The Clementine comic has reignited interest in Telltale’s The Walking Dead.
The award-winning narrative-driven zombie game series has been sitting on my shelf for years, and Clementine’s new adventure has me thinking of dusting it off and giving it another go. The Walking Dead has been a bit out of fashion of late, at least in terms of the AMC show, which has lost its appeal for me personally following character deaths that have left me cold. But there’s something about the focus on one group that makes those deaths feel like something more, and I think that’s part of what has made Clementine’s journey so enduring.
I remember watching The Walking Dead on TV when it first started, but I lost interest in the show a few seasons in when the cast started to thin out. I’ve tried to get back into it a couple of times since then, but nothing has really clicked – at least, until Tillie Walden’s Clementine comic arrived. Walden is an Eisner-winning cartoonist, and her work on Clementine has brought new life to The Walking Dead in a way I never thought possible.
The Clementine comic follows Clementine as she joins a young Amish man named Amos, as they navigate the perils of a post-zombie-apocalypse world. They meet up with a trio of young women, and together they build relationships and try to find some semblance of normalcy in their new lives.
Walden’s work on Clementine is incredibly authentic, capturing all of the small moments that go on to shape the dynamics between all of the characters. It has a vibe similar to The Last of Us – a game that I would argue is the true spiritual successor to the excellent Walking Dead game series – and the work Walden has done on Clementine has me hooked.
I never thought I’d be interested in going back to The Walking Dead again, but Walden has brought a new energy to the series, and I’m now itching to go back and play the original Walking Dead game, as well as the follow-up season, which I have yet to dive into.
Of course, that may have to wait, given that the upcoming Baldur’s Gate 3 release date may delay my playing anything else. But I will certainly be picking up the next issue of Clementine when it drops, as Tillie Walden’s The Walking Dead: Here’s Negan! #2 is available for pre-order now.
You can check out our guide to the best The Walking Dead games for your own Clementine to care for.
