4. More Creative Freedom And Possibilities
Since the conception of publishing imprints like Vertigo and Image, comic creators have been able to create work with content meant for mature readers. Characters could say "F**k" and the plot could depict graphic violence and sex whenever convenient. These mature comics have essentially become the graphic novel equivalent of works produced by the likes of HBO or Showtime. While AMC does provide amazing special effects with the decaying walkers and offers great moments of zombies getting their heads caved in, it still falls under the blockades of network censorship. Because the TWD comic is rated for mature readers, censorship is unnecessary and the decapitations, swearing, and sexual themes are unashamedly present. On a live action television show there are also financial concerns to consider, which can be a burden for production.With the TWD show on a channel like AMC, there is bound to be a large budget set to create the world the audience watches. As seasons pass and the story introduces more characters, settings and zombies, the budget for the show may see an substantial increase as well. Budget concerns are very unlikely in the production of a comic book so there would rarely be any problem with budget restraints diverting the direction of the story. For the TWD comic, the series has the advantage of being, well, a comic book, and is only limited by what artist Charlie Adlard can draw. A cheap point in comparing two different genres of storytelling but it still provides evidence why there is more potential for story developments in the comic than there are in the TWD show. We're three-and-a-half seasons into the TWD television series and so far each season has been restrained by the setting the Atlanta survivors have stumbled upon. Whether it was the Atlanta camp, Hershel's Farm, the Prison or Woodbury, there was always a closed radius to how we were seeing the larger picture and how the zombie outbreak was affecting the environment beyond our protagonists. Robert Kirkman wrote the comic to delve deeper into the world he had created by having Rick and Company run into the other survivor communities and exploring how the zombie-infected world can bring out the best or the very worst in someone. To be fair, the show has had moments of peeking into the lives of survivors outside the Atlanta group but unfortunately it is in a way that feels disjointed from everything else.