the entire series is half-price on my comics app isn’t going to help my bank balance.
I’ve still not watched the TV series yet, as much as I want to, but for now I’m quite content just to enjoy the comics and their wonderful storytelling.