The Walking Dead’s Scavengers: Great comic book type characters
By Susie Graham
The Scavengers on The Walking Dead are not from the comics, they are a group that was created just for the show, but they have great comic characteristics.
We all know that The Walking Dead is based on a comic book. The show weaves its way through the comics using some of the story lines, characters and locations and changes other things in a very wonderful way.
Part of what helps the show work is the comic book nature of the story lines, characters and locations. Sometimes we forget that. It’s grounded in reality, but the stories, characters and places have a larger than life quality. A quirkiness. An extra dose of bravery. A signature style.
I am not going to dig deep into comic book archetypes or anything scientific-mostly because I’d have no idea what I was talking about and I’d get a huge tongue lashing from Chris Hardwick. So I’ll just share my own thoughts. Something I love about The Walking Dead is that it has these exaggerated elements.
No, Rick Grimes doesn’t wear tights and a big G on his chest, but almost! Abraham had his fantastic mustache and his expressions. Eugene has his mullet and his quirky speech patterns. The Governor was a Governor! There are eye patches and katanas, crossbows and tigers. The walkers themselves are beautifully exaggerated works of art.
This new group is a great addition to the show with some interesting exaggerated elements. They live in a junkyard. They have an interesting way of speaking. They seem to have rules. They fit right in as another group to have survived this long in the apocalypse.
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Perhaps the junkyard has kept them safe in a way that hoarding makes some people feel safe in our world. Hoarders tend to start hoarding after a trauma in their life. This group didn’t actually collect the trash, but perhaps the stuff gives them some feeling of comfort after the trauma of the apocalypse. Of protection from the walkers and the world around them. From the danger.
Perhaps the language pattern is a way of keeping calm in the chaos and clutter. A minimalism in such a confused and overwhelming world. A way of communicating without excess while living among incredible excess of visual clutter. It’s really not a different language, just an economical use of language. A way to conserve energy.
I loved their concentric circles. More order in chaos. Perhaps even Jadis’ hair isn’t as weird as it seems. Maybe they just don’t have mirrors and she needs to be able to see so she cut straight across for utility.
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Even Winslow was such a memorable walker and the first to have a name as a walker in the show! Now we will have to wait and see if the Scavengers will help us with the fight against Negan or will need to go Down, Down, Down along with the Saviors.