The story of Clementine continues in Tillie Walden‘s Clementine Book Two. It spins out of The Walking Dead Universe and continues the tale told in the Telltale Games series. But is it worth shambling to the bookstore to pick it up?
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Clementine Book Two Review:
A few months after Comic Book Club’s live show interviewed writer/artist Tillie Walden, and a year after the first book hit stores, Clementine Book Two is finally in shops from Image Comics and Skybound. In the new volume, the action moves from a snow-packed mountain to the beach. But there’s still danger, still plenty of teen angst, and lots of lovely character development for Clementine.
Host Justin Tyler lauded the book for being, “such a nice different way into this universe.” He added that between Clementine Book Two and the currently airing Daryl Dixon series, fans new and old have a nice entrée into the world of The Walking Dead. With Clementine in particular, Tyler thought that “you get to be really close up to the characters, [so] you get a totally different tone and style… It’s a good read.”
Fellow host Alex Zalben agreed with this assessment. He noted that some of the faults of The Walking Dead series actually become strengths of the Clementine books. Fans of the franchise often fault episodes of TWD that involve the characters wandering around wondering about their lives. By contrast, that works perfectly for the teen angst of a YA graphic novel.
Said Zalben, Tillie Walden really gives, “room here to explore these kids just living in the worst possible set of circumstances, dealing with their teen issues, their life issues in this world that is surrounded by zombies… You know it’s all going to fall down eventually because that’s what always happens in the world to The Walking Dead. But you really do have that time to sit with them.”
He added that Walden’s pacing and characterization really work for the graphic novel, “Where you expect that sort of introspection, you expect that sort of digging deep into characters. So I really enjoyed this. This is a great introduction to the world.”
Noted Zalben, “Definitely pick up the first book, you don’t need to have played the game, and then dive right into the second one.”
Clementine Book Two Official Synopsis:
FROM THE WORLD OF ROBERT KIRKMAN’S THE WALKING DEAD! Clementine and her new friends are rescued by an island community led by an enigmatic doctor called Miss Morro, but just as Clementine’s scars are finally beginning to heal, she discovers dark secrets that threaten to tear her new life apart. Can Miss Morro be trusted? What about the rest of the islanders? And just how far will Clementine go to protect the ones she loves? Tilllie Walden’s acclaimed trilogy continues!
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